HOOPLOG: Eddie Jones

Oh no you didn't!

Wed, 29 Mar 2006 11:18:01 -0800

(AP Photo/ Mark Weber)" />For the second game in a row, Ray Allen won a game with a buzzer-beater, proving once again that anyone who thinks the Sonics would trade Ray-Ray for Ben Gordon is a retard. (Yes, Sam Smith, we're looking at you!)

Yao What Do I Do?

Thu, 22 Dec 2005 16:23:36 -0800

So I had a strategy this year going into the draft. It was pretty simple – draft players who were likely to play 80 games, take the best player available over the first 6-7 rounds but also make sure to get two solid centers so I wouldn’t have to play the dreaded “Find a Second Center” game, and do not ignore percentages. It worked pretty well, I think. In a 12-team league I got Dirk-Yao-Pau-Kirk-Cuttino-Sheed-Rip with my first seven picks. I felt that with those picks guys I had seven guys who would stay in my lineup all season, and that included two centers and two guys with an outside shot at qualifying at center.

So you can imagine my frustration now that Yao is going to miss approximately six weeks with a booboo on his big toe. First off, I don’t doubt that the big man is in pain, as when you are 7’6” and nearly 300 pounds, your feet have a lot of weight on them. But the thing is, Yao was playing his best ball of the season right before he got hurt. His last three games before sitting down he was averaging 26/11/1 on 62% from the field on 15 shots per game and 85% from the line at nearly 9 attempts per game. His blocks had been disappointing all season, but you can’t complain about those other numbers. If he had been putting up 14/6 on 43% shooting over five games before going down, then maybe I’d comprehend it a bit more. But as it is, it just doesn’t make sense.

So now I’m stuck without my #2 draft pick for at least a month. Lots of you are in similar situations, if not with Yao then with many of the other guys fighting injuries. So what to do? Don’t freak out. Stick with your strategy. You did have a strategy, right? For all the advice we give on guys who make hot pickups and all that, my team has remained pretty much in tact the entire season. With Eddie Jones and Marquis Daniels as my only SF, I needed some help there so I dumped Daniels this morning (with Josh Howard and Jason Terry back in full force, there’s simply not enough production to go around I feel) for James Jones, who should be able to help me out in 3s when he moves back into the starting lineup. That was just my fourth roster move of the season.

Yao leaves a big hole for me at center, but I kept Brendan Haywood around for this specific reason. This was another part of the strategy – don’t be left without a quality backup at the key positions, those obviously being PG and C. Haywood’s no star, obviously, but he certainly qualifies as a quality backup. His PT is a bit volatile, swinging between 20 and 30 minutes per night, but he does what you want a fill-in center to do: hit a high percentage of his shots and block some shots. His 57% from the field should come down a bit, but he is a 53% career shooter, so there shouldn’t be too much of a drop off. A good number of his shot attempts are layups/dunks/follows. And at 2.0 blocks per game, there are only 14 guys better than him there. What you want from injury fill-ins is to not lose ground. Everyone team in your league will suffer through injuries at some point during the season, and how they deal with them will go a long way towards determining who will end up at the top of the standings.

One thing I certainly won’t be doing is making a panic deal for another center. If you play in a league with people that pay attention, most people will see someone with Yao on their team and think that they’ll be able to gouge that owner for an extra center. The odds just aren’t in my favor in a situation like this. Would I love to someone like Jermaine ONeal manning my other center spot instead of Brendan Haywood? Of course. But to get him I’d have to deal from another strength, and then you invariably end up creating more holes for yourself. Basically, I go with under-management as opposed to over-management as a general rule. That is, as long as you have good players.

And I suppose I should address the Rockets frontcourt situation. As one helpful, anonymous commenter pointed out, Stromile Swift did indeed get nutted by Chris Bosh last night, which led to his receiving the same PT as Lonny Baxter. If Stro has recovered he should be back in the starting lineup as long as Dikembe Mutombo is out. But unless he really explodes, it’s hard to see Van Gundy sticking with him as a starter when Mutombo comes back. The Rockets were having enough trouble outscoring anyone with Yao, so without him they’ll need to be even tougher on D, and even in his second century in the league, Mutombo is still a solid defensive presence. If you are willing to use a roster spot on someone who will help you in blocks while killing you in every other category except rebounds, have fun with Mutombo. As for Juwan Howards … he’s just so boring. He just doesn’t help you anywhere – his per 40 numbers are .7 steals, .1 blocks and 0 3s. He’s shot exactly 45% from the field the past three years, so you know what to expect there. He’ll basically need to go for 21 and 12 like he did last game every night to have even mediocre value.

