Fantasy Basketball Weekend News and Notes (7/11/10)

Now that the big names have found homes it’s time for the second and third tier players to start filling in the gaps and specialty roles.  These guys can still help your fantasy team since most of them have one special talent that can rule a category.  Here’s a quick roundup of this weekend’s free agency fantasy news and notes:

J.J. Redick – The Bulls extended an offer to Redick and now the Magic have seven days to match.  Chicago recently signed Kyle Korver, so Redick seems like a bit of redundant overkill.  I guess you can never have too many sharpshooters.  The real loser in a Redick signing would be Korver.

Kyle Korver – Signed with the Bulls.  He’ll get a shot at SG for the Bulls and the guy is a deadly shooter.  Fantasy owners will want to grab him for the threes.  If you are in a league that counts three point percentage, he can carry the category.

Johan Petro – Signed with the Nets.   Stuck behind Brook Lopez so he won’t be worth drafting.

Anthony Morrow – Signed an offer with the Nets.  Golden State has brought in Dorrell Wright, so they probably don’t plan on matching New Jersey’s offer.  Morrow is another three point sharpshooter, but he has Courtney Lee to contend with in NJ.  The Morrow signing doesn’t bode well for the fantasy value of Courtney Lee.  These two might be platooning, which is never a good fantasy situation.  See how the roster shakes out over the summer.

Ekpe Udoh – The arrival of David Lee probably seals Udoh’s fate as a fantasy non-factor.  Nelson will probably glue him to the bench.  Udoh is also dealing with a fairly serious wrist injury which has knocked him out of summer league.  I’ve seen a few reports which describe Udoh as needing ‘months’ to recover from the problem.

Anthony Randolph – Randolph is starting to climb my fantasy rankings.  I’ve seen some talk of him getting plugged into the starting lineup next to Amare.  The guy has talent but just never got a real shot under Don Nelson.   His final fantasy draft position will depend on how much responsibility D’Antoni gives him. 

Tyrus Thomas – Signed to stay in Charlotte and should at least have a similar fantasy value to last season.  Keep an eye on what the Bobcats do with Boris Diaw and Tyson Chandler.  If one of them leaves, Thomas will move up the draft rankings quickly.

Raymond Felton – He’s headed to New York where he should start at PG.  His value will see an uptick with the move.   It’s only a two year deal so look for Felton to play all out to try and secure a nice payoff in 2012.

D.J. Augustin – Surely the Bobcats aren’t going to move Augustin into the starting PG slot?  His fantasy value would skyrocket if it happens.  I expect the Bobcats will bring in an experienced PG sending Augustin back to his reserve role.

Toney Douglas – The real loser of the Felton signing is Toney Douglas.  Felton only got a two year deal, which probably implies that the Knicks will be looking to bring in someone like Tony Parker in the near future or Chris Paul in 2012.  Douglas needs a quick trade out of New York.

Roy Hibbert – Hibbert recently suffered a knee injury.  Not sure how serious it is, but keep an eye on it.

Luther Head – Signed with New Orleans.  He’s stuck behind Marcus Thornton and probably won’t get much of a chance to be a fantasy contributor.  His only real fantasy value is threes.

Michael Redd – I’ve seen reports that Redd isn’t expected to be ready until February at the earliest.  Don’t waste your time drafting him.

Wesley Matthews – Signed an offer sheet with Portland.   First, it’s a great personal move for Matthews.  He barely escaped the D-League so grabbing $34 million is a no brainer given his talent and skill level.   However, the move probably crushes Matthews’ fantasy value since he has to compete with Brandon Roy for time.  Matthews’ fantasy value would be much greater in Utah where he would probably be starting at SG.  See what role Matthews gets in Portland before drafting him.

Ronnie Brewer – If Matthews hits the jackpot in Portland, Utah could bring back Ronnie Brewer.  Brewer was traded to Memphis last season, but wasn’t offered a contract this season by the Grizz.  It would be a huge boost to Brewer’s fantasy value if he returned to the Jazz.

Dorrell Wright – Signed with Golden State.  Wright was a victim of the Miami housecleaning.   He’s a good shooter and there’s no better place for a shooter than Golden State.  He’s probably waiver wire material, but he could make a nice streamer in daily roster leagues.

Weekend Rumors:
Josh Childress
to Cleveland.
Shaquille O’Neal to Atlanta.
Al Jefferson to Cleveland.
Zydrunas Ilgauskas to Miami.
Derek Fisher to Miami.
Louis Amundson to Denver.
Juwan Howard to Miami.
Isiah Thomas for the GM position with the Knicks.  You have got to be kidding me?

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