This (also hopefully) will be a bi-weekly (that means every other week, not twice a week, right?) column for people like me who are constantly trolling the waiver wire for goodies. For those of you haven't watched The Wire, I'm sorry for your loss. For those of you who have, you know that Lester Freamon was the king of the wire, i.e. wiretaps. He was constantly following the money and making chicken salad out of chicken shit. We too want to be the king of the wire.
Potential pickups will be separated into two groups. Stringer Bells are the real deal. These are the "real target" as Jimmy McNulty would say. Kintel Williamsons are stay-aways. If you don't recall, Kintel Williamson was the sucker MC that the Major Crimes Unit briefly followed in Season 3 while Avon Barksdale was in jail and bodies weren't being dropped in West Baltimore b/c Stringer and Prop Joe were running the game like a bidness. Here at WWLFD, we are all bidness too.
STRINGER BELLS
Anthony Morrow -GS, SG/SF (49% owned in Yahoo! leagues): Stephen Jackson: traded. Kelena Azubuike: Done for the year. Raja Bell: So miserable he immediately opted for surgery when he found out he was traded to Oaktown. CJ Watson: Swine flu. Seriously. Stephen Curry: Rookie. There's clearly a void at SG for the Warriors who are going to play up-tempo Nellie Ball all year. Anthony Morrow is a mediocre player, but given the uptempo style and the lack of swingmen for the Warriors, he'll put up some numbers. The guy dropped 47 points in the summer league. I know it's the summer league, but still. He's gonna see minutes and he can fill it up when his shot is falling.
Mike Dunleavy- IND, SG/SF (31% owned in Yahoo! leagues): Listen, I know he's an injury risk, but I'm not telling you to draft him the 4th round. Just drop whatever scrub is rotting on your bench and take a flier on the guy. He's supposed to return to action Wednesday. The Pacers aren't exactly loaded with scorers, which is why Dahtany Jones has been scoring so much (we'll get to him later). After Danny Granger, the Pacers have no other options. He'll probably score 15-16 ppg, grab a few boards, put up good %'s and hit 1.5 treys. Far from bad.
Ersan Ilyasova- MIL, SF/PF (20% owned in Yahoo! leagues): Earlier this year, I hyped up Andrew Bogut and Hakim Warrick. That argument was premised on the gaping void that existed in the Bucks' front court. Well, turns out Hakim Warrick is a dog and Bogut just got hurt. Luc Richard Mbah a Moute hasn't exactly been lighting the world on fire. So, the yawning chasm that is the Bucks' forward spot is still ripe for the taking. He's gotten over 30 MPG in 4 of the last 5 games. In those games he's averaging: 51.7% FG, 78.6% FT, 2.0 3PTM, 15.8 points, 8.6 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 1.4 steals, 0.2 blocks, 1.6 TOs. Those are good numbers. The guy was drafted in the second round by the Bucks in the of the 2005 draft, spent a year in the D-League, rode the pine for a year with the Bucks, and then spent two years with AXA FC Barcelona, one of the best teams in Europe. He's seasoned and taking advantage of his playing time, and so should you.
Randy Foye- WAS, PG, SG (44% owned in Yahoo! leagues): I haven't gone back and forth on any player this year more than Foye. On the one hand, I think he has a ton of talent and possible penchant for putting up big fantasy numbers. On the other hand, he's stuck in a backcourt that involves one the most narcissistic ballhogs in the NBA, and apparently the league's first WNBA cross-over. Wait, Mike Miller's not a chick? He should cut that hair. Not to mention the other viable fantasy options on the Wiz (Jamison and Tough Juice) eating into Foye's numbers. Well, Mike Gehrig Miller is shockingly out (sarcasm alert) for 3-6 weeks with a calf injury. Foye will likely fill in as the starting SG from the Wiz in the meantime. Keep an eye on him, and if you have a roster spot, I say stash him and wait for the inevitable ESPN crawl that reads "Gilbert Arenas (hibachi accident) out 2-4 weeks".
KINTEL WILLIAMSONS
Al Thornton- LAC, SF/PF (50% owned in Yahoo! leagues): Al has been seemingly tearing it up, averaging 22.3 points and 5.5 rebounds on 63.5% shooting over the past week. But the guy is Diet Corey Maggette. He's also been averaging 0.5 assists, 0.3 steals, 0.0 blocks, 0.0 3PTM, and 2.3 turnovers. Yikes. Don't be fooled by the gaudy front-end production. First of all, there's no way a guy who shoots 44% from the field for his career keeps this up. Secondly, Eric Gordon is coming back this week and he will certainly eat into Thornton's numbers. What's more, Blake Griffin will be back in 3 weeks or so and then it's bye bye Al. If you were gonna pick him up, you should have done it 10 days ago when Gordon went down. If you haven't pulled the trigger yet, it's best to stay away.
Dahntay Jones- IND, SG/SF (46% owned in Yahoo! leagues): First of all, I object to how he spells his name. I'm not a stickler for that sort of thing. I'd accept Donte, Dantay, Dontay or even Dantae. But that "H" just pisses me off. Anyhow, this guy is going to see a dip in minutes from fellow lame-ass Dukie Mike Dunleavy's return and will come back to earth. If you picked him up and rode this streak, kudos. It's time to get off the train.
Adonal Foyle- ORL, C (0% owned in Yahoo! leagues): With Colgate's most famous alum set to come back from knee surgery soon, I know everybody is chomping at the bit to tap into Adonal's endless potential for padding your stats in "Minutes Spent in Warmups", "Towel Waves" and "Centers Who Look Like a Black Skeletor" categories. I just think this is a down year for Foyle. Sorry guys.