That should do it for me for a few days, at least in terms of posted content. Have a happy holiday of your choosing.

New! Updated! Top 20!

Tue, 15 Nov 2005 09:38:42 -0800

Every couple of weeks here at FBB, we update our rankings of the elitest of the elite. Basically, we’re treating this like a new mock draft. If your draft was held today, how would it look? This is our best guess.

1. Kevin Garnett, SF, Min
Sure the free throws are a concern, but there is a reason this guy went #1 in many drafts – consistency. He’ll come around.

2. Dirk Nowitzki, PF, Dal
You can yell all you want, but right now I’d take Dirk over LeBron. A plus in every single category except assists.

3. LeBron James, SF, Cle
Boards, blocks and steals are all half of what they were last year. Junior slump? He’ll break out of it, but still.

4. Shawn Marion, F, Pho
No Amare means the Matrix is an inside presence on offense – that means more boards, but less (as in ZERO) three pointers made so far this year.

5. Tim Duncan, F/C, SA
That 85% from the stripe will come down, but if it stays over 75%, he returns to elite status.

6. Tracy McGrady, G/F, Hou
If there are two things that don’t go away, it’s knee problems and back problems. T-Mac has both. You’ve gotta worry about that.

7. Kobe Bryant, SG, LAL
He’s scoring 2 more ppg this year, but it’s taking him 6 more shots because of the lack of threes and the fact that he’s not getting to the line as much as in the past. Steals and assists are also down, but those should come.

8. Dwyane Wade, G, Mia
With Shaq out, he’s been carrying the load. His stats remind me of Lebron last year, minus the threes.

9. Gilbert Arenas, PG, Was
FBB’s hometown hero is making us proud. He won’t shoot anywhere near 50% this year, but if he can stay over 43%, he’s a top-ten pick next year.

10. Allen Iverson, G, Phi
Last year was no fluke. AI as a PG is the real deal.

11. Paul Pierce, G/F, Bos
Off to a hot start – his 8 boards, 26.3 points, and 48% from the field all would be career highs. All will come down eventually, but not by much.

12. Steve Nash, PG, Pho
Has yet to miss from the stripe. Still, how long can he keep this up, with no Amare?

13. Elton Brand, PF, LAC
61% from the field? That will have to come down eventually, but the uptick in blocks is encouraging.

14. Jason Kidd, PG, NJN
If you can overlook the lack of points and FG%, he’s a top fantasy PG.

15. Marcus Camby, C, Den
Ok, we can’t let him slide any further. This guys deserves his own column – maybe we’ll get to him this week.

16. Ray Allen, SG, Sea
The steals are a nice surprise, and the rest is classic RayRay.

17. Peja Stojakovic, SF, Sac
He’s baaaaaack. The Kings may be struggling, but it’s not Peja’s fault – his 3.3 threes and 97% from the stripe are flat out awesome.

18. Vince Carter, G/F, NJN
If you thought he’d maintain that 27 ppg from last year, you were crazy, but he’s turning in a very nice year so far.

19. Andrei Kirilenko, F, Utah
A total lack of shooting (from the field, the stripe, and the arc) combined with an ankle injury means AK-47 is our biggest slipper so far.

20. Richard Jefferson, F, NJN
There’s a lot to like about Jefferson right now, but our favorite numbers are the 9 boards and 4.6 assists. A higher-scoring Lamar Odom, sorta.

Just missing the cut:
Yao Ming, Chauncey Billups, Eddie Jones, Lamar Odom, Antawn Jamison, Michael Redd.

The Truth Is Out, Part 2

Tue, 01 Nov 2005 09:39:57 -0800

So BV did his draft recap and now it’s my turn. Like he said, we start 10 players (PG, SG, G, SF, PF, F, C, C, UT, UT), with three bench spots, 12 teams. So it’s a pretty deep league, and it’s very competitive. Hard to slip sleepers past these guys. Guys like Zaza Pachulia, Marquis Daniels, Eddie Griffin, Mike James, etc. were all gone by the 9th round, for example. My strategy going in was to heed my rankings, take the best player available with most picks, not get too hung up on positions, and not to ignore percentages, which always seem to give me problems. Let’s see how I did.

