Fantasy related but good info.....
Melodrama
(mel-uh-drah-muh)
–noun
1. A dramatic form that does not observe the laws of cause and effect and that exaggerates emotion and emphasizes plot or action at the expense of characterization.
2. (In the 17th, 18th, and early 19th centuries) a romantic dramatic composition with music interspersed.
3. In the 21st century, when NBA superstar Carmelo Anthony becomes a case study in leverage, Collective Bargaining Agreement realities, and post-LeBron player transaction fatigue syndrome.
We're tired. Maybe it's just the writers, but I sense a growing fatigue among those covering the matters that once may have captivated our minds and imagination. Of course, we can thank
The Decision for much of that, and plenty of decisions before that fateful day in June of 2010, for we are tired of the messy business that is at the heart of the sports we love.
Thankfully, the Carmelo Anthony trade saga is drawing to a close. Allegedly. The reports started flooding in on Sunday that he is close to becoming a New Jersey Net in an ever-expanding 13-player deal apparently sweetened by the inclusion of Chauncey Billups and Richard Hamilton. And while this saga isn't LeBron slinking away from the O.K. Corral with Paula Cole's
Where Have All the Cowboys Gone? blaring over the Madison Square Garden speakers – it has the same NBA power broker taste to it.
It tastes like chicken if you're wondering.
And not the type of chicken that saw Melo dance backward from a raging Jared Jeffries after he sucker punched Mardy Collins during the Nuggets and Knicks' infamous 2006 brawl.
Rather, it's the game of chicken currently being played by the Nuggets, Nets, Knicks, and team Anthony, with the latter party maintaining for most of the year that he would not sign a contract extension anywhere else but in New York. His position has softened in recent weeks, as he said he would consider extending with New Jersey if they surrounded him with enough talent to begin with, and based on current reports he has already decided to extend with New Jersey in a trade that is imminent.
The only problem? Melo says he hasn't agreed to it, and frankly, nobody will believe it until the deal is completely done and filed with the league office.
Will Melo sign a contract extension to play in New Jersey, and build the new Brooklyn arena with a pair of wily vets fresh out of the Hot Tub Time Machine, a 7-footer that can't rebound, an otherwise forgettable roster set to be cleared out, and a coach that is unwilling and unable to defer to a superstar?
That's the story right now.
Without getting into the gory details, if Anthony wants to become a Knick, he can become a Knick. All he has to do is tell the Nuggets and the Nets that he will not extend with them, and it would take a gamble of historic proportions for Mikhail Prokhorov to mortgage their future in hopes he can impress Melo with his entourage of models, his impressive jet skiing skills, and maybe even his vision for the future.
The bottom line is that we'll know soon what the answers to these questions are. And by the time you read this, it may all be old news. Owners need to follow the Rotoworld basketball crew on Twitter (links posted below), and Rotoworld's NBA Player News page for the most recent updates.
Follow the entire Rotoworld NBA crew right here:
@docktora
@mattstroup
@adamlevitan
@aaronbruski
Click Here for all the Melodrama and the rest of Monday's dose….
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[SIZE=+1]Melo Stock Report[/SIZE]
Keep in mind that I'm assessing values based on the reports released Sunday night and that this trade has not yet been consummated. The following is the structure of the deal as it was being reported last night:
Denver gets: Two 1st round picks, Derrick Favors, Devin Harris, Anthony Morrow, Quinton Ross, Ben Uzoh, and Stephen Graham.
New Jersey gets: Chauncey Billups, Richard Hamilton, Carmelo Anthony, Anthony Carter, Shelden Williams, and DaJuan Summers.
Detroit gets: Troy Murphy and Johan Petro.
www.miamiheat.ws
Denver Nuggets
Devin Harris – It's hard to project whether or not he would start right away, but he most certainly will operate in a time-share. Denver likes Ty Lawson too much to let him play less than 20 minutes per game, and Harris' owners should look at this as a possible downgrade for that fact. Given how much Denver likes Lawson, it would make sense that a rebuilding team looks to move Harris to a PG-needy team, but that's pure speculation.
Update: In the time it took me to publish this, the first trade rumor involving Devin Harris getting immediately traded after landing in Denver popped up. Clearly, the Nuggets are comfortable with Lawson as their future and he should be owned as a well-positioned roster stash.
Ty Lawson – He still has to contend with Harris, but he is well worth a look as a roster stash right now. If his situation is going to develop into something meaningful, there is a strong chance that now is the time. Should the dust settle with Harris and Lawson in the same backcourt, he should be able to keep his current role at a minimum – making the deal a wash. He will be playing behind one of the most injury prone players in the league, however.
