ts time to look at some fantasy busts for the upcoming season. While I dont see any big-named guys falling into a sink hole this year, there are several players who had nice value last season who are primed to take a hit in production. In fact, several of them were sleepers last season. Lets take a look.<span style="font-size:10pt;line-height:100%"><u>Busts</u></span><u>Zaza Pachulia</u>The Hawks signed free agent Lorenzen Wright, who can't help but eat into Pachulia's production, even if Zaza is still the starter. Add in the presence of rookie-rebounder Shelden Williams and the fact the Hawks have put together roster tailor-made to play small ball this year, and Pachulias role should be somewhat diminished.Pachulia should play in about 78 games again this year and post the occasional double-double. But his value should be down from last seasons, which unfortunately includes that brutal 0.5 blocks per game total, and he could struggle to average six boards per game with Wright and Williams around. He should be a serviceable second or third center for fantasy owners, but he probably wont be worth drafting until the later rounds of your draft.<u>Shelden Williams</u>Is it fair to have a rookie on a preseason bust list? I dont know, but the Hawks, looking for boards, blocks and muscle, took Duke standout The Landlord with the fifth overall pick in this years draft. The initial thinking was that he would contribute right away, but his stock has fallen recently. Hes already undersized for a power forward and then had an awful summer-league experience where he often looked lost on the court. Scouts are now second-guessing the thought that hes ready to play in the NBA and Marvin Williams is the early favorite to win the starting PF job, which is bad news for Shelden. Hes probably worth no more than a last-round flier at this point, and that may even be giving him too much credit.<u>Wally Szczerbiak</u>Wallys numbers are great from a fantasy perspective, as 3-point shooters usually dont flirt with 50 percent shooting. But his knees are a mess and there is a lot of bone-on-bone chatter out there concerning his right knee. His basic career averages will tell you to take him around the fourth or fifth round, but the injury risk he presents this year has him tumbling down our cheat sheet. Well need to see how healthy he looks in the preseason, but were holding our breath about the condition of his knees Just like Danny Ainge is.<u>Brevin Knight</u>Knight had a solid season as the primary starting point guard in Charlotte last year, but played in just 69 games after dealing with a myriad of injuries, including the groin, knee, elbow, arm, back and a concussion. The Cats appear ready to start Raymond Felton at point guard, moving Knight into a backup role at the one. He could once again be a grade-A point guard if Felton werent in his way, but if Knight stays in Charlotte (and all indications are that he will), hell only be worth a late-round selection as a third fantasy point guard despite averaging over 11 points and nearly nine assists per game over the past two seasons. However, if Gerald Wallace continues to deal with injury problems of his own, Felton could be moved to shooting guard, with Knight emerging as the starting point guard again. Yeah, theres a good chance Wallace will get hurt, as usual, but Knight loses a lot of value if not starting.<u>Juwan Howard</u>Howard has been in the league for 12 years and has had a heart scare, but keeps plugging along. He outplayed prospective savior Stromile Swift last season and was very consistent in his 80 games, posting 10 double-doubles, and three straight during a very hot month of January.Swift has been shipped back to Memphis and Chuck Hayes has a promising year under his belt, but the real problem for Howard is the arrival of Shane Battier in Houston. Even though Battier is technically listed as a guard-forward, the Rockets are hoping he can start at power forward this season. If Battier works out at the four, Howard will have almost no value as a backup. However, nothing is set in stone yet, and its possible that Battier could end up playing the three, which would possibly put Howard back in the starting five at power forward. This is a situation youll need to monitor closely this fall, but we get the sense that Battier will eat up much of Howards numbers from last season.