1st Round (4th overall): Dirk Nowitzki, PF
I was hoping that Marion would fall to me, but he went #3. It’s hard to complain about Dirk, and if continues to trade in a few 3s for a few more blocks, I’ll take it. He’s 27, clearly in his prime, clearly the top option on a perennially high scoring team, and he set career highs in blocks, assists and points last year. I’m banking on a repeat. I was tempted to take Kobe, and even a little tempted to shock the world and take Kirilenko, but in the end Dirk was the obvious choice.

2nd Round (21st overall): Yao Ming, C
I told my dad the day before that draft that if Yao was there for me at 21 I would take him, and I stuck to my word. Even in his “disappointing” season last year he finished 17th on the player rater, and he seems bound to take a leap forward this year, if he can continue to improve his game and his minutes per game by 3 or 4, which is a distinct possibility. I certainly liked him more than Jermaine O’Neal, and I was thought about Vinsanity and Mike Bibby, but a dominant center in the second round without reaching was too good to pass up.

3rd Round (28th overall): Pau Gasol, PF
I deliberated a whole lot here. Gasol was the highest person left on my board, but I’ve drafted him the past two years and have been burned before, by a frustrating rotation and injuries. And did I really want to go with three big men with my first three picks, after I preach about PGs so much? In the end I decided to trust myself and go with Gasol. All three players so far are big men with very solid percentages and Gasol, like Ming, seems likely to increase his effectiveness and playing time as he enters his prime and will be the featured player on a thinned-out Memphis squad. His foot problems are a concern, but I went with him over Bosh, Joe Johnson and Rashard Lewis.

4th Round (45th overall): Kirk Hinrich, G
I was absolutely thrilled to get Captain Kirk near the end of the fourth round. He was my highest ranked player left and I desperately needed a top flight PG. The next four picks – Boozer, Camby, Redd, Parker – show what a drop-off there was. Kirk’s FG% is rather brutal, but I’m hoping those first three guys could help offset it.

5th Round (52nd overall): Cuttino Mobley, SG
The middle rounds are always the toughest, and my strategy was to not give in to hype and to instead draft players who I felt would be sure-thing, solid contributors all season. Mobley may have been a bit of a reach, but he has a history of playing 40 mpg and he could very well see that on a thin Clippers team. And you know he’ll be launching his share of 3s, as well. I was strongly considering Lamar Odom, but figured I had plenty of boards and could use a gunner.

6th Round (69th overall): Rasheed Wallace, FC
Another steady, unspectacular pick. Rasheed has a solid all-around game and the fact that he qualifies at center means that I don’t have to worry about depending on one of those “who the hell knows?” guys that ended up going in the next few rounds. His percentages are rather weak, and he might have some clashes with Flip Saunders, but his track record shows steady production and good health. I might very well regret not going with Rafer Alston or Donyell Marhsall at this spot.

7th Round (76th overall): Richard Hamilton, SG
The ultimate safe pick. I’m not a huge fan of Rip’s fantasy game, but in the 7th round it’s hard to argue. I often overlook points, and Rip is always a nice source. He’s another great free throw shooter, and even if he doesn’t match his 5 apg of last year, he should be a solid contributor (see a theme developing?) there. He’s another person who you can leave in the lineup and not worry about, and I think my first seven picks, while lacking in flashiness are extremely solid.

8th Round (93rd overall): Mark Jaric, G
Here’s where you can start going for riskier picks. Or, at least that’s what I’m saying in retrospect. I don’t love this pick, at all. I’m a huge fan of Jaric’s potential, but he’s always hurt and depending on him as my #2 PG has disaster written all over it. If he stays healthy, I’m rather confident this pick will be a steal, but that’s very iffy. His high assist rate might also drop since Minnesota runs its offense through KG.

9th Round (100th overall): Josh Childress, GF
On the other hand, I was thrilled to land Childress in the 9th round. He was actually the only player that I’ve hyped up this season that ended up on my team. He was almost a top 50 player in the second half of last season, and can help in just about every category. Tayshaun Prince went three rounds earlier and I think Childress will end up with the better numbers at the end of the year.

10th Round (117th overall): Eddie Jones, GF
BV hates this pick, but I stand by it. If he was able to finish 52nd on the rater last season when he averaged nearly five points less than he had the past few seasons, he looks to have a slight resurgence in Memphis where he will be looked to as one of the main options behind Gasol. He had a horrid preseason, but this is one of those cases where I’ll take the 10 years of stats over the few preseason games. If he turns out to be a total bust, it’s only a 10th rounder.