Potential pickups will be separated into two groups. Stringer Bells are the real deal. These are the "real target" as Jimmy McNulty would say. Kintel Williamsons are stay-aways. If you don't recall, Kintel Williamson was the sucker MC that the Major Crimes Unit briefly followed in Season 3 while Avon Barksdale was in jail and bodies weren't being dropped in West Baltimore b/c Stringer and Prop Joe were running the game like a bidness. Here at WWLFD, we are all bidness too.
STRINGER BELLS
Anthony Morrow -GS, SG/SF (49% owned in Yahoo! leagues): Stephen Jackson: traded. Kelena Azubuike: Done for the year. Raja Bell: So miserable he immediately opted for surgery when he found out he was traded to Oaktown. CJ Watson: Swine flu. Seriously. Stephen Curry: Rookie. There's clearly a void at SG for the Warriors who are going to play up-tempo Nellie Ball all year. Anthony Morrow is a mediocre player, but given the uptempo style and the lack of swingmen for the Warriors, he'll put up some numbers. The guy dropped 47 points in the summer league. I know it's the summer league, but still. He's gonna see minutes and he can fill it up when his shot is falling.
Mike Dunleavy- IND, SG/SF (31% owned in Yahoo! leagues): Listen, I know he's an injury risk, but I'm not telling you to draft him the 4th round. Just drop whatever scrub is rotting on your bench and take a flier on the guy. He's supposed to return to action Wednesday. The Pacers aren't exactly loaded with scorers, which is why Dahtany Jones has been scoring so much (we'll get to him later). After Danny Granger, the Pacers have no other options. He'll probably score 15-16 ppg, grab a few boards, put up good %'s and hit 1.5 treys. Far from bad.
Ersan Ilyasova- MIL, SF/PF (20% owned in Yahoo! leagues): Earlier this year, I hyped up Andrew Bogut and Hakim Warrick. That argument was premised on the gaping void that existed in the Bucks' front court. Well, turns out Hakim Warrick is a dog and Bogut just got hurt. Luc Richard Mbah a Moute hasn't exactly been lighting the world on fire. So, the yawning chasm that is the Bucks' forward spot is still ripe for the taking. He's gotten over 30 MPG in 4 of the last 5 games. In those games he's averaging: 51.7% FG, 78.6% FT, 2.0 3PTM, 15.8 points, 8.6 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 1.4 steals, 0.2 blocks, 1.6 TOs. Those are good numbers. The guy was drafted in the second round by the Bucks in the of the 2005 draft, spent a year in the D-League, rode the pine for a year with the Bucks, and then spent two years with AXA FC Barcelona, one of the best teams in Europe. He's seasoned and taking advantage of his playing time, and so should you.
Randy Foye- WAS, PG, SG (44% owned in Yahoo! leagues): I haven't gone back and forth on any player this year more than Foye. On the one hand, I think he has a ton of talent and possible penchant for putting up big fantasy numbers. On the other hand, he's stuck in a backcourt that involves one the most narcissistic ballhogs in the NBA, and apparently the league's first WNBA cross-over. Wait, Mike Miller's not a chick? He should cut that hair. Not to mention the other viable fantasy options on the Wiz (Jamison and Tough Juice) eating into Foye's numbers. Well, Mike Gehrig Miller is shockingly out (sarcasm alert) for 3-6 weeks with a calf injury. Foye will likely fill in as the starting SG from the Wiz in the meantime. Keep an eye on him, and if you have a roster spot, I say stash him and wait for the inevitable ESPN crawl that reads "Gilbert Arenas (hibachi accident) out 2-4 weeks".
KINTEL WILLIAMSONS
Al Thornton- LAC, SF/PF (50% owned in Yahoo! leagues): Al has been seemingly tearing it up, averaging 22.3 points and 5.5 rebounds on 63.5% shooting over the past week. But the guy is Diet Corey Maggette. He's also been averaging 0.5 assists, 0.3 steals, 0.0 blocks, 0.0 3PTM, and 2.3 turnovers. Yikes. Don't be fooled by the gaudy front-end production. First of all, there's no way a guy who shoots 44% from the field for his career keeps this up. Secondly, Eric Gordon is coming back this week and he will certainly eat into Thornton's numbers. What's more, Blake Griffin will be back in 3 weeks or so and then it's bye bye Al. If you were gonna pick him up, you should have done it 10 days ago when Gordon went down. If you haven't pulled the trigger yet, it's best to stay away.
Dahntay Jones- IND, SG/SF (46% owned in Yahoo! leagues): First of all, I object to how he spells his name. I'm not a stickler for that sort of thing. I'd accept Donte, Dantay, Dontay or even Dantae. But that "H" just pisses me off. Anyhow, this guy is going to see a dip in minutes from fellow lame-ass Dukie Mike Dunleavy's return and will come back to earth. If you picked him up and rode this streak, kudos. It's time to get off the train.
Adonal Foyle- ORL, C (0% owned in Yahoo! leagues): With Colgate's most famous alum set to come back from knee surgery soon, I know everybody is chomping at the bit to tap into Adonal's endless potential for padding your stats in "Minutes Spent in Warmups", "Towel Waves" and "Centers Who Look Like a Black Skeletor" categories. I just think this is a down year for Foyle. Sorry guys.
I know exactly what Lester Freamon would do.
ReplyDeleteHe'd find a stripper with a heart of gold to infiltrate the Barksdale operation. Then, after getting the information he needed and having no more use for her as a spy, he'd start hittin' that.
Lester Freamon don't play.