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Fantasy Trade Implications: Everyone Wants this Cap Space Guy

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Categorized as: Author: Patrick, Chicago Bulls, Fantasy Basketball, New Orleans Hornets, Oklahoma City Thunder, Player News, Sacramento Kings, Trades
Posted on: February 18th, 2009

The trades are coming fast now. In one that has already been around for a day, the Hornets moved Tyson Chandler to the OKC for cap space in the name of Chris Wilcox and Joe Smith. Fantasy wise, this has got to hurt the value of Nick Collison and Nenad Krstic (whatever value he did have) as both will see fewer minutes with Chandler around.

Wilcox on the other hand, is worth a pickup if he’s still available in your league. While he’s not close to the defender that Chandler is, when he’s sufficiently motivated he can be a decent scorer and rebounder, like in 05-06 when he averaged 14 points and 8 boards a game. The Hornets other option at center is Hilton Armstrong, so New Orleans fans better hope Wilcox is motivated.

And in slightly more interesting news, according to David Aldridge, the Kings and Bulls agreed to a trade today that will send John Salmons and Brad Miller to the Bulls for Drew Gooden and Andres Nocioni. The deal gives the Bulls something they desperately need in Miller and the Kings something they desperately want for next year (approximately $13.5 million in cap space).

But we here at GMTR don’t care about money (which is why were still here writing this blog) or the real life consequences, what really matters are the fantasy implications. Lets break this down Magic 8-Ball style:

Brad Miller – GMTR is predicting… A Slight Value Increase. Miller will be the Bulls’ starting center and shouldn’t have any trouble fitting into his new team provided he’s healthy. I don’t think it will greatly affect his value, although the Bulls lack of frontcourt depth probably means a few more minutes a night for him. The change of scenery has also got to help his motivation and he no longer has to worry about Spencer Hawes and Jason Thompson breathing down his neck (the Joakim Noah/Tyrus Thomas combo doesn’t evoke the same kind of fear). It seems reasonable to think he could put up a line with the Bulls on par with what he did last season – 14 and 9 with a block a game.

John Salmons – GMTR is predicting… An Epic Fantasy Fail. On the other hand, this trade is not good for John Salmons. He’ll go from starting in Sactown (where he’s averaging a career high 18 points and 1.5 threes a game) to what, being the second guy off the bench behind Hinrich (can I get a ruling on that, Nels)? He basically fills the Andres Nocioni spot in the rotation (minus the power forward), which means fewer and more inconsistent minutes for Salmons.

John Salmons

Spencer Hawes – GMTR is predicting… Double-Doubles. With Miller gone, Hawes gets to step into the starting role permanently. In games he’s started this year, Hawes has averaged 11 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks a game. Definitely a guy I’d pick up off waivers, but not necessarily good enough to pay full value for in a trade.

Andres Nocioni – GMTR is predicting… More of the Same. When in doubt with the Kings, turn to Tom Ziller. Sacramento is likely going to throw Andres Nocioni at small forward and power forward, where he’ll complete for time with Francisco Garcia, Donté Greene, Jason Thomson, and Shelden Williams. So, it’s basically a role he’s seen before. Nocioni also has a reasonable contract that extends past this year, so he’s likely going to be in the Kings short-term plans.

Andrés Nocioni, Chicago Bulls basketball playe...
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Drew Gooden – GMTR is predicting… Let the Auditions Begin. The Kings didn’t trade for Gooden’s basketball skills, they wanted his contract. While he’s hurt right now and he’s unlikely to have any significant role when he returns, there is one thing that consistently motivates players to play hard for short stretches at a time. Keep an eye on what kind of minutes he gets, we could be in for one of those famous two month veteran runs.

Overall, the trade means two things for the Bulls. One, they won’t be getting Amare without Gooden’s expiring contract. And two, it likely puts the Bulls past the luxury tax for 2009-10, which means they might not be done dealing yet.

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Other Stuff Like This:

  • Jay
    The NBA draft takes place next week in New York, at Madison Square Garden. Go Danny Green from the UNC Tar Heels. That's my boy!
  • Yeah, I just saw the Chandler news. Whoops. Looks like the Hornets are stuck with him now.
  • Salmons could be OK if they moved some other pieces today. We'll see.

    Chandler deal is off. That's got to be awkward for all parties involved.
  • grover
    True. I meant to make that distinction - that Miller can offer good small ball stats while still providing some of the traditional big-man stats. Clearly my brain ain't working quite right at the moment. Cheers.
  • As for Salmons, I'm actually hoping that he can be the backup SG for the Bulls. I mean, we already have a scoring PG, so Kirk Hinrich can go back to his former role of scoring PG, only he'll be behind Derrick Rose now. Ben Gordon should and probably will continue to start at SG, but Salmons is now the best option off the bench at that position. He might get some SF time as well behind Deng. I'm secretly (though not so secretly anymore) hoping that Salmons will make Gordon expendable after this year, at least until 2010 when the Bulls can make a run at Dwyane Wade.
  • Yeah, I'm thinking that Miller will be able to get his assists back up a little. Not so sure about that FG%, though. Depends on how well he rebounds, but then, that's not a small ball stat. The small ball stat I'd be excited about is his FT%.
  • grover
    ok, clearly that should read ast/36.

    d'oh.
  • grover
    What do you think about Miller's small ball stats? I think we could see him approach his career high ast/46 of 4.6 and also bring his shooting percentages back toward 50-51. His threes this year are already at an all-time high of 46%.

    This Bulls team seems slightly more suited to his particular talents.
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