As promised yesterday, we have two contests for you this week. On Friday, it’s the Freeroll, which everyone reading this should enter. There’s absolutely no cost, no obligation and you could win $100 cash, just by picking an 8-man team for that night only.
DraftStreet Diary: A $300 Freeroll & A $400 Challenge This Week
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Harden, the Lakers and the Week Ahead
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Despite only a handful of games the opening week of the NBA season wasn’t short of headlines. First there was the James Harden trade, then were some controversial extension decisions, the Lakers have started 0-3 and Danny Granger and Eric Gordon were shut down.
Every Saturday afternoon, we’ll examine the Week That Was, then review our Depth Chart Updates, the Upcoming Schedule and our picks for Sits and Starts.
The Week That Was
Lesson #1: The James Harden trade
In my Northwest Division preview, I said that Harden’s ADP priced in some improvement either in minutes or play and that I didn’t see either. Oops. I didn’t see a trade coming but maybe I should have — the Serge Ibaka extension was a strong hint. It wasn’t that I didn’t like Harden, but he was so good last year, I didn’t see how he could improve or why Scott Brooks would change the way he used him.
Following the trade, Harden is going to see about six additional minutes a game and will go from slightly above average to one of the highest usage of a team’s possessions. Since Harden is so efficient and effective, the additional minutes and usage will have a dramatic effect on his fantasy value. I expect his efficiency to decline, but we will hardly notice among all the additional goodies.
My first reaction was to re-value Harden as a top-15 guy. On further reflection, I am now putting him in the top 8, right along with Russell Westbrook, Kyrie Irving, Dwyane Wade and Deron Williams. He won’t average 40 a night but 25-5-5 with good percentages is well within reach. For those playing on FanDuel, at his current $6,600 salary, Harden is a must-start every day that Houston plays.
In addition to Harden, there are other affected players on the Rockets. One, Jeremy Lin gets a much needed reprieve from being Linsanity to just being Jeremy Lin. If his knees hold up, the risk that he will implode is much less. Another is Carlos Delfino. He is coming off two disappointing seasons after a very good year in 2009-2010. Both injuries and a crowded rotation kept his minutes and effectiveness low. His value goes way up because his main competition for minutes, Jeremy Lamb, is gone and coach Kevin McHale, now with playoff ambitions, will lean heavily on his experience. With Harden and Lin constantly driving to the hoop, Delfino is a great source for open look 3′s and steals.
For the Thunder, Kevin Martin should adequately fill Harden’s minutes, but the real winner is Serge Ibaka. I still don’t think that he is worth a mid-20′s ADP, but like it or not, GM Sam Presti has hooked his wagon to the Ibaka train and is effectively banking on him to take another large stride forward this season. This means more minutes and more shots for the league’s best shot blocker. Ibaka has worked on his jumper including adding 3PT range. He hasn’t been particularly effective in the Thunder’s first two games but after 82 games, in addition to all the blocks, we can probably write in 12+ points, and 8+ rebounds per game.
SH Blog: McHale says Lin will have to play better, Dwight Howard’s back no longer in pain
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If you saw the box score of the Rockets-Spurs preseason game on Sunday, you may have noticed an ugly stat line from Mr. Linsanity – the electrifying point guard that shocked the basketball world last season.
Lin managed to hit just one-of-10 shots with one assist while committing two turnovers in 25 minutes of play against the stifling defense of San Antonio. Lin’s biggest issue so far in the preseason appears to be the status of the knee he had surgery on last season, although some apparently believe Lin simply lacks athleticism.
See what Kevin McHale had to say about the play of his starting point guard, the good news on Dwight Howard and much more from Monday below:
SH Blog: Dwight Howard could be traded as soon as Friday, Kobe Bryant says he is the best post player on Team USA
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“Dwightmare” made its triumphant return on Thursday when Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports reported a possible four-team trade, but the situation may soon be coming to a close. Find out what went down in today’s news, along with some entertaining video clips below:
The four-team trade involving Dwight Howard could happen as soon as Friday, according to ESPN: “A four-team trade that would send Dwight Howard to the Los Angeles Lakers is “very close” to happening and could be agreed upon Friday, league sources told ESPN The Magazine’s Chris Broussard. In the proposed four-team deal, sources told Broussard that Howard and Denver Nuggets forward Al Harrington would go to Los Angeles, Lakers forward Pau Gasol and Nuggets guard Arron Afflalo would go to the Orlando Magic, Philadelphia 76ers guard Andre Iguodalawould go to Denver, and Lakers center Andrew Bynum would go to Philadelphia. A league source told ESPNLosAngeles.com’s Ramona Shelburne that the pieces in the potential trade are still very fluid and that Gasol has been in and out of the talks. The source, though, said the deal still is very close to happening and could go down Friday morning. Sources told Broussard that Philadelphia has not spoken to Bynum or his representatives and has no assurances he will sign a long-term extension with the club. ”The Sixers are willing to take a shot (without Bynum’s commitment),” one source said.”