11th Round (124th overall): Brendan Haywood, C
OK, this was a pure homer pick, I admit. Brendan is my girlfriend’s favorite player and I figured by having him on my team, I just bought myself a good 40-50 extra hours of basketball watching this season, at least. And for a third center, he’s not so bad, and it’s always nice to have a player on your favorite team to root for. It was the 11th round – Juan Dixon, Lorenzen Wright and Charlie Villanueva were the next three picks – I feel fine about this. That said, it came down to him and Mike Dunleavy and if I wasn’t a Maryland grad who was a Wizards fan, we know who I would have picked. I hope this one doesn’t haunt me.

12th Round (141st overall): T.J. Ford, PG
This one really upset BV, who cried shenanigans since I have not spoken well of Ford at all here on FBB. But hey, player value is all relative – in the 12th round, with Hinrich and Jaric as my only two PGs, I feel this is a strong pick. I still think Mo Williams is just as good of a player, at least this season, and Ford is a major injury risk, but I needed the depth.

13th Round (148th overall): Mike Sweetney, PF
With my last pick I decided to go with someone with some decent upside but also someone I wouldn’t mind jettisoning early on. Each year the waiver wire offers a few players who emerge in the first few weeks of the season that turn out to be quite valuable and you have to be ready to pounce on them. With news that Sweetney will be coming off the bench initially, and knowing that Scott Skiles can be downright Sloan/Hubie Brown-ish when it comes to rotations, Sweetney might be packing his bags soon.

So there’s my team. I think that it’s pretty (here comes that word) solid top to bottom. My top four picks are all young and in their primes, and the rest of my squad is a good mix of established vets and young, but not necessarily green, players. I don’t have any one-category studs and instead am relying on a group effort to put me at the top of most categories. I’m admittedly thin at point guard, but you know that I’m always ready to rotate through the flavor of the week at that position.

Thoughts on who has the better squad, myself of BV???

Enjoy the first games of the season tonight. Go Dirk!

Overall Rankings: 91 to 120

Thu, 20 Oct 2005 17:00:35 -0800

1 to 30
31 to 60
61 to 90

91. Jamaal Tinsley – The ultimate tease; few can match his 3s/steals/assists combo, but he plain cannot shoot or stay healthy.
92. Eddie Jones – Certainly on the downside of his career, but can handle lots of minutes and hit 3s with the best.
93. Al Harrington – Won’t ever have a huge breakout like some had hoped, but should be solid as long as minutes are there.
94. Morris Peterson – See above.
95. Gerald Wallace – His big numbers (for his position) in steals and blocks will do a lot to offset his seriously lackluster shooting.
96. Ricky Davis – He’ll start, yes, but averaged 33 mpg last year and wasn’t anything all that special.
97. Sam Cassell – Could be a disaster, but Livingston is young and injury-prone; can’t forget how consistently awesome Sam was the three years before last.
98. Mike James – As long as he’s starting, he’ll be well worth using.
99. Mike Sweetney – Needs to lock down starting job, but will be a rebound/FG% monster if he does.
100. Sebastian Telfair – If he could shoot the 3 he’d be better, but 6.7 apg and 1.4 spg in April make him an OK option.
101. Mehmet Okur – As always, potential is there, but he’s usually frustrating to own with Sloan getting much of the blame.
102. Joel Przybilla – Ask the folks who drafted Mark Blount and Samuel Dalembert last year how reliable big men who finish strong are.
103. J.R. Smith – Hasn’t shown he can do anything but shoot a bunch of 3s; don’t go crazy with the kids.
104. Troy Murphy – We’re never too high on non-hustle stat guys, but if the Warriors run enough he should have some value.
105. Ben Gordon – Have to think he’ll break into the starting lineup eventually; still is a pretty one-dimensional player.
106. Raja Bell – Someone will probably jump the gun thinking he’ll replicate JoeJohn’s numbers from last year; that’s quite unlikely, but he should be solid.
107. Al Jefferson – Pick him up in January after the guy who drafted him too early gets frustrated and drops him.
108. P.J. Brown – Keeps on plugging away; needs to get that FG% back up to around 47%, but will be underrated as usual.
109. Wally Szczerbiak – His strong percentages make him worth having around, especially if he can get back up to 15 shots per game.
110. Nenad Krstic – Another one of those strong-finish big men to be wary of, especially since he doesn’t block many shots.
111. Brendan Haywood – OK, a bit of a homer pick, but it’s not unreasonably to expect 2 bpg with very nice boards and FG%.
112. Erick Dampier – He might be interested, he might not. His 12/12 with 2 blocks from a couple years is hard to ignore, but honestly, you probably should.
113. Eddy Curry – All of the big men in this batch have major questions, so just pick one you like. Could be an offensive force, but don’t expect any rebounds or blocks all of a sudden.
114. Jameer Nelson – He seems to be buried right now, just can’t understand why; 14.9/4.0/4.6 with 1.5 spg and 1.2 3pg after the break shows he’s more than ready.
115. Bonzi Wells – Is slated for lots of PT, but doesn’t have the greatest game and can get on coaches’ bad sides quickly.
116. Theo Ratliff – Even in a very off year averaged 2.5 bpg; if Przybilla isn’t for real should get a chance to reclaim his starting job.
117. Darius Miles – Perennial tease, but Portland is very thin this year and he does get a decent number of steals and blocks for his position.
118. Eddie Griffin – Yet another perennial tease, but he can be very effective with only 25-28 mpg.
119. Raymond Felton – We think he’ll get there eventually…
120. Brevin Knight – But until then, these two are going to hurt each other’s value.

