Offseason Moves: Peja Joins Paul

Stay strong, fantasy NBA faithful – we're inching ever closer to the start of the 2006-2007 season, with training camps and preseason action just over a month away. And with the majority of high-profile free agents having been signed, let's take some time and consider how the fantasy values of players who have switched teams will be affected by a change of address.

Mike James (from Toronto to Minnesota)
Fantasy owners will likely approach James in one of two ways this season. If he was on their rosters last season, then there will be cautious optimism that he will approach his career numbers of last season. If they watched him produce for someone else last season, then there will be a healthy skepticism that he will even get back to the general vicinity of last season's contract-year production. James easily averaged the most minutes of his career in 2005-2006, and with it came career-high numbers across the board. If you extrapolate his career numbers entering last season to the same 37.0 minutes per game, they work out to 14.3 points, 1.8 threes, 3.8 rebounds, 5.4 assists, and 1.4 steals. Outside of his more assertive offensive game, those numbers are fairly consistent with this past season's. One thing that James can do very well is hit an open look, and playing alongside Kevin Garnett and Ricky Davis will allow James to keep his score-first mentality. He may not top 20 points per game again this season, but James' production should once again be very good, placing him on the cusp of the top 10 fantasy point guards.

Peja Stojakovic (from Indiana to New Orleans/Oklahoma City)
It was fairly apparent in the early going last season that Peja and the Kings needed to part ways. After the mid-season trade to Indiana, Peja added six points to his field goal percentage and brought his overall numbers much closer to where fantasy owners anticipated them to be, and now he has a chance to make a truly fresh start. Pairing with Chris Paul on the Hornets figures to be mutually beneficial, as both players will help take some of the defensive pressure off of the other – Peja will be presented with numerous open jumpers thanks to Paul, and Paul will find the lane a bit less cluttered thanks to Peja. Throw in David West, and the Hornets now have a supremely gifted trio on their roster. The effects of Peja's slow start in 2005-2006 could carry over to drafts this coming season, and if he falls far enough, he could end up with as high of a return on investment as anyone.

Ben Wallace (from Detroit to Chicago)
There's not a lot of mystery involving Wallace's signing with the Bulls. He has essentially replaced a much less consistent and productive version of himself in the Bulls' lineup in Tyson Chandler, whom the Bulls hoped would play great defense, rebound, and score only if/when the opportunity arose. Wallace will be counted on for the same, so don't anticipate a new team affecting his fantasy production a great deal. What you should take note of are his recent regressions in rebounds, blocks, and free throw percentage, however, when gauging his draft value this coming season, which will be among the top of the second-tier centers.

Al Harrington (from Atlanta to Indiana)
Harrington returns to Indiana after two seasons with the Hawks. The Pacers have made apparent their intentions to go small this season, with Jermaine O'Neal logging the majority of his minutes at center with Harrington at power forward. Thankfully, the small lineup will also allow fantasy hoops darling Danny Granger to log significant minutes this season – this signing was initially greeted with shock by those already on the Granger bandwagon. Harrington's game is what it is, and doesn't figure to change much now that he's back in Indy – he's scores at a decent clip but has marginal percentages, he doesn't post great defensive numbers, and his assist-to-turnover ratio always stays close to 1:1. His rebounds could move closer to eight per game, but that's never been one of his strong points, either. Harrington should remain near the end of any list of the top 15 power forwards in fantasy basketball.

Speedy Claxton (from New Orleans/Oklahoma City to Atlanta)
Claxton's signing with the Hawks immediately put him on my list of point guards to target in the later rounds of upcoming drafts. The Hawks are thrilled to be able to hand the point guard reigns to Claxton – to this day, I find it hard to believe that Royal Ivey started 66 starts last season – and move Joe Johnson back to his natural shooting guard position. His career per-35 minute averages include 13.4 points, 5.9 assists, and 2.0 steals. His modest percentages and lack of threes will need to be accounted for elsewhere on your roster, but, for reference, 2.0 steals per game would have placed him in a tie with Dwyane Wade, Shawn Marion, and Gilbert Arenas for third in the league among qualified players last season.

