FBA: Changing Places Vincent Hui Thursday, October 2, 2003 Modified Thursday, October 2, 2003 After a tumultuous offseason in which the entire Central division sans Chicago changed or swapped head coaches, rivals like the Kings and Spurs somehow worked out a deal with the Pacers as the middleman, the Lakers doubled their number of Hall of Fame candidates, and some teams now find the glass half-full (Cleveland, Denver) and others half-empty (Utah, Golden State), many transactions with key fantasy implications have gone unnoticed. Guys like Gary Payton, Karl Malone, Lamar Odom, Radoslav Nesterovic and Michael Olowokandi all got new digs, but still, that won't really alter your draft board. Here are some key guys who will alter your late-round outlook now that they've got new homes: Keon Clark Center Utah Jazz 2002 SEASON STATISTICS GM FG% FT% 3PM REB AST STL BLK PTS 80 .501 .656 0.0 5.6 1.0 0.5 1.9 6.70 Keon Clark, Utah The Jazz are going to be bad. Not as bad as everyone thinks since Jerry Sloan is still one of the league's premier minds, but pretty awful after striking out in free agency. Clark will never produce anything close to the Mailman's 20 and 10, but check out his averages last year in a handful of games starting for the Kings: 9.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 1 block as the starting center; 12.3 points, 9.2 rebounds, and a whopping 4.2 blocks as the starting power forward. In fact, throughout his career, Clark has been a much better starter at the 4 than the 5. Sure, Greg Ostertag is no Vlade Divac or Brad Miller. He's not even Scot Pollard, but if he keeps Clark off the big boys, Keon will thrive in Salt Lake City. Robert Horry, SA Here's what we know: Nesterovic is a poor rebounder who's never averaged more than 6.5 per game, so we shouldn't expect much more, and Malik Rose gives the Spurs everything Tim Duncan does, only less. However, "Big Shot Rob" gives them everything they didn't have: a big man who can shoot the three, but isn't Danny Ferry. Horry plays solid defense, which will force Gregg Popovich to give him minutes, and he'll contribute with some triples, steals, and blocks. Expect less rebounds in less minutes, but also remember that's he's one of the best passing power forwards in the game. There are always tough stats to fill in every position, and Horry's one of a handful of power forwards who can potentially contribute in every category. Jumaine Jones, Boston With new GM Danny Ainge promising a more uptempo offense as opposed to one where Antoine Walker chucks another ill-timed 3-pointer, Jones has a chance to thrive here. Buried in Cleveland despite easily outplaying Darius Miles all last season, Jones is the perfect fit for the Celtics. Not only does he have Walter McCarty's ability to hit threes and rebound, he was better than the former Rick Pitino favorite in both categories last year. Boston relied on J.R. Bremer, Eric Williams and McCarty to be the side dish for the main courses Paul Pierce and Walker, but Jones is far better than those players and only 24 to boot, despite being drafted in 1999. Expect him to help out in threes, rebounds and steals. By the way, Jumaine Jones finished ahead of more highly touted individuals like Eddie Jones, Wally Szczerbiak, and, of course Miles in the Player Rater last season. All this in only 12 starts for the Cavs. Scottie Pippen, Chicago What's always interesting about Pip is that for all the talk about Kevin Garnett being a potent fantasy force, during Pippen's first Bulls run he was so statistically dominant, KG almost seems like a poor man's Scottie. As Michael Jordan's wingman, Pippen routinely put up 20 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 2-3 steals, a block, a three, and 50 percent shooting from the field. Those days are long gone, but he will thrive in the triangle offense he's familiar with and should enjoy working with ex-teammates instead of ex-cons. With Jamal Crawford expected to score more than pass, Eddy Curry still trying to figure out how to rebound, and Jalen Rose just shooting, Scottie (if healthy) should find more than enough way to fill out his nightly line and get at least half his totals of yesteryear. Keith Van Horn, Knicks It's almost impossible to root for him since he has rocks for hands, feet and heart, but the man puts up solid fantasy numbers. Essentially Allan Houston in a power forward's body, Van Horn is underrated due to the overwhelming disdain for him in all basketball circles. How else can you explain how a guy who finished with a better score on the Player Rater than Amare Stoudemire and Kenyon Martin last season is being taken three to four rounds later this season? Who would've guessed that KVH shot a ridiculous 48.2 percent from the field last year while also hitting plenty of trifectas? With Antonio McDyess and Kurt Thomas in the paint, Van Horn should thrive in a Knicks jersey provided the venue doesn't eat him alive.
