Here is the first article in what I hope to make a series, the Fantasy Basketball News Roundup. Once a week, we get some storylines and then explore how they affect your plans for fantasy. Here we go!
Mark Williams went down again, this time with a shoulder. I’m as shocked as you. Just when you think you know basketball, something like this comes out of left field and slobber knocks you. He’s out for five months, but it’s Mark Williams, and you would have a hard time justifying a stash.
So the obvious move is bump up second-year man Khaman Maluach, correct? Well, maybe? Oso Ighodaro exists and was ahead of him in the rotation last year. Another question is Miles Bridges. He and Dillon Brooks form a physical if undersized frontcourt, but rumors out of the desert suggest a small-ball lineup will be part of their weaponry. Maluach is my guy. Love Man Man, and he’s going to be great in the future. But like most young guys, the future predictions are baked into the current hype. If Maluach gets 20 minutes that’s a win for his career, and he’d flirt with fantasy relevance there given his nose for boards and blocks. Just be mindful of the price.
Ben Simmons signed with the Kings. lol. But don’t just ignore him; they’re terrible and he could get minutes. Wait and see, wait and see. If there ever was a low-pressure environment for him to succeed it’s Sacramento. But still……………….lol.
Jalen Duren is making some noise about signing for the qualifying offer and leaving Detroit next season. Probably won’t affect much this season; Detroit wants to win. It does underscore the upside of Paul Reed, however. With no Isaiah Stewart, and Duren averaging 28 minutes, Reed has an easy path to over 20 minutes. To underscore again, people are spending top 30 picks on Walker Kessler when guys like Reed are available later. Duren, by the way, will have his normal season. No worries. Possibly you should worry about my obsession with Paul Reed.
There have been some noise about Jonathan Kuminga and why he signed with the Wolves. Specifically, the rumor is that he wouldn’t sign with the Bulls because they wouldn’t promise him a starting role or a finishing one. Now, that is being assumed that the Wolves HAVE promised him this. That’s simply not true; they wouldn’t need to do that. Kuminga meant that to sign in Chicago he would have to be promised that role. (Side note: Chicago Twitter is wild. Someone even comped Josh Giddey to Magic Johnson. Like, how? How can that be an actual thought?) So Kuminga looks to be a starter for the Wolves, but Ayo Dosunmu is a better real-life player and shouldn’t be forgotten. Kuminga chose to go to a contender on a prove-it deal, so good for him. In my ranks, though, Ayo is still a 28 MPG guy and should be able to keep producing at the same level as last year. Kuminga will start the season as a starter, but nobody’s promised it for the entire season.
That’s it for this news dump. Thanks for reading and see you later this week…
