There are obviously aftershocks from the big deals involving Carmelo Anthony and Deron Williams earlier this week. With a few hours left before the trade deadline passes, there are more deals to discuss, involving guys like Baron Davis, Mo Williams and Kirk Hinrich. Here are quick takes on the implications that fantasy owners should pay attention to.
Atlanta Hawks get Kirk Hinrich and Hilton Armstrong; Washington Wizards get Mike Bibby, Maurice Evans and Jordan Crawford
Hinrich goes from being a backup guard limited to a cap of 30 minutes a night to the starting point guard for the Hawks. He’s already been a solid fantasy asset so far this season, and with more minutes likely coming his way, Hinrich should hold steady and hit more than the 0.9 threes per game he averaged this season as a Wizard. This trade can only help his value, though not by much.
Bibby was actually having a surprisingly decent season before this trade. Now his prospects look a lot dimmer. He’s backing up John Wall, who now has full control of the reigns at the point guard spot with the departures of Gilbert Arenas and Spock. Bibby won’t get the 29:53 per game he was seeing in Atlanta and his value will be limited to some threes every now and then.
Evans, Crawford and Armstrong remain waiver-wire fodder in all but the deepest of leagues.
Sacramento Kings get Marcus Thornton; New Orleans Hornets get Carl Landry
Thornton gets an immediate boost from this deal. With Tyreke Evans out a few weeks with his ailing, Thornton should get a shot at putting up some big lines in the immediate future. He’ll have to contend with Jermaine Taylor, who has really come on in Evans’ stead, and coach Paul Westphal isn’t exactly the most fantasy-friendly coach in the NBA, but things are looking up for Thornton. Once Evans returns, however, Thornton will go back to being just mildly appealing.
Landry goes from getting inconsistent run in Sac-Town to backing up David West. He could get some extra run while Emeka Okafor recovers from his hip injury, but that doesn’t help much. Landry’s fantasy appeal is unchanged at best and submerged even further at worst.
Los Angeles Clippers get Mo Williams and Jamario Moon; Cleveland Cavaliers get Baron Davis
Williams should benefit from the same healing magic that Davis benefited from this season — the magic of playing with Blake Griffin. Once he returns from his ankle injury (which doesn’t sound too serious), Williams should make a nice comeback after struggling in the miry pit that is the 2010-11 Cleveland Cavaliers. He told Cavs owner Dan Gilbert “i love u man” via Twitter this morning, which says volumes about how he’s feeling as he heads to the Clips — and after his comments post-LeBron, we know how important feelings are for Mo. This is good news for Williams, who should improve on his shooting from the field, scoring and three-pointers made.
Davis is on the opposite side of the spectrum. We all know how much he loved playing with Griffin, and how that pretty much rejuvenated an oftentimes unmotivated and unhealthy Diddy. Now he goes from that to playing with the Cavs. This is about as rude an awakening as you can get. Davis already has a bum knee, so there’s a good chance that he’ll shut things down if he’s unhappy enough.
Ramon Sessions should retain most, if not all, of his value, especially if Davis shuts things down.
Daniel Gibson‘s value is tied to how much Davis actually plays for the Cavs.
Moon was finally getting steady run for the Cavs before this deal, but his value is diminished now that he’s on the Clippers, where he’ll contend for minutes with Al-Farouq Aminu and Ryan Gomes.
Christian Eyenga, Anthony Parker and Manny Harris get a bit more breathing room with Moon out of the picture. Each remain appealing, especially in deeper leagues, though it’s hard to guess which will produce on any given night.
Throughout the season, be sure to leave your questions, comments, concerns, trade offers, roster problems and more in the comments below.
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