Razzball Nation!!!!!!!!
If you have been around the Razzball block, you may have seen my stuff as a regular writer for Razzball Football (along with Co-Host of the Razzball Fantasy Football Podcast with @NickCapozzi) and an occasional contributor for Razzball Baseball. If not, then I say hello Basketball world! I will be taking over the reins as the editor-in-chief for Razzball Basketball (while continuing my contributions to our other fine sports sections) and look forward to making different jokes about the same players. Get ready for numerous Sam Cassell looks like E.T. references.
I know Chris has been a boss, but do not fret! He will still be chipping in here and there and will not be lost!
A little bit about me – I have played fantasy for eons, mainly the big three (sorry Hockey), and as a Charlotte Hornets fan during their brief existence, I have no team allegiances (sorry Bobcats). I have a pretty sweet job; I work for a tech company that makes the player highlights for Yahoo Fantasy Basketball. So 5-6 games a week, I make those slick highlights with a team of about 10 (so if something is wrong it’s probably not me!). At the end of every article I’ll let you know my next games, be tweeting analysis during them (my twitter is @jbgilpin), and will have some additional, in-depth perspectives.
I look forward to writing for you guys and answering all your comments. Longest intro ever! Let’s check out the trades that went down before this afternoon’s 3:00 PM EST trade deadline:
Bucks Get: J.J. Redick, Gustavo Ayon and Ish Smith
Magic Get: Doron Lamb, Tobias Harris and Beno Udrih
The Bucks get some guard depth and Redick should have a similar 6th-man role coming off the bench that he thrived in with Orlando. Beno Udrih might get a few starts with Jameer Nelson missing a few games. An OK short term pickup, but I wouldn’t get too excited. I really like what I’ve seen from Gustavo Ayon. He joins Ekpe Udoh and John Henson in a crowded backup front court. But I could see Ayon getting more minutes that those guys, but still isn’t really fantasy relevant for most leagues. Tobias Harris was getting some run earlier in the year, and with Orlando starting Moe Harkless and Andrew Nicholson in their front court, I could see Harris getting some time. This is the biggest trade of the day?
Rockets Get: Thomas Robinson, Francisco Garcia, Tyler Honeycutt and a Second-Round Pick
Kings Get: Patrick Patterson, Cole Aldrich, Toney Douglas and one millllllllllllion dollars. (Plus a new location)
Analysis: Thomas Robinson immediately becomes a great add in virtually all leagues. Averaging 15.9 minutes a game on the season, that should be doubled as he moves into Houston’s starting lineup. The Rockets let go of both of their underwhelming PF platoon-mates with Patterson going to Sacramento, and Marcus Morris getting dealt (see below). I don’t think Robinson is refined enough to be a consistent scorer, but he’s a fantastic athlete that could push up to 8-9 boards, a few dimes, a block and a steal a night. Kinda like a PF Eric Bledsoe with a rainbow line. Ask Charlie Sheen what a rainbow line is. He’ll tell you it’s coke laced with Pixy Stix. Enough with the Charlie Sheen jokes today, Razzball! Everyone else in this deal is a Schmohawk. You could argue this is a bigger impact move than J.J.
Suns Get: Marcus Morris
Rockets Get: A Second-Round Pick in the 2013 Draft
The only importance here is that it clears out room for my new boyfriend, T-Rob. I already picked him up in all my leagues he was available. I guess it’s also cool Marcus joins twin brother Markieff. You wonder if their parents didn’t know they were going to be twins and were like, “We like the name Marcus but what about this other one? Marrrr – kief I guess.” Everyone likes twins reuniting. Just ask the 50-year-old single dudes that rented The Parent Trap while I worked at Blockbuster. The Rockets been a fun team to watch this season, and they got rid of both of the players at their least fun position at PF. OK, well maybe Omer Asik isn’t exactly a human highlight reel, but he gets fantasy numbers! Might be a Rockets fan over any other team right now.
Blazers Get: Eric Maynor
Thunder Get: Trade Exception
With Reggie Jackson taking over the backup role in OKC, Maynor had no minutes coming his way. Now he can back up Damian Lillard and at least get a few minutes. Lillard is unreal, but now Maynor is only one injury away from being a really interesting asset. If you’re in a super deep league with Lillard and have a ton of bench room, I’d stash Maynor if I could.
Celtics Get: Jordan Crawford
Wizards Get: Leonardo Barbosa
After some nice flashes (easy Paris Hilton), Crawford has fizzled into a four-game DNP-Coach’s Decision abyss. Crawford will find his way into the guard mix in Boston, but both Courtney Lee and Avery Bradley have played well enough, so don’t expect Crawford to get major minutes. The Wizards just get some money off the books with Barbosa making the league minimum recovering from a torn ACL. The league minimum? $1.2 dollars. Say whaaaaa? Barbosa gets to make that as his salary poppin’ some nice meds as he recovers. He might as well be a Real Housewife.
Bobcats Get: Josh McRoberts
Magic Get: Hakim Warrick
Charlie Day’s look-a-like heads to Charlotte, who plans to rack up as many ACC players as they can try to get. Remember Sean May? Exactly. McRoberts could get an uptick of minutes backing up Bismack Biyombo, who is as offensively inclined as this guy shooting a free throw. With the Magic rebuilding, don’t expect Warrick to do too much. Which pains me. Because I like Warrick, I don’t think he’s ever gotten a good shot. The Bobcats made him play center for god’s sake!
Mavericks Get: Anthony Morrow
Hawks Get: Dahntay Jones
Meh. Neither guy plays much and won’t change.
Raptors Get: Sebastian Telfair
Suns Get: Hamed Haddadi And a Second-Round Pick
Nothing too big here, but Telfair was playing well before the Suns decided to see what they had with first-round pick Kendall Marshall. Telfair gives the Raptors much needed PG depth behind Kyle “Back Spasms” Lowry and John Lucas “I wish I was the coolest third, damn that RGIII” III. Lucas put up double-digits in four in a row before last night’s game, but he’ll lose out to Telfair. Haddadi has played in a total of 13 games and 87 minutes on the year. Yawn.
Thunder Get: Ronnie Brewer
Knicks Get: Future Second-Round Pick
Brewer never really fit with the Knicks, so he helps out Thabo Sefolosha defensively on the perimeter. With Harden putting up 46 on em last night, you could see why they made this move. Brewer will maybe get a steal a night, but isn’t too interesting. With Maynor gone, OKC has that room for another guard.
Turns out it was all quiet on both the Western and Eastern fronts. Pretty underwhelming, especially with Josh Smith remaining on the Hawks even though it looked like he was gonna get slung faster than nose candy in the ATL hood. I know I left out the Dexter Pittman deal, but he’s in the D-League. If you play fantasy D-League, then more power to ya.
Game Tonight: Miami @ Chicago – My highlights tonight don’t go on Yahoo, but will be on the TNT Overtime stream. If you haven’t watched this yet, it’s pretty cool. The highlights will go over the timeline on whichever angle you choose (I am limited to the action cam). I’ll be tweeting out some good plays and some fantasy analysis. Catch you tomorrow!