Bonzi Wells (from Sacramento to ?????)
Wells remains the last unsigned free agent who figures to make a significant fantasy impact. According to The Sacramento Bee, Wells and his agent "are still waiting for a taker," and it is anticipated that Wells will have to settle for a one-year offer at some point. Speaking from a fantasy perspective, teams that might have room for Wells in their starting lineups include the Magic and the Hornets – Keith Bogans appears to be the current favorite in Orlando, while the Hornets will likely be using Desmond Mason at shooting guard.

Vladimir Radmanovic (from LA Clippers to LA Lakers)
Radmanovic moves to the other Los Angeles team, and the extent of his role at this point is still not completely clear. If he were to be named a starter, Lamar Odom would move back to power forward, and either Kwame Brown or Chris Mihm would be the starter at center with the other moving to the bench. Even if he were to be named a starter, it's hard to envision his playing much more than the 30 minutes per game he averaged last season. His fantasy value remains the same, as that of a three-point specialist with very few contributions elsewhere. He should be targeted in the later rounds of drafts by a team strictly looking for someone to pad the 3PTM category.

Nazr Mohammed (from San Antonio to Detroit)
Mohammed was signed by the Pistons in the hopes that he'd fill some of the gap left by Ben Wallace's departure. Mohammed struggled in his tenure with the Spurs after experiencing some success with the Knicks. He should see much more consistent playing time in the pivot in Detroit, and while his 2004-2005 averages with the Knicks (10.9 points, 8.1 rebounds, 1.0 blocks in 28.1 minutes) seem like realistic expectations, he could approach 12 points, 10 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks if the new digs prove to be a good fit. He is certainly worth a late-round flyer at center.

Marcus Banks (from Minnesota to Phoenix)
Banks' signing will cause a ripple effect on the Suns' roster in regards to fantasy production. Banks should see a slight up-tick in fantasy value relative to his stint in Minnesota in slightly less playing time – look for more threes while everything else remains roughly the same. Steve Nash figures to play slightly less on a nightly basis this season, but his incredible efficiency should keep his fantasy value relatively constant. Leandro Barbosa will now see his playing time almost exclusively at shooting guard behind Raja Bell, and it's difficult to imagine him topping last season's numbers. James Jones likely becomes all but a forgotten man in the rotation, particularly with the additional signing of Eric Piatkowski.

John Salmons (from Philadelphia to Sacramento)
Salmons' numbers as a starter last season (9.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists in 24 games) are more than likely indicative of his role with the Kings. As a jack of all trades, master of none, he could see time at point guard, shooting guard, or small forward, just as he did in Philly. The one prospective starting position would be shooting guard, but sleeper du jour Kevin Martin is at the least anticipated to fill that role at this point. Either player would prove a solid late-round pick as the starter, so this is one roster situation that is worth tracking once NBA camps open.

Darius Songaila (from Chicago to Washington); DeShawn Stevenson (from Orlando to Washington); Jared Jeffries (from Washington to New York)
Songaila, Stevenson, and Jeffries are listed together because their movements each have affected the other. Jeffries' departure from the Wizards opens up a spot in their starting lineup, which could potentially be filled by Stevenson or Songaila. Stevenson is a defensive-minded player, much like Jeffries, and could fill a similar role – even with a starting job, his fantasy contributions are next to none. Songaila could start at power forward, with Antawn Jamison moving to small forward and Caron Butler starting at shooting guard – in this scenario, Songaila would merit a look in deeper leagues for some scoring and good percentages. It goes without saying, but Jeffries has at least as little fantasy value now that he is on the Knicks' roster as he did with Washington. He adds to the logjam already in New York – how Steve Francis, Jamal Crawford, Quentin Richardson, and Jalen Rose find minutes in the rotation at shooting guard and small forward is anyone's guess at this point.

Matt Buser is a Yahoo! Sports fantasy expert. Send Matt a question or comment for potential use in a future column or webcast.

Updated on Tuesday, Aug 29, 2006 4:48 pm, EDT

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