2004 Free Agent Signings - August 28, 2004

Below is a list of some of the major 2004 off-season free agent signings. Listed is the player, the team, and his real world contract. Following is a discussion of the fantasy implications of the signings.

Kobe Bryant - Los Angeles Lakers - $136 million over seven years - Kobe returns to a team that will be without Shaq, Payton, and perhaps Karl Malone. In their place in terms of offensive options will be Lamar Odom and Caron Butler who will not require as many touches as Kobe's former Laker teammates. During the 02-03 season, Kobe averaged 23. 5 shot attempts per game and that went down to 18. 1 shot attempts per game with Shaq, Payton, and Malone around. Look for him to be back over 20 shots per game, rejuvenated from escaping from his legal issues (this is an assumption at this point), and completely motivated to prove everyone that assumed the Lakers are not contenders now wrong. He has the potential to be the number 1 fantasy player next season.

Kenyon Martin - Denver Nuggets - $90 million over seven years via sign and trade. The first question I have is who is going to play PF for the Nets in place of Kenyon Martin? Whoever that turns out to be has the potential to be a fantasy sleeper unless the Nets go with a committee approach. Considering returning players, Aaron Williams and Brian Scalabrine can play the position but neither of them are likely to be good fantasy alternates even if getting 30-35 mpg. The Nets may try to get some minutes at PF out of Eric Williams, but he is another guy who needs to have a lot of minutes to muster up his minimal fantasy value. For the Nuggets, Nene started 77 games last season and averaged 32. 5 mpg. This will not likely trend upward with the Nuggets starting Carmelo, Camby, and Martin in the frontcourt. The chances of Tskitishvili emerging from oblivion are also reduced despite his brilliant summer league performances considering the depth of talent on the Nuggets.

Carlos Boozer - Utah Jazz - $68 million over six years - The loss of Boozer prompted the Cavaliers to trade for Drew Gooden. Boozer should continue his role as the full time starting PF in Utah and perhaps cause a slight dip in Kirilenko's rebounding numbers. Gooden will have an opportunity to earn a full time job in Cleveland and realize his rebounding potential. During the 02-03 season Gooden averaged 14. 1 rebounds per 48 minutes but the dropped to 11. 6 in the 03-04 season. I expect that average to be back up around 14 again next season.

Steve Nash - Phoenix Suns - $66 million over six years - The return of Steve Nash put on hold the emergence of Leandrinho Barbosa. Barbosa showed some potential in his rookie season averaging 3 steals per 48 minutes and nearly 40% from three point land. However he was not a big assist guy and the addition of Nash should allow for additional scoring opportunities for Shawn Marion and Amare Stoudamire.

Rasheed Wallace - Detroit Pistons - $57 million over five years - With the re-signing of Wallace and the addition of Antonio McDyess and Derrick Coleman, the chances of Darko Milicic emerging this season are slim. Rasheed's scoring and rebounding peaked in the 00-01 and 01-02 seasons where we was around 19 ppg and 8 rpg and has trended downward to 16 ppg and 7 rpg last season. With a big new contract and turning 30 this September, I don't expect Wallace to exceed last year's numbers. Hopefully though he has mellowed out enough to not incur too many technicals as I know some leagues do consider that category.

Manu Ginobili - San Antonio Spurs - $52 million over six years - Ginobili, of the 29-point game fame in beating the US at the Olympics, started 5 games his rookie season and 38 games his second season. For the guacamole he is getting in his third season expect than number along with his production to rise at the high rate he has already shown. Ginobili excels in the steal category and will contribute in the trey category and for a shooting guard gives healthy assist numbers. Brent Barry signed a $20. 7 million over four years and will see a reduction in value playing time behind Ginobili and Parker.

Mehmet Okur - Utah Jazz - $50 million over six years - Okur's progression from his rookie year to his second year was modest with playing time averages of 19 and 22 mpg respectively. This was in part to objections Larry Brown had to playing style, a feeling apparently not shared by the Jazz. For the mullah the Jazz will be giving him he will be playing more and providing proportionally bigger stats.

Marcus Camby - Denver Nuggets - $45. 1 million over six years - Camby gutted it out for as 8 year career high 72 games last season realizing his last big contract was pending. So now that he has got his money how many games will he play next year? My guess is less than 72!.

Quentin Richardson - Phoenix Suns - $45 million over six years - The Suns already had a shooting guard that provided similar numbers to Q in Joe Johnson. Without this signing Richardson and Joe Johnson are young emerging players, but as it is, both will see a reduction in playing time and fantasy value that they would have otherwise had.

