I like your general classification of fantasy studs. I don't think there are too many guys in the league who are both talented enough and egotistical enough (in a good way) to perform at the level someone like Kobe does with the talent around him. Most of the good players in the league are more like Paul Pierce, who is still very good talent-wise these days, but definitely gave up being the guy for a crappy Celtics team to go after a ring (those who are not willing to change like Pierce end up walking the path of Iverson).

So, I think the interesting question is are there any guys in the league without the talent of Kobe, Wade, Dirk, etc who would be just as good on a team stacked with talent as they would be on a team like the Pacers or the Bobcats? I’d guess yes, but no one jumps to mind right now.

I'd have to watch more of Granger to form a solid opinion on him, but from what I've seen of him this year I think you might be selling his game a little short. Maybe he couldn't switch places with Kobe and stay a top 5 fantasy guy, but on 25 of the other teams he might be able to.

And yeah, Marion is a very good example of someone who needs good teammates (especially a good PG I guess) to be good.

By my estimation, there are two kinds of fantasy studs: Those who are great even with very good teammates (Kobe Bryant, Dirk Nowitzki) and those who are great at least in part do to a lack of having good teammates (Granger.) I'm not saying that great players with bad teammates are inherrently of the second type (Dwayne Wade, for example, has proven to be a beast on a good team and a slightly-bigger beast on a bad one) but if a player DOES fall into the second category, I consider their value to be far less secure than the latter.

Kobe Bryant is gonna be Kobe even playing alongside some of the best players in the league. I'm not sure we could say the same thing if Granger (a dominant wng player) was playing with a good/great post player and/or point guard. He'd certainly be awesome, but top 3-5? Not so sure…

Oh, and then there's the inverse of the type 2 stud: Those who are only good with good teammates. This is rare, as typically a top 5 player is a self-contained value, but how else do you explain Shawn Marion?

Regarding Jennings, I'd like to see some numbers behind this, but I've always assumed that the more a player has the ball in his hands, the better his fantasy potential even if his efficiency will likely decrease. It's why someone like Rafer Alston was actually a viable fantasy PG for a number of years. Provided Redd can play a decent number of games this year, we'll have to remember to look back at Jennings splits to see what happened. Should be interesting.

Sub-question: Will Brandon Jennings be a better or worse fantasy player when Redd Returns? Fewer shots taken, for sure, so decreased points and threes (better FG%?) But having another qualified scorer MIGHT help his assists a touch, and would almost certainly let him rebound more (love his potential as a rebounding PG.) Overall increase or decrease in value?