Arron Afflalo – He'll see a slight bump in value with more touches to go around. He'll also be a foundation guy amidst some serious renovations, further enhancing his value.
J.R. Smith – He may fall underneath the radar, but if you're Denver and you need to replace Melo's 19 field goal attempts per game, Smith has the playmaking ability to keep defenses honest. Surely George Karl isn't giving him the keys to his bike lock let alone the Nuggets' car, but the corresponding bump in value should be enough that he is owned for both his expected production and his upside.
Anthony Morrow – He shoots well enough to get some floor time, but he enters a crowded situation with no clear path to value.
Gary Forbes – He has started in the past when Melo has missed time, and he has produced decent numbers on a handful of occasions. He has impressed George Karl throughout the year and seems like a decent fit to start at small forward if this trade goes down. If you're in a deeper league, taking a flier on him makes some sense. In standard leagues, however, there are enough question marks to hold off on him in advance of any trade. Should the trade go down as constructed, though, we're fine with taking a flier on him.
Al Harrington – He finally looks like himself after a brutal slump that coincided with a thumb injury, and after 20 points and seven boards on Sunday he should be owned in all formats. Falling into the same category as J.R. Smith, he's more than willing to take on some of Anthony's load and that should buoy his value. However, keep in mind that Denver was desperately trying to get rid of him (and early Monday morning Denver is trying to force him onto the Nets), so needless to say they're not exactly thrilled with what they have. How that manifests itself on the court is anybody's guess, but it tempers the enthusiasm. If he stays in Denver, perhaps they audition him over the next month while the new guys figure out where their lockers are. In New Jersey, he projects as the backup power forward to Kris Humphries, and his value should remain similar, though I'd be lying if I said I wasn't really concerned about him fitting in with Avery Johnson.
Derrick Favors – His value remains mostly unchanged. He's going to get as much playing time as his foul trouble will allow, and has massive upside in both fantasy and reality. The Nuggets are going to be even more eager than the Nets were to justify their investment, as Favors will forever be linked to the curator of the Carmelo Anthony-era.
Kenyon Martin, Nene, Chris Andersen – Their rotation remains largely unchanged, though in theory the arrival of Derrick Favors would hurt down the road. By removing Anthony from the equation, Harrington gets to slide over a bit and the confluence of the two factors should be a net positive, but there's no real reason to change your perspective a whole lot.
New Jersey Nets
Chauncey Billups – Once you get beyond the possibility that he could be bought out, which is getting less likely by the hour, you begin to realize that his value should remain fairly consistent. After all, I doubt Anthony will sign onto the Nets to play with the Lakers' old bench mob.
Jordan Farmar – He goes from playing behind an injury-prone starter to a more reliable version in Billups, who projects to be somebody that Avery Johnson will have a harder time screwing with. There is a slight chance that Billups goes nuts after being uprooted, or if Avery tries to put his foot down with him, but owners should plan on Farmar being the clear backup with no real value unless Billups were to go down.
Richard Hamilton – He will be the sexy beneficiary of this trade, but he still doesn't do much besides score and hit threes. That said, he should be owned in all leagues for his expected productivity. He has just Sasha Vujacic, Farmar, DaJuan Summers, and Anthony Carter to contend with if this trade goes down, and with Billups, is the apparent reason Melo is willing to extend.
Carmelo Anthony – The Nets have even less firepower than the Nuggets, though Avery Johnson's gameplan isn't as up-tempo as George Karl's, and Melo will largely be used the same way he was in Denver (hand him ball, get out of way). Adjusting for his value at this point would be a reach.
Travis Outlaw – This trade would in theory kill his value, but you can't lose something you never really had. From a reality basketball perspective, the move returns him to the bench where he is probably a better fit, but for fantasy purposes he is on the outside looking in.
Kris Humphries – Another winner here, he loses both threats to his playing time in Derrick Favors and Troy Murphy, though he'll face stiffer competition for rebounds now from Anthony. If Al Harrington ends up in New Jersey, however, things get a bit tighter. Overall, he still needs to be owned in all leagues with the expected starter's minutes he will receive, though a report that New Jersey is willing to take on Harrington will curb our enthusiasm.
Brook Lopez – Should Johan Petro end up in Detroit, the Nets' frontcourt will consist of Humphries, backup Shelden Williams, and Lopez. And that's it. Look for the Nets to add another frontcourt player, but Lopez should get as many minutes as he can handle. And while it's true his touches will go down, it's possible he could find himself banging down low more while Melo takes his man one-on-one. An increase in higher percentage shots and rebounds could be in order, but we're not banking on it.
Detroit Pistons
Ben Gordon – Another big winner, he is theoretically freed to take the starting SG position and run. Make sure he is owned in your league.