Mark Blount - Boston Celtics - $42 million over six years - I can't help but think that Blount will follow a similar career path as Isaac Austin who went from mediocrity to a decent year to a big contract to nothing. Last year Blount nearly doubled his output from the previous year after floundering in the NBA for 4 seasons. I don't expect him to continue his exponential growth.

Adonal Foyle - Golden State Warriors - $41. 6 million over five years - Oh my!! Foyle averaged 4. 6 points and 5. 2 rebounds over 7 years and was rewarded with a contract normally reserved for players with about twice this output. The only thing more ridiculous is the money Dallas is willing to play Eric Dampier. But coincidentally, it is the departure of Dampier that will give Foyle the opportunity to be a full time starter and have fantasy value for his shot blocking abilities. Those who draft him though should realize in four of his seven seasons he has played less than 60 games.

Stephen Jackson - Indiana Pacers - $40 million over six years (sign and trade for Al Harrington) - Last season Jackson was a sleeper pick as a scorer and a decent steal guy on a bad team that was able to give him plenty of minutes. While he may be the heir apparent to Reggie Miller, he will need to wait for him to retire before he gets the big minutes again. Jackson can contribute steals, threes, and points.

Etan Thomas - Washington Wizards - $37 million over six years - It can be tough at times to sniff out who is a tall stiff getting money thrown at them (Michael Stewart) and who is a tall guy who will become a stud (Ben Wallace). I tend to think Etan will not be like Michael Stewart. I like his shot blocking and rebounding skills and feel he will continue his growth despite being comforted with a big contract. A potential obstacle is Kwame Brown but Brown will start slowly having broken his foot in the offseason.

Brian Cardinal - Memphis Grizzlies - $37 million over six years - Perhaps you thought Cardinal was a rookie last season having never heard of him before but it was actually his fourth year in the league having played a TOTAL of 28 games over his first three years for two different teams. After 'breaking out' to average nearly 10 ppg Jerry West saw something in him that few others did and gave him a very healthy contract. Perhaps West was giddy over his44. 4% three point shooting which placed him 4^th in the league last season. However unless the Grizzlies make a trade, it is tough to see how Cardinal can earn that kind of money with the glut they have at the two and three spots.

Hedo Turkoglu - Orlando Magic - $37 million over six years - His four year career has been somewhat up and down but unless Grant Hill all of a sudden heals he will be a prime candidate to play small forward for the Magic. The fantasy category where he stands a chance to be above average is the trey having averaged 1. 3 treys at 42% last season.

Marquis Daniels - Dallas Mavericks - $37 million over six years - Of the myriad of players getting $37 mill over 6 years Daniels has perhaps the greatest upside potential. In his last 8 games of last season he averaged 20 pts, 6 reb, 5 ast, and 2. 2 steals. So who would you spend $37 million on first - Brian Cardinal or Marquis?

Derek Fisher - Golden State Warriors - $37 million over six years - Fisher will knock heads with Speedy Claxton next season for playing time. Even if he gets 30 mpg his value is marginal.

Troy Hudson - Minnesota Timberwolves - $37 million over six years - Seems like a lot of money for someone who will be a backup. He could have had much more fantasy value on another team.

Rafer Alston - Toronto Raptors - $29 million over six years - I like his potential to emerge as a starter over Alvin Williams. He has sleeper potential and could help your team with threes, steals, and assists.

Trenton Hassell - Minnesota TimberWolves - $27 million over six years - He gets paid this dough for defense and is worth it in the NBA but won't have much value in fantasy leagues.

Brian Skinner - Philadelphia 76ers - $25 million over five years - Will likely be a backup, a role commensurate with his salary.

Antonio McDyess - Detroit Pistons - $23 million over four years - McDyess is an intriguing prospect. He showed revitalization at the end of last year and although the Pistons have an entrenched starter in Rasheed Wallace, McDyess may still be able to earn playing time particularly if Wallace can log some minutes at small forward. This would come at the expense of Tayshaun Prince. McDyess' stock will certainly be low coming into this season so he has sleeper potential.

Carlos Arroyo - Utah Jazz - $16 million over four years - Arroyo looked like an all-star against the USA Olympic team in Puerto Rico's blowout win. He should have relatively good job security as the Jazz's starting point guard with the ability to contribute assists to a fantasy team. Next season his playing time should eclipse the 30 mpg mark. He does not have fantasy star potential yet though due to average contributions in the steal and trey category.

Now that you know the real world value of these players you can find out what the fantasy value of the players is considering the specific scoring system for you league by ordering the HoopsKlyce Customized Preseason Player Rating Report at www. HoopsKlyce.com. Maximize your chances for a first place finish!