2005 Fantasy Basketball Busts

Wed, 12 Oct 2005 14:58:04 -0800

Knowing who to draft, obviously, is important. Equally important is to know who (whom?) NOT to draft. The guys listed below are guys that we feel might be over-valued, which isn’t to say that they shouldn’t be drafted, but you should let them slide past their “projected” spots for a few rounds. Most of these guys are long-time veterans who are losing these luster – others are overhyped young’uns. Each are dangerous.

PG: Sam Cassell, LAC – Cassell was no doubt a disappointment last year both for fantasy owners and his real-life owners. Now that he’s been shipped to the Clippers and handed the starting job over Shaun Livingston, some might expect a rejuvenated Cassell. Don’t be fooled – he’s simply holding the spot for Livingston, and we wouldn’t be surprised to see the youngster starting by Thanksgiving. Other potential busts: Jamaal Tinsley, Mike James.

SG: Eddie Jones, Mem – This is it for Eddie Jones as far as fantasy value goes. In an ideal situation last year, getting 35 mpg as a third/fourth option with plenty of outside looks, only his three-pointers really kept him off the waiver wire. This year, expect no more than 25-27 mpg, and a spot on your bench until he proves himself worthy. Other potential busts: Michael Finley, Ben Gordon.

SF: Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Sac – Back in his heyday, Abdur-Rahim was probably overrated as a fantasy player, putting up some of the emptiest 20 and 10 seasons this side of Zack Randolph. Now that he’s getting older, on a team where he’s no better than the fourth option, and competing for playing time with Kenny Thomas and Corliss Williamson, we’re very happy to wait until the 6th or 7th round before considering him. Other potential busts: Mike Dunleavy, Darius Miles.

PF: Juwan Howard, Hou – I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know with Howard. His value is borderline at absolute best. He might go in the last couple of rounds but I wouldn’t even spend a pick on him there. His health and playing time are both in doubt, and there are much better risks to take late. Other potential busts: PJ Brown, Keith Van Horn.

C: Michael Olowokandi, C – We’ve got a saying here in Washington: Fool me once, shame – shame on you. Fool me twice … uh … I won’t get fooled again! Olowokandi has been fooling fantasy players just about every year, and now, with a rotation at center and a coach he’s off on the wrong foot with, Kandi man has finally given us a reason not to draft him this year. Thanks, Mike! Other potential busts: Eddy Curry, Joel Przybilla.

Anyone else out there that some of you guys think are overvalued?

2005 Fantasy Tiers By Position: Shooting Guards

Tue, 04 Oct 2005 10:15:55 -0800

Ah, the shooting guard. Perhaps the deepest of all the positions. But that doesn’t mean you can wait ‘till the end of the draft to take one. If you’ve done your research, and if you can afford to do so, grabbing an elite SG early in the draft can be huge for your team.

