The NBA is in the midst of a free-agency frenzy, so I?ll review who has agreed to deals and what top players are still available as of Sunday night. I?ll also take a look at some rookies and 10 sleepers for next season.<u>FREE AGENTS AND TRADES</u>Several marquee names have been in the news this weekend and at the top of the list is LeBron James. The Cavs have offered him a max-deal but he has yet to accept the offer. As usual, Cleveland fans will be shaking in their boots until James agrees to terms. Nothing is guaranteed at this point, but early indications are that he?ll agree to the deal and stay in Cleveland. We?ll see.Carmelo Anthony accepted Denver?s max offer, securing his future in Denver for years to come.Jason Terry agreed to a long-term deal with the Mavericks, who will now shift their focus to Dirk Nowitzki and Josh Howard.The Clippers made some early noise after agreeing to deals with both Sam Cassell and Tim Thomas. Thomas helps them make up for the loss of Vladimir Radmanovic, who is headed to the Lakers. It?s unclear whether the Clippers will start Tim Thomas or Corey Maggette in their new lineup, and they?ll have a similar decision to make regarding the point guard position. Shaun Livingston appears to be ready to take the reins, but Cassel?s new two-year deal could mean he?ll hold onto the job a little longer.If I had to guess right now, I?d say the Clippers starting five on opening night will be Cassell, Cuttino Mobley, Chris Kaman, Corey Maggette and Elton Brand, but Thomas or Livingston could easily be in there instead of Maggette or Cassell.The Hornets made two huge acquisitions by agreeing to terms with Peja Stojakovic and Bobby Jackson. That gives them two big threats from the outside and addresses one big need (outside shooting) as J.R. Smith?s days in New Orleans are quickly coming to an end. They still have plenty of question marks at the center position, but a starting five of Chris Paul, Bobby Jackson/Desmond Mason, Stojakovic, David West and P.J. Brown looks pretty darn good. They may not be done yet, as they?re still trying to acquire a center. Aaron Williams and Marc Jackson will come off the bench as of now, but they?re not the answer for the Hornets.And a trade went down around midnight on Friday that sent point guard T.J. Ford to the Raptors for forward Charlie Villanueva. This should work out nicely for both teams, as the Raptors have desperately been searching for a point guard and the Bucks had too many of them in Milwaukee.Potential opening-night starting lineups:Raptors: PG Ford, SG Morris Peterson, C Rasho Nesterovic, SF Joey Graham/Andrea Bargnani and PF Chris Bosh.Bucks: PG Mo Williams, SG Michael Redd, C Andrew Bogut, SF Bobby Simmons and PF Villanueva.Both of those lineups look like they have potential to be very good teams.Ben Wallace, Al Harrington and Joel Przybilla have not yet decided where they?re going to play next season, but the Pistons have made an offer to Wallace. If I had to guess where they?d end up, I?d say that Wallace will re-sign with Detroit, Przybilla is going to Chicago, and Harrington may be headed back to Indiana. Wallace could easily end up with the Bulls as well, depending on if they make an offer larger than Detroit?s Sunday offering of four years and $48 million.Other guys looking at a possible change of address are Lorenzen Wright (welcome home, Stro), Chris Wilcox (may stay in Seattle), Nazr Mohammed (Bulls?), Francisco Elson (Atanta?), Drew Gooden, Keith Van Horn, Jared Jeffries, Bonzi Wells, Flip Murray (Denver?), Fred Jones, DeShawn Stevenson, Speedy Claxton, Mike James (Houston?) and Marcus Banks, among others.