Fantasy impact of offseason NBA moves

September 4, 11:45 AMFantasy Basketball ExaminerBruce Allen

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Another offseason of moves, non-moves and, oddly, defections to Europe.  The majority of these moves have involved players you're not going to want on your roster anyway (think Theo Ratliff).  Some are likely to increase a player's fantasy value, and some won’t.  The effects on the teams are important to lots of people, just not me.  At Examiner Fantasy Hoops, we're all about the players.

Here is the handful of starters elevating in new digs that you should consider for your roster early in the season:
 
Guards:

• Baron Davis, now a Clipper.  Fifth-leading fantasy scorer last season, will undoubtedly maintain that pace in 2008. Played in 82 games.
• Mo Williams, now a Cav.  Gee, getting to set up Lebron and Zman, that should help his assists.  A great player, coming into his own, just what the Cavs need.
• Kevin Durant, who moved from Seattle to Oklahoma City.
• Just kidding.  But Kevin Durant is going to be a star.
• Two players whose numbers will decline this year -- Monta Ellis, who will miss a third of the season, and Michael Redd, who will miss Mo Money. 

Forwards:

• Marcus Camby, now a Clipper.  Playing with Davis, Kaman and Al Thornton, an emerging star, Camby will get plenty of boards, plenty of garbage, and maintain his relatively high fantasy value.
• Richard Jefferson, now a Buck.  Presents matchup problems along with Redd and Bogut, but who’s going to get them the ball?  Again, if he stays healthy, …
• Ron Artest, now a Rocket.  Exactly what the Rockets need, except for the mental illness part.  Artest does it all--scoring, steals, rebounds, the whole package--when he's lucid.  Other days, he wants to be traded to the Klingons.
• Corey Maggette, now a Warrior.  He was a Top 25 fantasy player last season, but missed 12 games and played hurt a lot.  Similar to KMart, when he's healthy, he's good.  He'll get even more shots in Nellie's offense.

Centers:

• Jermaine O'Neal, now a Raptor.  Jermaine has bad knees.  Whether he will contribute to a twin towers with Chris Bosh depends on whether his wheels will allow it.  Calderon will get him the ball when he's mobile.  His numbers will surely go up from last year.  If not, his career is probably over.  He's very old for his age.

Most of the Top 25s in all three positions stayed put this past offseason.  It will take two weeks of games before we see which second-line players are emerging.  Until then, we will go on last season's results.

We'll look at guards in our next entry.