ANALYSIS OF RECENT TRANSACTIONS August 4, 1999 The following article discusses the fantasy ramifications (or absence thereof) resulting from the recent NBA transactions: Rodney Rogers signed as a free agent with the Phoenix Suns. Rogers is a former lottery pick who has had a somewhat inconsistent NBA career. Last year he lost playing time to rookie Tyrone Nesby and did not figure in the Clippers future when they nabbed Lamar Odom during the NBA draft. In Phoenix, Rogers should continue to struggle for any substantial playing time. Recently signed Cliff Robinson will be ahead of him on the depth chart and there will be pressure to give rookie Shawn Marion playing time as well. From a fantasy perspective Rogers has the advantage of having the potential to contribute in all of the stat categories and the fact that George McCloud went to Denver will give him more opportunities to get on the floor. But his motivation to play is questionable and he seems to miss many games with injuries. Oliver Miller signed with the Phoenix Suns whom believe that he has been diligent about his physical conditioning (for once). Miller is a player with fantasy potential who has often become too over weight to play significant minutes. He has been given many opportunities with various NBA teams. To think that he actually will remain in shape may be overly optimistic, but if he does he could be a fantasy steal at the toughest fantasy position to fill, center. The Atlanta Hawks traded guards Steve Smith and Ed Gray to the Portland Trail Blazers for guards Isaiah Rider and Jim Jackson. Last season Portland was a fantasy graveyard with none of the players getting the minutes needed to excel stat-wise. Although Portland gave up two players and got one productive one back in return, minutes may still be hard to come by since Portland also signed free agent Detlef Schrempf. I would anticipate a decline in the fantasy value of Steve Smith as a result of this trade. Note that Smith has never been a recommended player anyway due to a lack of output in categories other than scoring. Last season Jim Jackson averaged only 24 minutes per game for Portland. In Atlanta Jackson should receive substantially more playing time resulting in a corresponding increase in fantasy value. Jackson can contribute in the three main categories of points, rebounds, and assists although a lack of contributions in other areas prevents him from being a top fantasy player. Rider should also receive some more playing time in Atlanta but there is no reason to believe he will stop missing games from suspensions and disciplinary actions making him a player to avoid. Ron Mercer, Popeye Jones, and Dwayne Schintzius were traded to Denver for Danny Fortson, Eric Washington, Eric Williams, and a first-round draft choice in one of the next three years. This trade is essentially Mercer for Fortson. Mercer will probably get similar minutes in Denver as he did in Boston but he has never been a top fantasy pick due to a lack of rebounding, assists, and blocks. In Boston he could score and get some steals and in Denver he will probably score and get fewer steals since the Nuggets won't press like the Celtics. In Boston Fortson may not be a starter but it will be difficult to not give substantial minutes to a player who can rebound like him. I had thought Tony Battie might have a breakthrough season but the presence of Fortson may present competition for playing time. If the Celtics decide to give Fortson minutes at center it could result in a decrease in fantasy value for Vitaly Potapenko. The Detroit Pistons signed small forward Michael Curry, who spent the past two seasons with the Milwaukee Bucks. Curry is a member of the HoopsKlyce Styrofoam Club - a player who pretty just much takes up space. Despite his unproductively with the Bucks last year he did average 23 minutes per game. The impact of this signing should be to give extra playing time to Tim Thomas who played limited minutes for the Bucks last year but did show fantasy potential in his rookie year. The Orlando Magic traded Nick Anderson to the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday for Tariq Abdul-Wahad and a future first-round draft pick. Anderson was a primary scorer for the Magic but that will not be the case in Sacramento where he may join Corliss Williamson in watching Webber, Divac, and Jason Williams pass the ball around. Wahad is described as athletic, a polite way of saying he looks good running around the court while not really doing much. He may score some and rebound OK for a guard but his assists and steals are modest despite having a reputation as a good defender. Detlef Shrempf signed as a free agent with the Portland Trail Blazers. At this stage in his career Schrempf will have a declining fantasy value which is one reason why the Sonics dissed him with their 'low' offer. In Portland he will serve to clog up the playing rotation making it more difficult for young players such as Jermaine O'Neal and Kelvin Cato to emerge. Back in Seattle it may give some players an opportunity to play, notably Jelani McCoy and Vladimir Stepania who showed some potential last season. These guys may be good free agent grabs if they earn some time. George McCloud signed with the Denver Nuggets. It is doubtful he will become a significant part of their playing rotation.  On a final note, in a previous article I had suggested that blocks were more valuable than other stats because of their frequency of occurrence. Note that the value of a stat in a rotisserie system is also a function of the distribution of the stat throughout your league. In other words, if teams are closely grouped in a particular stat such that the accumulation of that stat would result in a higher ranking, then that stat should get an added weight. Blocks often are more widely distributed in rotisserie leagues such that beefing up in that category may not improve your overall league score. If you are far behind the next guy in the block category acquiring a shot-blocking specialist such as Sean Bradley is not a good move. When picking up free agents examining what stat category can help you the most will make some players more attractive than others. In this respect a stats value is not solely directly proportional to it's frequency.   Previous Article Next Article Copyright © Hoops Klyce 2000 - All Rights Reserved Website Designed by Lelnet Failed to execute script '../cgi-local/ax.cgi': Win32 Error Code = 2