NBA's Most Wanted by DavidHuet on 2009-03-04
Finder's Keepers - Top 100 by DavidHuet on 2009-03-02
Brad Miller reuniting with the Bulls by DavidHuet on 2009-02-18
Tyson Chandler marked "Return to Sender" by DavidHuet on 2009-02-18
Finder's Keepers - Top 100 (Week 17) by DavidHuet on 2009-02-17
NBA's Most Wanted (Week 17) by DavidHuet on 2009-02-15
Marion for O'Neal (Again?) by DavidHuet on 2009-02-13
Timberwolves Center Jefferson out for season by DavidHuet on 2009-02-10
Dave's tip of the week! by DavidHuet on 2009-02-07
Morrison moves onto LaLa Land by DavidHuet on 2009-02-07
No this time it's not for Shaq. ESPN reports that the Heat have worked out a trade to send Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks to the Raptors for Jermaine O'Neal and Jamario Moon. It's a trade we all heard was going to happen for weeks, but they finally found a way to make the deal happen.
Fantasy Effect: Well Shawn Marion was not producing at his old level with the Heat this year. I would expect his value to spike, but not to reach the epic levels he did with the Suns run-and-gun style.
For all of those that drafted Mike Beasley this is a good day for you. With Marion gone Beasley should be getting more looks at the forward spot, as I expect O'Neal to be the starting center (when his knees allow).
Andrea Bargnani will now be the starting Center for the Raptors. I assume they will go with a HUGE lineup of Marion at SF, Bosh at PF (when he's healthy again) and Andrea at Center. But anyone who knows Andrea knows he plays like Dirk-lite or Rasheed or Okur so expect more of those solid rebounds mixed with a handful of trey's stat-lines. My prediction would be 16pts, 6reb, 2ast, 1.5 3's a night. Which is a huge value spike and I would advise grabbing him if you can.
Jermaine O'Neal's value is still about the same. While Shaq's numbers jumped this year with a new team (after getting traded from the Heat last year) the boost wasn't immediate. Also, we just don't know how much gas is left in Jermaine's tank (or the millage on his knees!) so we have a classic wait and see situation.
Jamario Moon will also be about the same value. Will he start at SF with Beasley at PF? Maybe. Will Beasley be the 3 and Haslem be the 4? Probably. But it's a coin flip, and something the team will probably toy with for a little bit before they get it right.
(PS. On a personal note why couldn't this deal happen yesterday - BEFORE Marion got a game-winning dunk on my Bulls?)