<u>ROOKIES</u>Here?s my top five rookies in terms of fantasy value next season. And no, Renaldo Balkman is not on the list. In fact, his own college coach recently came out and said he can?t believe the Knicks took him at No. 20.1. Adam MorrisonHe?s almost guaranteed a starting job, starter?s minutes and we already know he can score. The future is now in Charlotte. Thirteen points, two threes and four boards sound about right for him.2. Brandon RoyRoy is ready to play in the NBA and is the early pick to be Rookie of the Year. There are currently more questions than there are answers in Portland, but Roy should end up with a lot of playing time once the smoke clears. He could be a 10-4-4 guy this season.3. Andrea BargnaniThe Raptors didn?t take him with the No. 1 pick to be another Darko Milicic. He should crack the opening-night starting lineup (if he can beat out Joey Graham) and start shooting jumpers right away. Eleven points and three boards sound about right, but the seven-footer should be launching his share of threes as well.4. Shelden WilliamsThe Landlord is NBA-ready and the Hawks will need a big man to pull down some boards on opening night, especially with Harrington likely gone. Williams is also a born leader and could come out of training camp with a big ?C? on the shoulder of his jersey. He?s going to see his fair share of double-doubles this season and should average around 10 points and seven boards, while blocking 1.5 shots per night.5. LaMarcus AldridgeIt?s tough to say that two players from the same team will have stellar rookie campaigns. However, since it looks like the Blazers will probably lose Przybilla and already traded their other center (Theo Ratliff), Aldridge will have no choice but to be ready to play in the paint for the Blazers this year.<u>SLEEPERS</u>Here are 10 guys in no particular order that should have fantasy value this year. They could exceed expectations, but then again, if they keep showing up on sleeper lists, those expectations will continue to rise.1. Marvin WilliamsAtlanta will look for him to step up this year and he could crack the starting lineup. He may still be a year or two away from having a lot of fantasy value, but he should get it going this year.2. Tony AllenWith his knee injury and legal problems soon to be behind him, Allen could play an important role in the new-look Celtics offense.3. Fred Jones and Danny GrangerSome are suggesting Jones needs to get out of Indiana in order to blossom, and that?s a real possibility given that he?s a free agent. However, with Peja gone, the Pacers could probably use him in their starting lineup. Granger looks to step into the starting small forward job though, and could be in store for a big year if Rick Carlisle sets up some plays for him.4. Mike DunleavyCame on a bit late last year and could finally blossom into a fantasy stud this year. But don?t overpay for him.5. James Jones ? Leandro BarbosaWith Tim Thomas gone, Jones and Barbosa should be designated shooters in Phoenix again this season, but both will probably have to do it off the bench.6. Damien WilkinsHas shown flashes of brilliance thus far but may still be buried on the bench. If Rashard Lewis gets traded, Wilkins could find himself in the starting lineup at some point.7. Carlos BoozerHe was very solid when he finally put on a uniform last season, and it looks like his injury woes may be behind him now. The only question is, where is his head? He doesn?t have the fantasy value he once held, but he could be a steal if he sticks around until the fourth or fifth round in fantasy leagues this year.8. Sebastian TelfairHe should be the starting point guard for the Celtics this year, but you won?t want to overpay for the speedster. He should be taken sometime after the fourth round.9. NeneNene probably won?t be drafted too high due to his knee issues, but if he?s healthy and can play, he?ll offer plenty of boards, steals and blocks, while killing your free throw percentage. He agreed to a six-year, $60 million deal with the Nuggets on Sunday night.10. Vladimir RadmanovicThe Lakers are going to be counting on Radmanovic to get a lot of open looks while teams are busy doubling Kobe Bryant. The Lakers didn?t sign him for laughs, and he should play a prominent role in Phil Jackson?s offense next year. Just beware of his shaky field goal percentage.Lastly, the Celtics will field a dance team for the first time in their history this season. It will supposedly be classy and won?t offend families, but it will be interesting to see them on the floor in green outfits.I hope you?re enjoying the offseason. Only four months until opening night.http://fantasybasketball.usatoday.com/cont...A&storyid=23146
You can tell that this is not very updated because they are still saying that Ben Wallace is a FA. Im guessing that you got it from another site
