By Dan O’Shea
Trades, trades and more trades. The NBA trading deadline was only hours away as of this writing, and a handful of deals already had taken plus within the last few days, though probably only one with much fantasy significance. That would be the exchange of Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks for Jermaine O’Neal and Jamario Moon.
By moving from Miami to Toronto, Marion gets back with a team that more willing to play the fast-paced game he was used to in Phoenix during his best years. Does he still have what it takes? He has been managing around 12 points per game and 8.7 rebounds per game this year, off his career averages. With Chris Bosh out in Toronto, Marion takes over at power forward, but center Andrea Bargnani has been doing most of the front-court scoring for Toronto of late.
As for O’Neal and Moon, the former has been surprisingly good this year after several injury-shortened seasons. Moon may prove the real steal for Miami, and it’s a great time to have him on your fantasy team, since he will likely get to start consistently in Miami. He has averaged 7.3 PPG this season, but that has primarily been in a sixth or seventh man role.
Meanwhile, this just in: Tyson Chandler to Oklahoma City for Joe Smith and Chris Wilcox. The winner in this one might be Wilcox, who will get far more playing time in New Orleans and now ends up on the finishing end of assists from Chris Paul. Chandler goes into a situation that had been center-by-committee, and may have to compete with Nick Collison and Nenad Krstic for playing time.
What’s going on with our fantasy basketball experts this week?
* The Big Board finally has Kevin Durant breaking into the top 10. I will repeat last week’s statement that I think he’s a first-round pick next year, probably in the eighth or ninth spot. The other big notable on the Big Board is Manu Ginobili, at No. 19 and steadily improving.
* Slam Online takes a different look at the Toronto-Miami trade, noting that Miami PF Udonis Haslem could take a hit to his numbers. Slam also notes a few players returning from injury, including Yi Jianlian, who finally seemed to be settling into the NBA before breaking his finger earlier this season. He could be a good pick-up if a previous owner dropped him and the rest of the league forgot he existed.
* Bleacher Report has possible replacements for Al Jefferson, whose season ended with a knee injury last week before the All-Star break. I like Marreese Speights, who is at least a three-category player (points, rebounds, blocks).
Fantasy Baseball Round-Up
Everyone’s still talking about A-Rod, so let’s talk about something else. How about second basemen, which used to be kind of a weak category (remember when Chone Figgins was the obvious first choice?). Now, a stud like Chase Utley isn’t even the obvious first pick. Here’s my top 10 at 2B:
1. Ian Kinsler (Batting average, hits, steals, doubles, runs and more, assuming no injury this year.)
2. Chase Utley (A down year after the championship season? He may actually be healthier.)
3. Brandon Phillips (Cincy is better than anyone thinks. He’s ready for a four-category career year.)
4. Dustin Pedroia (MVP-good, but No. 4 at his position? That’s how good 2B has become.)
5. Brian Roberts (Incredibly consistent collector of extra bases and steals)
6. Alexei Ramirez (He’ll still have 2B eligibility. Don’t laugh, but he could be the Pedroia of ’09.)
7. Robinson Cano (Improved team, may finally have found a consistent stroke.)
8. Mike Aviles (Pretty darn impressive hitter will start all year. Mini-Kinsler stat-wise.)
9. Dan Uggla (HRs and doubles, if not much else. Florida batting order will play important role.)
10. Mark DeRosa (Surprised? The Cubs will be when Derosa gets 100 RBIs in Cleveland.)
The fantasy experts also are taking an in-depth look at various positions:
* Roto Arcade wonders: Tim Lincecum or Johan Santana? I previously would have said – and probably did say – Lincecum, but the New York Mets really have done as much as possible to ensure the bullpen won’t be blowing victories for Santana, picking up both Francisco Rodriguez and J.J. Putz. I like Lincecum for 300 strikeouts this year, but I’ve pushed my prediction for Santana to 23 wins.
* Bleacher Report has its own 2B rankings, with fairly different results. How about Pedroia at No. 1? Kelly Johnson at No. 10?
* Most Valuable Network Fantasy Outsider takes a closer look at 1B Joey Votto, who very likely to be a 30 HR, 100 RBI, 20 SB player this year, with more playing time and the potential that he’ll be hitting either third or fourth ahead of or sandwiched between Phillips and Jay Bruce.
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Dan O’Shea’s Fantasy Fix appears every Wednesday, except when it appears on Thursday. Tips, comments, and suggestions are welcome.
Posted on February 18, 2009