Sam Amick of Sports Illustrated explains why it would be difficult for the Magic to acquire assets for Pau Gasol if they were to trade for him, and that the Rockets can readily offer better assets: “Orlando has engaged in extensive talks with Houston that remain alive as well, and a source with knowledge of the Rockets’ latest proposal said it would afford the Magic more assets to their liking than the potential four-team trade. With Orlando looking to clear salary cap space and rebuild via the draft, some have surmised that, if the four-team deal goes through, the Magic could trade Gasol for younger prospects or more draft picks at a later time. But given the current NBA landscape, with the new collective bargaining agreement and the devastating luxury tax set to kick in after next season, the interest in a 32-year-old forward with a combined $38 million on his deal for the next two seasons will likely be limited, if only because of the immense payroll implications.”
- Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports broke the initial news about the Howard deal, and added the following about Jason Richardson:
Orlando's Jason Richardson has been significant name in 4-way talks too, sources tell Y! There's a scenario where he goes with Howard to LA.
@WojYahooNBA
Adrian Wojnarowski
- Kobe Bryant talked about how he is the best post-player on Team USA and that everyone wants to reach his level, from Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today: “When a news reporter suggested Bryant was the best U.S offensive player in the low post other than center Tyson Chandler, Bryant stopped the question. ”No, no, no,” Bryant said. “Not other than Tyson Chandler. I’m the best post player on this team, period. Tyson Chandler is not in that conversation.” Asked what it’s like to be the old guy on the team, Bryant said, “I’m where everybody wants to get to. I just happen to be still playing.” ”Can you learn anything from these young guys?” he was asked. Bryant: “No.” ”You know everything?” Bryant: “I don’t know if I know it all, but I know more than they do.”
Bryant was accused of cheating on his wife (again) with swimmer Stephanie Rice, according to Larry Brown Sports: “Liz Cambage became the first woman to dunk at the Olympics, and then she became the first athlete to go on record calling out Kobe Bryant and Stephanie Ricefor having an inappropriate relationship. Things between Bryant and Rice started cooking when the NBA MVP visited the Australian swim team before the Games began since the teams were staying at the same hotel in Manchester. Rice and Bryant took some pictures, including the one seen above which the swimmer shared on Twitter and Instagram, along with the message “First piccy with a “star” going to be hard to beat… Kobe.” Rice was also pretty excited about an autographed pair of sneakers Kobe gave her, and he received some signed swim caps as part of the trade. Fast forward to the second week of the Olympics and the closeness between the two continued. Bryant was spotted at the velodrome on Tuesday watching some cycling along with Rice”
- Marc Stein of ESPN reported that the Rockets have strong interest in acquiring Carlos Delfino:
Houston, I'm told, actively chasing Delfino, who's at 15+ ppg on 49% shooting at OLY. Celts want him but can't afford him, Doc Rivers says
@ESPNSteinLine
Marc Stein
Carmelo Anthony has been nursing a sore hamstring while playing for Team USA, from ESPN New York: “Carmelo Anthony has reportedly been playing with a slight amount of pain throughout the Olympics. According to the New York Daily News, Anthony has been dealing with a sore hamstring for the past “several days.” But Anthony told the paper that the injury is minor. ”I’m fine,” Anthony said on Thursday. “It’s nothing serious.” Anthony has been one of Team USA’s top scorers in the Olympics, averaging 17.4 points per game (second to Kevin Durant’s 18.6 ppg). In what appears to be a precautionary measure, the Knicks have sent a trainer to London to monitor Anthony’s injury.”
- Amare Stoudemire has a youtube channel and shared a video showing him and fellow NBA player JaVale McGee train with Hakeem Olajuwon. Just one question: what is up with the short shorts?
- Check out this impressive play by UNC’s P.J. Hairston, freezing the defender from the three-point line before driving to the basket to throw down a nasty dunk on Jerry Stackhouse. Stackhouse was none too pleased about the amount of attention the dunk received.
Tim Grover’s Attack Athletics gym is headed into foreclosure, and Michael Jordan will lose plenty of money as a result, according to Andrew Greif of Dime Magazine: “Tim Grover made his name on makingMichael Jordan, well, Michael Jordan. As a trainer he was one of the elite because he trained the very best. But going in business together on a West Chicago basketball-focused gym apparently hasn’t been as successful for wooing the regular customer. According to the Chicago Tribune, Attack Athletics is headed into foreclosure because it owes more than $12 million from an initial $9 million loan — and both Jordan and Michael Finley are on the hook as creditors, too. MJ is in for $1.5 million, the report said, while leaving Finley’s investment unspecified.
- Rajon Rondo has hops as you will see in this video, from Slam Online.
Nicolas Batum punches J.C. Navarro’s groin
Carmelo Anthony gets hit in the groin, Andrew Bogut was offered drugs
James Park is the regular blogger for Sheridanhoops.com. Follow @NBATupark
