I spent some time away from the computer yesterday. I needed a little me time, a little time for Josh to be Josh. So I got my favorite sandwich from Subway. Curled up by the fire with a glass of wine and my favorite John Grisham novel. Watched some March Madness action. Went to the salon and got my hair did. You know, normal guy stuff.
When I did finally open up my browser to check the latest NBA Trade Deadline news, things got a little cray. Fire rained down from the ceiling. Sirens started blaring outside my window. Lights all around my apartment started flickering on and off. I can’t be certain of this, but I’m pretty sure Tom Cruise peed in my sink. Essentially, all hell had broken loose.
I had missed it all. JaVale McGee took his stupidity to the Mile High City. Nene became the next in a long line of overpriced player to waste away with the Wizards. The Nets made a desperate “please don’t leave us, Deron Williams” plea by picking up Gerald Wallace. Ramon Sessions earned a chance to be the guy whose job is to only pass the ball to Kobe, all the time. Hell, Stephen Jackson got traded for the second time this week. Add in the Monta Ellis for Andrew Bogut trade that took place earlier this week and it was an interesting flurry of deadline moves, to say the least.
But don’t you worry your pretty little heads. We here at Razzball are here to break down all of the latest NBA moves and what they mean to your pretend squad.
BUY
Ramon Sessions – Walk. Run. Fly. Saunter. Meander. Strut. Hasten. Do whatever you want to do, but get over to your waiver wire and make sure Ramon Sessions finds a place on your team. Sessions posted ridiculous 18-point/13-assist per game averages in three games early-February starts when Kyrie Irving was hurt, showing his ability when given extended run. He won’t post numbers nearly that good deferring to Kobe more often than not, but 13-7 with a three and some steals every game is nothing to shake a stick at.
Luke Ridnour – Say it ain’t so, Ricky Rubio! Rubes tore up his ACL last week, ending what had been a stellar rookie campaign. But Ridnour still has the ability to complete the all-white triangle Rick Adelman has created in Minnesota, averaging 14 points and 10 assists since Rubio went down. With Kevin Love and Nikola Pekovic still banging around inside, Ridnour will continue to post solid, if not flashy, numbers.
Goran Dragic – Goran Dragic sounds more like a video game character than a professional basketball player. He doesn’t play for a team; he’s the leader of his guild. He’s not a point guard; he’s a level-40 mage. He doesn’t score a lot of points; he does a lot of damage per second. (Don’t judge me: I have nerd friends.) But the World of Warcraft-sounding Dragic can ball. He’s averaging 17 points, eight assists, two threes and a steal per game over his past four, and should continue to get run with Kyle Lowry out for the foreseeable future.
Klay Thompson / Nate Robinson – The Warriors might be a bad team, but at least last week their fans could say, “Hey, at least we get to watch Stephen Curry and Monta Ellis go on massive scoring binges on a nightly basis.” Now? They sit slumped on their couch, watching in the dark as Nate Robinson and Klay Thompson run the guard position and swearing loudly at the TV every time the announcers mention Andrew Bogut’s name. But Nate-Rob has gone for 18.5 points and seven assists in place of the injured Curry and Thompson has averaged 20 points and 4.5 assists in the two games since he moved into the starting lineup. So there’s still value in Golden State.
Jornick Youngford – Shut up. I know I told you to rid yourself of both of them last week. But recent activities have made their fantasy-outlooks look a little more favorable. Nick Young might take a couple of games to learn the Clippers offense—and he definitely won’t be able to volume-score like he did in Washington with Chris Paul running things—but he’ll definitely develop some value there. And Jordan Crawford? He’s been given full leeway to put on that “I hate passing” t-shirt and jack up 40 shots while shouting “ME! ME!” in his new role as the Wizards’ starting shooting guard.
Kenneth Faried – A big part of the reason Nene is on his way out of Denver, the rookie out of Morehead State (hehe, Morehead) can really play. He’s averaging nine points, seven boards and more than a block per game in mostly limited minutes, but he’s double-doubled five times in the past month and has the potential to do it more often with the extra minutes he’s going to gain. BOARDS AND BLOCKS! HUSTLE AND HARD FOULS! THAT’S WHAT THE MANIMAL DOES!
SELL
Stephen Curry – Ok, don’t actually sell Steph just yet. But there’s talk of him potentially shutting down his paper-mache ankle for the rest of the season. So while you wait for the news-gauntlet to be dropped, feel free to watch YouTube highlights of him actually playing while shame-eating a pint of Haagen-Dazs ice cream covered with a topping of your partially-frozen tears.
Kyle Lowry – He has a bacterial infection and will miss, at the very least, two to four weeks. That takes us to the heart of the fantasy playoffs, a period of time you can’t afford to be holding an incapacitated player on your bench, especially one that poses a health risk to the rest of your team (he could be contagious). Run, don’t walk, to cut Lowry and get Dragic on your team.
Randy Foye – He has the ability to score, pass, rebound and hit threes. He starts, or used to start, on an offense that also features best-point-guard-on-the-planet Chris Paul and human highlight reel Blake Griffin. In theory, he’s got what takes to be a valuable NBA two-guard. Except he’s not. He asked you out, took you out to dinner and a movie, gave you a kiss on the cheek and said he was going to call you. But he didn’t. While he’s got the potential to be a good guy, with averages of 12 points, two assists and two rebounds per game as a starter, he’s really just a jerk.
Richard Jefferson – There’s just not going to be enough minutes to go around in Golden State at the swing position. While Jefferson had no trouble getting 30+ minutes per game playing on San Antonio’s premier retirement home team, he’s not going to have that same luxury with the Warriors. Dorrell Wright and Brandon Rush are still going to get their minutes, and you could do better if all you’re looking for is a 3-point gunner who does little in the rebound or assist category.
Samuel Dalembert – Folks, we have a chance to see something that’s never been seen before in NBA history. With Marcus Camby joining the Houston’s frontline rotation, the Rockets now have two players who could legitamely average double-digit boards while scoring less than 10 points per game. I swear, if I see Camby and the Hatian Sensation finish a game with six points and 11 rebounds each, I’m going to lose it. But yea, neither needs to be owned.
