Answer Guys: Trade Amare Stoudemire?
I'm in a nine-category, 10-team league and I'm doing horribly now, mainly due to injuries to Elton Brand, Al Horford and Andrew Bogut. I want to improve in points, rebounds, steals and FG%. The following players are on the free-agent list: Lamar Odom, Spencer Hawes and Jason Thompson. What is your ranking on those players for the rest of the season on the categories I need? Also, between Hawes and Thompson, who would you prefer as a keeper for next season? Darren
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Dave: I've got your free-agent options ranked in the order you have them listed. For the rest of this season, Odom is the one I'd want on my roster. Hawes and Thompson are decent options, but with Andrew Bynum out of action for at least the next 6-8 weeks, Odom's value spikes up in a huge way. You need to snatch up Odom before it's too late, especially since he's putting up good numbers on the Lakers' current six-game road trip. I'm expecting averages of 14 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.5 blocks out of Odom until Bynum returns.
As far as keepers, I'd rather have Thompson over Hawes long-term. Hawes was the higher-rated player coming out of college, but Thompson is going to develop into one of the better power forwards in the league over the next few years. I love his size and athleticism, along with his shot. He's maturing a little slower than I expected on the defensive end, but the blocks and steals will come for the gifted power forward. It's interesting to note that Thompson used to be a guard before being moved to forward, which explains why he is able to handle the ball so well for a big man. Hawes will be a fine player in his own right, but Thompson has the higher ceiling in my estimation.
I'm in a 12-team, two-player keeper league. Now that we're more than halfway through the season and my team looks like it won't contend, I'm thinking about making some trades with an eye on next year. The player I'd most like to trade is Amare Stoudemire. Which players should I target in a trade? One offer I'm considering is Amare for Joe Johnson, but I'm not sure if that would be a good move with next year in mind. Should I hang on to Amare, or move him? Let me know what you think. FG
Dave: Why would you trade Stoudemire for Johnson? That move doesn't make too much sense to me even with Stoudemire's numbers down from last season. He's still one of the best players in fantasy, especially when you consider he qualifies at center and power forward. I dig Johnson and think he's a great player, but I'm not moving a high-caliber big man that can anchor a fantasy staff for Johnson. If you decide you want to move Stoudemire anyway, you need to aim higher. Players like Dwayne Wade, Dwight Howard, and Dirk Nowitzki, that's who you need to target. If you can't get a high-caliber player in return for Stoudemire, then just hang on to him. It looks like the Suns are considering a major shake-up within the organization and that Stoudemire could be on his way out of Phoenix, but with his talent I don't see his value decreasing at all.
I'm in a very shallow seven-team roto league with nine categories. It's an ESPN standard league with turnovers as the extra category. I'm in third place, roughly 10 points back. My roster looks like this: Jose Calderon, Kevin Martin, Devin Harris, Mo Williams, Monta Ellis, Eric Gordon, Caron Butler, Vince Carter, Kevin Garnett, Mehmet Okur, Pau Gasol, Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Shaquille O'Neal.
I'm trying to trade for assists and steals, but no takers yet. Blocks and rebounds are another area I'd like to improve; however, this is a very stingy league. I've been trying to dump Carter and Okur before they get hurt. Would you shop Shaq as well? I just picked up Ellis about a week ago and added Gordon yesterday. Devin Harris has just been murder in roto for the last month. In such a shallow league, is he droppable? He's almost been like a 1-category player for the past month. Should I just bench him instead? I don't feel like I can drop any of my other players right now, except for Gordon or Ellis. Maybe I should drop a player for one of the following free agents:
Luke Ridnour, Al Horford, Mike Miller, Greg Oden, Joakim Noah, Jermaine O'Neal, Chris Kaman, Tyson Chandler, Nick Collison, Jason Thompson, Mario Chalmers, Russell Westbrook, Kenyon Martin or Darko Milicic.
I just need a little direction please. Thanks. John
Dave: Carter and Okur aren't players I'd be actively trying to move in a trade because I thought they might get injured. Carter has played a full slate of games for the most part since 2002-03 season, so he's not exactly injury-prone. However, he is suffering through a minor ankle injury now, but it's not keeping him out of action and his numbers aren't really suffering. Okur provides you too much statistically to trade for fear of injury. Shaq would be a name to consider moving, but if you need the blocks and rebounds it really defeats the purpose. Unless you can move Shaq in a two-for-one deal with another player to get a huge upgrade, then you need to hang on to him.
I'm not sure what you're referring to regarding Harris' production. He has given you points, assists and steals over the past month. You need to remember that he missed three games as well at the beginning of January, so his averages are going to be down compared to months previous. So no, Harris is not a droppable option, even in your shallow league. Your expectations on Harris are too high. He's already one of the best guards in the league this year, giving you constant production across the board.
Overall, stick with what you've got for now and don't grab any of those free agents. Kaman, Oden, Chandler and Horford are all very tempting, but there's no one I'd unload at the moment.
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