4 months agoThe Memphis Grizzlies have reportedly acquired small forward
Andre Iguodala from the Golden State Warriors, as first reported by Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. A vital cog in the Warriors' ascent over the past six seasons, Iguodala became a casualty of Golden State's cap space following the reported acquisition of
D'Angelo Russell from the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday. The deal to send Iguodala to Memphis also includes two future 1st round draft picks being shipped out by the Warriors. Iguodala averaged a career-low 5.7 points per game last year, and is entering his age-36 campaign, although his role on the defensive-minded Grizzlies remains up in the air.
--Jesse Borek - RotoBallerSource: Adrian Wojnarowski
4 months agoThe Brooklyn Nets and Golden State Warriors have reportedly agreed upon a blockbuster deal that would send All-Star point/shooting guard
D'Angelo Russell to the Golden State Warriors, per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. Russell will sign a four-year, $117 million max contract extension, and then be flipped to Golden State in a deal, which Shams Charania of The Athletic reports, will include
Shabazz Napier and
Treveon Graham. The move comes in the wake of Golden State losing
Kevin Durant to Brooklyn in free agency earlier in the day. Russell should figure to slot into the Warriors' starting backcourt alongside
Stephen Curry, with the 23-year-old Russell coming off his first All-Star appearance and career high averages of 21.1 points and 7.0 assists per game, along with 36.9 percent shooting from deep in 2018-19.
--Jesse Borek - RotoBallerSource: Adrian Wojnarowski, Shams Charania
4 months agoForward
Harrison Barnes has agreed to a four-year deal to remain with the Sacramento Kings. Barnes joined the Kings in a mid-season trade from Dallas last year and in his 28 games with the team he averaged 14.3 points and 5.5 rebounds per game on 45.5 percent shooting. Barnes was asked to do less in Sacramento than in Dallas, allowing him to post more efficient lines while still increasing his rebound and assist totals. That same scenario looks to repeat itself in 2019-2020, with Barnes playing a complementary role on a young Kings team. He’s an intriguing fantasy option who can help out fantasy managers in a variety of areas, and if he can maintain something close to the 40.8 percent shooting from deep he had last year, he’ll be an important piece for the Kings, even if the contract feels like a bit of an overpay.
--Justin Carter - RotoBallerSource: Adrian Wojnarowski
4 months agoFree agent power forward/center
Ed Davis has agreed to a two-year contract with the Utah Jazz. Davis was a do-it-all bench piece for the Nets last season, averaging 5.8 points and 8.6 rebounds per game. He’s likely heading for the same role in Utah, but playing behind
Rudy Gobert, who should stay on the floor a little more than Brooklyn’s
Jarrett Allen did. Davis will likely see a little run at power forward, but don’t expect him to top the 20 minute per game mark, and he’ll continue to be much more effective and useful as a rebounder than as anything else. Fantasy owners looking for a cheap source of rebounding late in fantasy drafts might have some interest in Davis, but his other numbers are unlikely to be good enough to justify him being in most fantasy lineups.
--Justin Carter - RotoBallerSource: Adrian Wojnarowski
4 months agoWith
Willie Cauley-Stein likely on the way out, the Sacramento Kings were in need of help at the center position. They got that on the first day of free agency, agreeing to a three-year deal to join Sacramento. Dedmon is an underrated big man who can score inside and outside, shooting 38.2 percent on 3.4 threes per game last season and also averaging 7.5 rebounds per game. Both of those skills will be useful in Sacramento, where Dedmon will form an intriguing front line with second-year power forward
Marvin Bagley III. Dedmon should see a slight bump in his numbers with the Kings as he stays on the floor longer, though it’s possible
Harry Giles impresses and eats a little into his minutes. Overall, though, this is a positive move for Dedmon.
--Justin Carter - RotoBallerSource: Shams Charania
4 months agoFree agent forward
DeMarre Carroll has agreed to a two-year deal with the San Antonio Spurs, leaving the Brooklyn Nets after two seasons. Carroll only started eight of his 67 games last year, but he provided the Nets with a solid wing option off the bench, scoring 11.1 points per game and adding 5.2 rebounds per contest. He shot 34.2 percent from three, but he’s shown the ability to shoot in the upper 30s at times in his career and the Spurs will be hoping he can be a solid three-and-d wing off their bench for the next two years. Carroll has likely hit the point in his career where his contributions won’t have a significant fantasy impact, though he should put up solid numbers over the course of the year. His game-to-game consistency, though, could be an issue depending on how the Spurs rotation shakes out.
--Justin Carter - RotoBallerSource: Shams Charania
4 months agoThe Philadelphia 76ers have reportedly acquired guard
Josh Richardson in a sign-and-trade deal with the Miami Heat. The Sixers lost guard
J.J. Redick to the Pelicans in free agency earlier on Sunday, so the acquisition of Richardson helps to fill a key hole in the team’s starting lineup. Richardson isn’t close to the shooter Redick is, as he hit just 35.7 percent from three last season, and overall he shot just 41.2 percent from the field as he scored 16.6 points per game and dished out 4.1 assists. There’s hope that Richardson will gain some efficiency back as he’ll suddenly have a much less pressured role on the offense, but it’s a safe bet to assume Richardson’s numbers decrease across the board even as his shooting percentage rises. Maybe he’ll surprise everyone and establish himself as the team’s secondary playmaker, filling out the role that the departing Butler held, but that trusting he’ll get there is risky.
