POTENTIAL OFF-SEASON FANTASY VALUE CHANGES 6/15/00 During the offseason many players change teams as a result of free agency and trades. These changes often have a dramatic impact on the fantasy value of players involved and it is an important for a fantasy owner to ascertain these value changes in the offseason. When Glen Rice went from the Hornets to the Lakers his fantasy value took a beating. In his last two seasons with Charlotte, Rice averaged 40 min and 24 pts. Last year, as the third Laker scoring option, Rice averaged only 16 pts in 32 mpg. Rice will be a free agent and has been unhappy with his reduced role. If he moves to another team in the offseason it could restore some of his fantasy value. Last season Toni Kukoc was traded from the Bulls to the Sixers. He went from being the star on a bad team to a sixth man on a playoff team. He had been averaging 18 pts in 36 min for the Bulls and went to averaging only 12 pts in 29 min for the defensive minded Sixers. His other stats suffered as well. Kukoc is a free agent this offseason although he does not seem to be too upset with his new role. He may opt to remain a role player with a title contending team. Jermaine O'Neal, the young Portland forward, is one who clearly want to be traded after enduring another long year riding the Blazers bench. He signed a long term contract last season for 25$ million dollars in which he does not become a free agent until 2003. Now he wants out. In his first four seasons with Portland he is averaging only 12 min, 4 pts, and 3 reb. Projecting last seasons stats to 30 mpg he would average 10 pts, 8 reb, and 1.8 blocks. The 1.8 blocks is the key to his potential fantasy value on another team. His averages playing 30 minutes would probably actually be better as his per minute production would increase with a more substantial role. With the draft coming up many players could be changing teams. To see how it affects their fantasy value subscribe to the HoopsKlyce Preseason Player Rating Report.   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