Tayshaun Prince – Hamilton wasn't getting a tremendous amount of touches, but Prince will also benefit from added stability to the lineup and rotation. Of course, he could also be on the way out, but it's not worth worrying about until his name is at least popping up in trade rumors. For not, it's not.
Troy Murphy – There's a lot of excitement out there about Murphy, but he joins a crowded situation including rookie Greg Monroe, starting center Ben Wallace, quasi-PF Austin Daye, and starting PF Charlie Villanueva. If you want to take a flier on him feel free, but dropping a player with good long-term value doesn't make much sense.
Charlie Villanueva – This trade would be bad news for him, as the Pistons add another player that profiles exactly like him. Owners shouldn't expect him to wilt in Murphy's presence right away, but if you can move him now it's something to consider.
Greg Monroe – He's just now starting to make some inroads to fantasy value, but Murphy isn't great news for his value, either. Look for the Pistons to continue deploying him as they normally would, but there is yet another able body for them to turn to in the event that Monroe struggles.
Austin Daye – While he has been labeled a PF by John Kuester, this move would seemingly send him toward the backup SG and SF minutes, and Saturday's 25-minute, 15-point, six-rebound effort that included three treys is a good place to start when evaluating his value. If those numbers can help you, with a healthy dose of upside if/when the Pistons go young, then give him a look.
Click Here for all things not-Melo….
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[SIZE=+1]Elsewhere in the NBA[/SIZE]
Anderson Varejao was put on injured reserve for the season, and J.J. Hickson returned to the fantasy conversation in a big way, starting at center and scoring 23 points with a career-high 17 rebounds, and chances are if you're reading this for the first time he is long gone off your league's wire. If not, stop what you're doing and pick him up. He has literally no challenge for minutes going forward and his time has seemingly come.
Manny Harris was the other headline out of Sunday's Cavs game, as he scored a career-high 27 points with eight rebounds, four threes, two assists, one steal, and just one turnover, and at least for one day was the player to own between him and Ramon Sessions (four points, three assists, 18 minutes). Anthony Parker's (back) absence has opened things up for both of them, and Daniel Gibson is out for at least a week. Both of them are worth a look this week, though I suspect they'll be inconsistent and trade off good games. The Cavs, who also started athletic Christian Eyenga (eight points, five boards, one steal, two blocks, 27 minutes) at small forward, should be watched closely this week. The loss of Varejao effectively changes the dynamic of their season, and the young guys could be let loose.
LeBron James scored a season-high 44 points on 17-of-26 shooting (including three treys) with 13 rebounds, six assists, and two steals while turning away the Blazers in overtime. He looked a little like Michael Jordan out there, except for the time he started slapping his own ass. That was regrettable.
Channing Frye and Robin Lopez are set to start the next 10 games for the Suns, and both of them showed up in a big way on Sunday. Frye scored 16 points with 12 rebounds, four threes, two assists, two steals, and two blocks, while Lopez had 15 points, six rebounds, and three blocks in 27 minutes. Frye should be owned in all leagues with this result, and Lopez is worth watching to see if he can duplicate the effort. Marcin Gortat (11 minutes) and Mickael Pietrus (12 minutes) see their value crushed with this bad news/bad results combo, and while Pietrus can be dropped across the board I'll be hanging onto Gortat just to see how fluky this result really is. That said, I won't be passing on any hot free agents to find out.
Blazers PG Andre Miller is into the 'call your coach out' portion of his stay in Portland, and I can't help but thinking his shrinking playing time is a function of Nate McMillan preparing for life without Miller. Backup Patty Mills, who is playing well but in a normal scenario would not push Miller for playing time, has logged 54 minutes during the fourth quarter in the last five games compared to Miller's 17 minutes. When asked if he had gotten an explanation for his lack of playing time recently, Miller vented, "Man, there's no explanation for nothing around here." Miller's name has popped up in trade rumors for much of the year, but they'd really have to concede that their season is over to entrust it to Mills. The Blazers play three games this week, and barring any response by McMillan to those comments, Miller still looks like a worthy play this week but isn't a must-start. Whatever the future may hold, Miller and McMillan have never really been fans of one another, and it seems like just a matter of time before the other shoe drops, in whatever form it may be.
Darko Milicic, who has done everything in his power over the last couple of weeks to get dropped, finally showed up on Sunday with 11 points, 10 rebounds, two assists, two steals, and five blocks against the Spurs. Yes, he hit just 5-of-16 of his shots in the process, but he pulled out of his nosedive just in time for many owners I'm sure. I've been beating the drum to buy him low and/or hang onto him where possible, and I needed a win after I drove the Taj Gibson bandwagon off the cliff last week.