--Justin Carter - RotoBallerSource: Adrian Wojnarowski
4 months agoFree agent center/power forward
Al Horford has agreed to a four-year deal to join the Philadelphia 76ers. The move came just moments after guard
Jimmy Butler agreed to a deal to leave the Sixers for the Miami Heat. Horford will primarily play the four for Philadelphia and will be able to be the team’s backup five
Joel Embiid, helping fix an area of concern for the Sixers. Horford will likely be used more as a stretch four than he was in Boston, where he still took at least three threes per game in each of his seasons there. The 76ers are going to have some awkward fits in their starting lineup, but Horford is a versatile player who can give the team 13 points and seven rebounds per game as the team’s fourth offensive option. He’s also a good passer for his position, averaging 4.2 assists per game last year. Expect solid production from Horford, at least in the first couple of years of the deal.
--Justin Carter - RotoBallerSource: Adrian Wojnarowski
4 months agoThe Philadelphia 76ers have reached an agreement with the Miami Heat to send guard/forward
Jimmy Butler to Miami in exchange for
Josh Richardson. Butler joins a Miami team that’s been in need of a star player and will instantly be the team’s first option. The real life move puts Butler farther away from a championship, but he’s in arguably a better fantasy position as the main weapon in Miami. Butler’s Sixers stats — 18.2 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.0 assists — were what you’d expect from someone playing second fiddle to
Joel Embiid, but in Miami he should see his points per game rise into the mid-20s again. This makes Butler a fantasy riser at this point, though it’ll be worth seeing if the Heat make any other moves that could bring in another player with the offensive upside of Butler.
--Justin Carter - RotoBallerSource: Adrian Wojnarowski
4 months agoThe Brooklyn Nets plan to sign center
DeAndre Jordan to join the team’s new core of
Kyrie Irving and
Kevin Durant. While the Nets already have a promising young center in
Jarrett Allen, Jordan should get a decent amount of run for the team. He’s still a solid rebounder and rim runner who can score on some Kyrie Irving lobs, but his fantasy value is going to be dependent on whether or not he ends up seeing the majority of Brooklyn’s center minutes or not. Allen is arguably a better player at this point, but Jordan’s a veteran who has a preexisting relationship with Irving and Durant, which might give him a boost in the competition. Keep an eye on Jordan at this point, but until we know how the rotation will shake out, he has the potential to post disappointing numbers this upcoming season.
--Justin Carter - RotoBallerSource: Adrian Wojnarowski
4 months agoThe Orlando Magic are expected to sign free agent forward
Al-Farouq Aminu, who’ll sign a three-year deal and joins an extremely crowded Orlando frontcourt. Aminu is a good player and averaged 9.4 points and 7.5 rebounds per game in 81 games for the Trail Blazers last year, shooting over 50 percent on two-point attempts for the first time in his career. Aminu’s able to hit effectively from deep as well, but there are too many questions about Orlando’s forwards at this point to have a conclusive read on what the situation there will be. If a trade is made to clear things up, I like Aminu as a late fantasy pick on this team, but if things remain as murky as they are now, I’d pass on Aminu as the Magic would just have too many mouths to feed to guarantee consistent production from Aminu.
--Justin Carter - RotoBallerSource: Adrian Wojnarowski
4 months agoWashington Wizards center
Thomas Bryant chose to remain with the Wizards after re-signing with them in free agency. Last season Bryant started on the bench but towards the end of the season earned his spot in the starting lineup. In the last ten games of last year, Bryant averaged 31.7 minutes a game. In those 10 contests, Bryant produced 16.5 points and 10.2 boards an outing. Also during that span, Bryant had almost a three-pointer and a block a game. The sample size is very small but if those rebounding numbers were extended for an entire season Bryant would've been the eight best rebounder in the league last season. For fantasy owners, Bryant should come into the season with very little fanfare and may be able to be had for a late round draft pick.
--Matt Sparkington - RotoBallerSource: Matt Sparkington
4 months agoShooting guard
Gerald Green has agreed on a deal to return to the Houston Rockets. Green’s a streaky shooter who has helped the Rockets during his tenure and he’ll likely end up with the same role he had last season, when he played 20.2 minutes per game, scoring 9.2 points per contest and shooting 35.4 percent from three. Those numbers could increase in games where Green is needed to step up into a bigger role, particularly on nights where
Chris Paul is given some rest, but they won’t be consistent enough on a healthy Rockets team to make Green a viable day-to-day fantasy option. He should be rostered in deeper leagues, though, for the nights where he’s expected to play a larger role.
--Justin Carter - RotoBallerSource: Adrian Wojnarowski
4 months agoThe Houston Rockets and forward
Danuel House have agreed to a deal for House to return to the Rockets. House started 13 games for Houston last year, and in his 39 total appearances for the team he shot 41.6 percent from three and scored 9.4 points per game while grabbing 3.6 rebounds. We’ll have to see how things shake out in Houston, but House has a good chance to be the team’s top bench forward this upcoming season and provide the team with a slight uptick in his numbers from last season. This isn’t a move that shakes the world up, but House is a good, young player with room to grow who should have a consistent role this upcoming season. That’s worth a spot on fantasy rosters.
--Justin Carter - RotoBallerSource: Adrian Wojnarowski
4 months agoFree agent power forward
Julius Randle appears to be the backup plan for the New York Knicks after the team missed out on all the big fish of free agency, as Randle and the team have agreed to a three-year deal for Randle to join the Knicks. While the move clears out room for Zion Williamson to move into the Pelicans starting lineup immediately, Randle’s move to the Knicks could pay dividends for him from a fantasy perspective. Randle averaged 21.4 points and 8.7 rebounds per game last year for a Pelicans team where he wasn’t the team’s first option; in New York, Randle might end up as the team’s leading scorer based on the team’s construction. Randle has a chance to put up 25 points and 10 rebounds per game as a volume guy for this Knicks team and he could be one of the biggest fantasy risers of free agency.
--Justin Carter - RotoBallerSource: Adrian Wojnarowski
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