<u>Eddie Jones</u>Jones managed to play in 75 games last season, but most of his numbers were down from the previous year, most significantly his rebounding and field goal percentage. However, he recorded his highest steals average in five years, coming in at 1.8 per game. Jones will be back for his 12th season, but will start to be pushed by young guns like Rudy Gay, Dahntay Jones, Kyle Lowry and Anthony Roberson. Chucky Atkins is also back in Memphis, but as of now, theres little doubt that Jones wont retain his starting job.Jones is a shadow of his former self these days, but still has value by contributing in multiple categories. And the plethora of young guards the Grizzlies have accumulated means he wont average four rebounds, four assists, three steals and a block like he did back in the day. Hell still do enough make him a popular fantasy pick, especially in rotisserie leagues, but his production should be down again this year. He has fantasy value, but not as much as his storied name implies.<u>Andrea Bargnani</u>Another rookie makes the list, and Bargnani is sure to be drafted highly in some leagues simply because he was the No. 1 overall pick. But he doesnt rebound and is not even a lock for a starting job. The Raptors have made several offseason moves, becoming the most internationally flavored team in the league, and a lot of those guys play forward. Joey Graham could start at small forward, or it could be Morris Peterson or Anthony Parker. Either way, Bargnani is a seven-footer who doesnt rebound, and if he doesnt adjust early to the NBA game, he could struggle all year. I think hell be worth owning, but I think his name value is greater than his fantasy value.<u>Jalen Rose, Steve Francis and Quentin Richardson</u>With Jamal Crawford and Stephon Marbury essentially guaranteed starting jobs, these three guys are likely all going to fight for minutes. Rose and Richardson are on the trading block, and if they get moved theres a very good chance they wont be starters wherever they land. Nate Robinson, Mardy Collins, Ime Udoka, Renaldo Balkman and David Lee further cloud the picture for these guys in New York. Richardsons back is reportedly fried, so Id recommend staying away from him altogether. Jalen and Francis obviously have value, but I expect both of their minutes to approach career lows, meaning youll need to think twice before targeting them this season.<u>Kyle Korver and Andre Iguodala</u>Dont get me wrong. Bust is a strong word to use for both of these talented players, and Kovers 3-point prowess and Iggys all-around game still give them significant fantasy value. But Willie Green is back this year, and hes going to eat into both of their minutes. Green has nice sleeper potential, and his growth is going to come at the expense of Korver and Iguodala. Theyre still worth drafting in all leagues, but make sure you dont take them too early. Green could actually end up in the starting lineup before the All-Star break.<u>John Salmons and Kevin Martin</u>It appears that Bonzi Wells days in Sacramento are over, meaning Salmons and Martin will battle for the starting shooting-guard job. Salmons has proven to be an offensive force while filling in for Allen Iverson in Philly, while Martin did a great job of filling the gap while Bonzi was out with a groin injury last season. The bottom line is that both Salmons and Martin are worthy of a starting job and will likely split the shooting guard minutes down the middle this season. And theres nothing worse for a fantasy player than a true timeshare. They both have fantasy value, but dont expect one to be better than the other this season.Dochttp://fantasybasketball.usatoday.com/cont...A&storyid=24229
No sh*t. He is a 19 year old from Europe. He isnt going to be great in the NBA immediately. Look at Dirk Nowitzki. He wasnt good either in his rookie year. He is very skilled though. He is a 7 footer who can shoot the lights out, and he is also quick for his height. He can go both ways and drive to the hoop. He will be good in the future, and I expect like 9-12 ppg from him this year. He will be our #1 big man off the bench so he should get 20-30 mins a game. Charlie V minutes.
Shelden Williams can play basketball, I don't care what he did in the summer leagues. Anyone with his skills and a look at what he did in college can realize he's going to be fine. It's just too bad Atlanta is dumb enough to have drafted so many SF's and they are now wasting Marvin Williams at PF when he's 6'8" 1/2 and 230 pounds and a perimeter player...ugh.
guys, FANTASY busts are WAY different from actual busts. All this guy is saying is that they won't put up as good of numbers this year.
Well read what he said about Shelden Williams...he struggled in summerleague...who gives a rats behind.