[SIZE=+1]Manic Monday[/SIZE]
The Warriors, Thunder, Sixers, and Jazz all play two games this week. Plan accordingly.
Injury Headliners
Be sure to check Rotoworld's Player Injury page for all the most recent injury information.
Andre Iguodala (Achilles) – Should resume on court activities Monday, and in a two-game week he belongs on benches. The Sixers play next on Tuesday against the Pacers.
Gerald Wallace (ankle) – He will miss Monday's game, but is targeting Wednesday's game against the Bulls for his return. He carries some risk, but will play in three games this week if he can go Wednesday, and for what it's worth I'll be trotting him out there.
Nazr Mohammed (knee) – Updates are far and few between, but if you're relying on Kwame Brown (didn't think I'd be typing that this year), you can probably use him with four games on the slate and Mohammed a pretty big question mark.
Andrew Bogut (virus) – Missed Saturday's game and is looking at a three-game week starting with the Hawks on Tuesday. Sitting a player with the flu is always tough to do, but with Bogut being a bit of a risk in general and Milwaukee not being known for their injury reporting, owners may want to evaluate him as if he has a two-game week.
Drew Gooden (foot) – He has been out since December 22, so owners should be looking elsewhere for help. His absence only helps the mess in Milwaukee, but face it, Ersan Ilyasova, Corey Maggette, and Chris Douglas-Roberts are risks any way you slice it.
Anthony Parker (back) – A fringe option when healthy, you should be able to do better in most leagues during his three-game week. His absence is propping up the value of Ramon Sessions and Manny Harris.
Kevin Garnett (calf) – He said he is "real close" to returning and was itching to play Saturday, and while there is some risk in using him he looks like he could play this week. The fact that the Celtics play the Rockets on Monday should help get owners an update before weekly lineup decisions are due.
Chris Kaman (ankle) – He may begin participating more in practice this week, which is code for let's see what DeAndre Jordan can do. Expect the Clippers to take their time in getting Kaman back, who has jumped the gun on his rehab in the past.
Marvin Williams (back) – He missed Saturday's game, but is targeting a return Tuesday. Owners would be wise to stay away until he proves he is ready to produce.
Mehmet Okur (back) – He should be far from owners' lineups until he proves he can stay healthy.
Tyreke Evans (ankle) – The Kings play four games this week and he'll be a tough guy to bench. Paul Westphal doesn't sound so confident that he'll play in the Kings' first game on Tuesday, while Evans is predictably a bit more optimistic, and owners may want to treat him as if he has 2-3 games this week, depending on what your gut is telling you.
Dirk Nowitzki (knee) – He released some cryptic tweets that said he hopes "to be back on our four game road trip next week," which could have him returning anywhere between Wednesday's game against the Pacers all the way until next Monday's game against the Pistons. Owners would be wise to stay away until they are sure he will play.
Devin Harris (quad) – He said he "totally" expects to be at practice on Monday, and in a vacuum we would expect him to suit up and play on Wednesday in Phoenix. However, with the surrounding trade bonanza going on, owners will want to weigh their options very carefully. The Nets play three games this week.
Chauncey Billups (wrist) – X-rays taken of his left wrist were negative and he is fine. With the Nuggets playing four games this week, owners have no real choice but to play him and hope a trade doesn't wreck his week.
Arron Afflalo (ankle) – He rolled his ankle on Sunday and is questionable for Tuesday's game, but if healthy is a great start in a four-game week, with the added benefit of getting heavy run in the event a trade goes down. Absent a report before lineup decisions are due, owners will have to trust their gut.
Ty Lawson (knee) – He isn't offering great standalone value anyway, and if the Nuggets are planning on giving him the keys to the car, they may want to keep him healthy. He belongs on benches this week without a clean bill of health.
Chris Andersen (knee) – As a fringe option, owners should take caution. But if you're using him in a very deep league the injury doesn't sound too serious. Ditto Kenyon Martin, who is a risk any way you slice it these days.
Sonny Weems (back) – Don't expect him to push Linas Kleiza for playing time anytime soon.
Aaron Brooks (ankle) – His workout on Friday didn't permit him to play on Saturday, and needless to say this isn't the week for owners to count on him. As for Kyle Lowry's owners, they should still use him during the Rockets' four-game week despite his slump. Brooks isn't likely to challenge him too much this week, and Lowry is due for a bounce-back.
Grant Hill (knee) – He won't practice Monday but could play Tuesday, and nobody appears overly worried about his injury in Phoenix. Already a fringe option when healthy, the Suns play three games this week, and owners may want to err on the side of caution with a 38-year old man.
Brandon Roy (knee) – A recent report says he is 'unlikely' to shut it down, but a return this week seems unlikely, regardless.