On a side note, there are a TON of players listed at GF. DM wanted to list them in both SG and SF tiers, but there’s just not time for that. So we somewhat arbitrarily divided them up according to where they generally play. Anyhow:

Tier One: Tracy McGrady, Kobe Bryant, Paul Pierce, Vince Carter, Ray Allen.
These are the guys that 10 year old kids are pretending to be in their driveway. They are a boon for any fantasy team and if you can get one, you’re off to a great start. It’s tough to pass up a top PG or C in the first 2 rounds, but in some situations, it’s the best move. These guys should all be gone by the end of the second or beginning of the third round.

Tier Two: Manu Ginobili, Joe Johnson, Larry Hughes, Jason Richardson.
This is the “yeah, but …” tier. All of these guys COULD be over-valued. Johnson and Hughes are on new teams. Richardson has to play a full year with Baron Davis. And Ginobili exploded in the playoffs, perhaps over-inflating his value on the national stage. Still, they should all at least be solid, and if you can get any of them in the fourth round, you should.

Tier Three: Michael Redd, Rip Hamilton, Cuttino Mobley, Andre Iguodala.
As deep as we like to think that the SG position is, the truth is that this is the last tier that consists of folks you can stick in the lineup and just not worry about. All of them will undoubtedly have plenty of playing time and, while all of them have different strengths, they’re all very low-risk.

Tier Four: Bonzi Wells, Jamal Crawford, Stephen Jackson, JR Smith, Ricky Davis, Jerry Stackhouse.
Every position has a high-risk, high-reward tier. Yesterday with point guards, we found it fell in the Fifth Tier. Here with SG’s, it’s the fourth. These guys, admittedly, aren’t huge risks, but come the end of the year all are capable of having put up 20 ppg with decent numbers surrounding it. At the same time, they can also end up with 12 ppg and have borderline fantasy value.

Tier Five: Ben Gordon, Eddie Jones, Morris Peterson, Gordon Giricek.
This is the last group of shooting guards who should be drafted. Yes, there are probably other ones who could potentially have fantasy value, but if it’s the last round, you should be scouring the scarcity positions for that deep sleeper, not the shooting guards. These guys are nice fantasy filler, mostly bench guys that could be on and of the waiver wires all year with the possible exception of Gordon.

Tomorrow: Small Forwards

Offseason Overview: Memphis Grizzlies

Wed, 31 Aug 2005 09:33:10 -0800

Lots of names, but not a lot of fantasy help. So it’s been in Memphis for the past few years, and it doesn’t seem like things will be much different this year. While the cast has changed, the story remains the same, with very few players that you can plug into your lineup on a consistent basis. That said, let’s see if we can find a few gems:

The stud: Pau Gasol, F
After bursting onto the fantasy scene as a rookie, Gasol has spent the last three years disappointing his owners by failing to live up to the statistical standards he set for himself in his first season. Sure, the problem is the minutes, not the player, but nonetheless you have to assume that he won’t hit 2 blocks or 8 boards until the strategy changes. He’s going to be a nice pick around the 4th round, but no sooner.

The support: Damon Stoudamire, PG
OK, I’ll admit, this is pretty much a total guess. Between Stoudamire and Bobby Jackson, it’s hard to say for sure that Stoudamire will get enough minutes to really be a worthwhile fantasy player. Nonetheless, he hits a lot of three pointers, so he will certainly find his way onto plenty of fantasy teams this year as a second PG.

The supporting support: Mike Miller, G/F
Players like Mike Miller can be extremely frustrating to own, but you’re not going to find them on the waiver wire too often. Sure he won’t help much in boards, assists, or defensive categories, but he shot over 50% last year and managed 1.8 3’s per game.

The sleeper: Shane Battier, SF
Battier isn’t really a sleeper, as I don’t expect him to blow up this year, or even really improve on his numbers at all. But I think that a lot of FBB players overlook Battier simply because he doesn’t excel in any one category. But he averages around 10 ppg, 6 boards, a block, a steal, and a three, with good percentages. He won’t hurt you anywhere – and that’s more than you can say for a lot of players on fantasy rosters.

The slacker – Eddie Jones, SG
The end may be nigh for Eddie Jones as a viable fantasy option. Last year, he was in pretty much the perfect situation for himself – as a spot-up third option behind Shaq and Dwayne Wade. But his scoring dropped by 5 points, and he didn’t really look all that great. Now he’s in a crowded Memphis backcourt, and I can’t see him getting anywhere near the 35.5 mpg he got last year. Look for Jones to be bouncing on and off the waiver wire all year long.

