Trade Reaction: Marion to Toronto, O’Neal to Miami

Posted by Brandon Haraway Categories: Trades, Toronto Raptors, Miami Heat

In a deal expected to be finalized Friday afternoon, the Miami Heat traded Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks to the Toronto Raptors for Jermaine O’Neal and Jamario Moon.

Has a guy ever been traded hours after hitting a game-winner?  Well he has now.

Anyways, this trade better suits the Heat’s system, and fulfills Pat Riley’s desire for a big.  But for Toronto, it makes them a legitimate playoff team.  At the moment, they are second-to-last in the East, but only four games out of a playoff spot.  This gives them a trio of Jose Calderon, Marion, and Chris Bosh that might be capable of going on a tear and making some noise.

As far as fantasy goes, one has to assume Marion’s numbers go up.  We’ll likely see Bosh play some center and Marion play at the four, because behind O’Neal, was Jake Voskuhl on the depth chart.  Winners here are Marion, Jason Kapono, and Joey Graham.  They’ll be picking up Moon’s minutes plus some of the minutes created by the shifting around of Bosh to center.

On the Miami side, not much should change.  They basically had no center, so this helps there.  Michael Beasley might get some more minutes, and it remains to be seen if Moon starts.  If not, Beasley would likely get the nod.  This effectively kills any value that Jamaal Magloire and Joel Anthony had in deep leagues.

I’m predicting some noise made by Toronto…

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Dropping Dimes Mock Draft: The Fifth Round

Posted by Alvin Lai Categories: H2H, Site Features, Talent

The season has started, so we have decided to wrap up our mock draft blog. Unfortunately we only got through four rounds. Refer to the master list for a recap of the picks. Hopefully your own draft(s) went well, and my condolences if you drafted Greg Oden. Oden obviously has a lot of potential and hopefully his ankle injury on opening night is not serious.

Just for the interest of our readers, here are the players we had slated to write about in the fifth round.

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Dropping Dimes Mock Draft: Round 1, Pick 12 - Dwyane Wade

Posted by Scott Sargent Categories: H2H, Props, Roto, Site Features, Talent, Miami Heat

The end of the first round appears to be the land of boom-or-bust.  Just a pick earlier, we saw Gilbert Arenas fly off of the board.  Not long before him, Caron Butler’s entrance into the first round could make or break a few seasons.  Needless to say, getting this guy with the 12th selection this season could prove to be quite a steal, assuming he plays to even half of the level which we saw against the rest of the world during the Olympic games.

Though he ruined many of fantasy seasons last year, I have no hesitation in selecting…

Dwyane Wade, PG/SG, Miami Heat

Click to continue reading Dropping Dimes Mock Draft: Round 1, Pick 12 - Dwyane Wade

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You, SIr, Are No Greg Oden

Posted by Scott Sargent Categories: NBA Draft, Rookies, Talent, Miami Heat

Those of you that have read my work in the past know that I’m not a huge fan of taking the fantasy plunge with rookies on draft day.  For every Chris Paul and Dwyane Wade, we’ve had a Darko Milicic and Michael Olowokandi.  This year, we will be faced with decisions on when to take members of this year’s draft class.  If you inking of giving Michael Beasley the “Kevin Durant treatment” and take him in the early middle rounds, maybe this will make you think twice:

MIAMI (AP)—Michael Beasley’s first official practice with the Miami Heat ended quickly.

Beasley was struck in the chest by an inadvertent elbow during a defensive drill about 45 minutes into Miami’s first summer-league workout session Wednesday, and the No. 2 overall pick in last week’s NBA draft was taken to a doctor for observation.

Obviously, the team may just be a little touchy with their prized possession from a few Thursday’s ago.  But if the kid can’t take an elbow during drills, what is he going to do when Brendan Haywood comes to town?

Beasley catches elbow, leaves 1st Heat practice [AP]

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Prospect Pro Specs: Michael Beasley

Posted by Alvin Lai Categories: NBA Draft, Site Features, Talent

The Knicks had the fifth worst record this past season. How would “Be Easy” play in the Big Apple? The educated guess would have to be the Knickerbocker faithful would be supremely pleased if the ping pong balls dropped their way when the draft lottery takes place. The Knicks have a new coach in Mike D’Antoni. Who wants to bet he will miss the desert when he’s trying to turn Zach Randolph and Eddy Curry into the new Amare and Matrix show?

How the Knicks get made over will be one of the stories to follow this summer. Will it be another “cold” lottery card that lets the Knicks land the big prize on draft day? (Look into the Patrick Ewing draft conspiracy stories if you do not know what I’m referring to.)

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Consolation Playoffs in the NBA?

Posted by Alvin Lai Categories: Editorial, Site Features, New York Knicks, Chicago Bulls, Indiana Pacers, Milwaukee Bucks, Charlotte Bobcats, Miami Heat, Memphis Grizzlies, Minnesota Timberwolves, Portland Trailblazers, Seattle Supersonics, Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Clippers, Sacramento Kings

Most of us fantasy fanatics are in some sort of consolation play this week. After all, only two teams in each league can vie for the championship. How are things over in the “real” NBA? Well, the Golden State Warriors are playing almost .600 ball and are still trying to claw into playoff position. How’s that for a tough break?

In my league with family and friends, the teams in the consolation bracket battle for draft position next year. The winner of the consolation playoffs gets the first overall pick, the runner-up gets second pick and so on. It’s enough incentive for everyone to continue setting their lineups, and it’s enough of a prize that people take it seriously enough to put forth the effort. If you have a league with little GM turnover year to year, this is something you can do so that everyone can enjoy fantasy hoops right to the very last day, not just the finalists.

Perhaps the NBA should adopt a consolation playoff format and the winner gets first pick in the draft. This certainly would guard against bad teams tanking it at the end of the season.

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Playoff Primer 2008: Western Conference

Posted by Alvin Lai Categories: H2H, Northwest Division, Denver Nuggets, Minnesota Timberwolves, Portland Trailblazers, Seattle Supersonics, Utah Jazz, Pacific Division, Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers, Phoenix Suns, Sacramento Kings, Southwest Division, Dallas Mavericks, Houston Rockets, Memphis Grizzlies, New Orleans Hornets, San Antonio Spurs, Waiver Pick Ups

The shoot-out in the wild Western Conference has been great to follow, has it not? The top nine teams are separated by only 6.5 games. Every day the standings shift. Right now Phoenix sits in sixth while Dallas ranks seventh! This bodes well for fantasy owners as the best teams in the West should all be playing meaningful games down the stretch. Here’s a rundown of each team’s fantasy playoff schedule.

Click to continue reading Playoff Primer 2008: Western Conference

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