West hopes experience will aid Grizzlies (AP)

Tue, 16 Aug 2005 00:15:20 -0800

Jerry West made it clear Monday what he expects to gain from shaking up the Memphis Grizzlies lineup. ``We want to win some playoff games,'' West said as he welcomed Eddie Jones, Bobby Jackson and Damon Stoudamire to Memphis. The three NBA veterans join the Grizzlies in the team's biggest one-blow roster shake-up since the franchise moved from Vancouver four years ago.

Shaq vs. Kobe on Christmas again

Sat, 06 Aug 2005 15:18:58 -0800

For the second year in a row, Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant will face off on Christmas Day. And new Heat point guard Jason Williams and Memphis swingman Eddie Jones will see plenty of their former teams early next season....

Eddie could return to Heat?

Fri, 05 Aug 2005 09:33:50 -0800

Eddie Jones, 33, spoke about extending his career and still being able to play the game he loved. But if he still doesn't have a championship ring when his current contract expires after the 2006-07 season, he would like to...

Heat even more optimistic about future (AP)

Thu, 04 Aug 2005 09:33:00 -0800

Saying goodbye to longtime starter Eddie Jones was difficult for the Miami Heat. Acquiring a slew of new players, most of whom should make immediate impacts, cushioned the blow. One day after helping pull off the largest trade in NBA history, Heat president Pat Riley insisted the move -- along with the signing Shaquille O'Neal to a new deal -- will pay quick dividends and set Miami up for a...

Heat Making the Moves

Wed, 03 Aug 2005 09:01:50 -0800

Link: SI.com - Heat to deal Jones for Walker in five-team trade

Big deals in the NBA hardly ever happen, the logistics involved in making all the salary numbers work and having all the teams walk away happy after a deal usually makes things very difficult.

Now that the moratorium on player movement has been lifted, all the trades and signings we've heard about over the last month are being comfirmed. Although we all heard of the deal that would have brought Jason Williams and James Posey to Miami, who knew this would have turned into the biggest trade in NBA history.

Five teams were involved and thirteen players. Antoine Walker (who has been on the Heat's rumoured interest list) goes to Miami along with Jason Williams and James Posey. This has to put the Heat up there with Cleveland as the most improved team this off season, ouch for the rest of the Eastern Conference. The Heat also got some smaller nuggets in this, Andre Emmett from Memphis and the draft rights to Roberto Duenas (yikes) from New Orleans.

The Memphis Grizzlies received a very good defender in Eddie Jones from the Heat, Raul Lopez to fill their point guard need.

The Utah Jazz received Greg Ostertag back, after leaving for one season when he signed with Sacramento and was aquired by Memphis in the Bonzi Wells deal.

The New Orleans Hornets receive Rasual Butler from the Heat and Kirk Snyder from the Jazz... man i'm having a hard time keeping this straight.

FInally, Boston received Curtis Borchardt, Qyntel Woods, Albert Miralles, Roberto Duenas and two second round picks.

If we analyze the trade in the traditional fashion, then the team with the best player wins the trade and that would be Miami.

The free agency season rollercoaster isn't quite over, it's just begun, but this is obviously the biggest bang we are going to hear.

C's Get Earl Watson & Dorrell Wright!

Tue, 02 Aug 2005 15:53:29 -0800

According to RealGM:

RealGM - The Miami Heat, Memphis Grizzlies and Boston Celtics have reached a tentative agreement on a three-team trade according to an NBA source close to the negotiations who spoke with DraftExpress.com's Jonathan Givony.

The Miami Heat will receive Antoine Walker via a sign-and-trade from Boston, as well as Jason Williams and James Posey from the Grizzlies.

The Grizzlies will receive Eddie Jones from Miami and Marcus Banks from Boston.

The Celtics will receive Earl Watson via a sign-and-trade from Memphis, as well as Dorrell Wright or Miami's trade exception.

Watson's inclusion in the trade is a new twist to the deal, satisfying their need for a starting point guard. He will reportedly receive the mid level exception.

If true, this is MUCH better than the deals we've been hearing about all day. I'd LOVE this.

Heat's Eddie Jones may be dealt to Memphis

Tue, 02 Aug 2005 09:46:03 -0800

Sources said the Heat is discussing a trade with Memphis that would bring guard Jason Williams and forward James Posey in exchange for forward Eddie Jones. If the Heat trades Eddie Jones then Posey, a veteran who struggled with injuries...