As week six in the NBA gets under way players are showing their worth for your fantasy team. Not all are performing up to standard thus far. Now is the time to identify the dead weight on your fantasy roster and cut it lose.
If you were looking for a bargain in a salary cap league and you stuffed your roster with expensive players leaving only scraps left. These guys might have looked like a decent option; truth of the matter is there are many sleeper picks and players on the rise that can be had for cheap.
A six part series will look at each division and identify the fantasy duds. We are moving now onto the Northwest division where we have identified the following four players who are underperforming. If you drafted any of these guys and are relying on them for fantasy points; cut your losses now and move on.
Anthony Randolph – Denver Nuggets
Anthony Randolph has fallen victim to the depth chart in Denver, due to talent ahead of him he just isn’t seeing the court. Randolph is a talented young player who has shown he can have success in the NBA given the opportunity. The opportunity hasn’t come this season as Randolph has played a total of 19 minutes this season with a total of 2 points scored and 3 rebounds. Randolph’s best year fantasy years were from 2008 to 2011, after which time he just never got the chance to be a contributor. It is unlikely that the opportunity will come this season with the Nuggets. The potential is there; however, for now it remains untapped.
Derrick Williams – Minnesota Timberwolves
The fantasy relevance of Derrick Williams has come to a crashing halt with the return of Kevin Love to the Minnesota Timberwolves. Williams had been contributing nicely in Love’s absence, multiple games with double digit scoring and decent rebounding numbers as well; however, since Love’s return Williams has recorded three healthy DNP’s. With a healthy Kevin Love and Andrei Kirilenko under contract for a couple more years in Minnesota; it would appear as though Williams is in need of a change of scenery. Barring a trade or a straight out release Williams represents no fantasy value.
Kendrick Perkins – Oklahoma City Thunder
Maybe it is because Kendrick Perkins play for a really good team or maybe it is because he is the starting center on a really good Oklahoma Thunder squad, but we expect better production out of the big guy. Perkins just doesn’t factor into the offense at all, his point production is off missed shots and scrounging for loose balls. Given the lack of offensive touches, I’d also expect the rebounding totals to be higher. Perkins has started all 18 games for the Thunder this season and he will continue to be the everyday starter despite averaging only 5.1 ppg and 5.0 rpg. This just isn’t good enough production for a fantasy roster. I realize the center position can be a little thin but this stat line is just void of any value.
Jamaal Tinsley – Utah Jazz
Since becoming a bench player in the 2009 season, Jamaal Tinsley has gone into a deep basketball funk. His production just fell off the charts as he seems unable to adapt to a reserve role. In his second season in Utah, Tinsley has failed to do much of anything. Back-to-back DNP’s in the Jazz last two games hasn’t helped the situation; however, even when he is playing he can’t get it going. Case in point was a 31 minute run he had against New Orleans during which he failed to register a point, had 5 assists and 4 turnovers. Tinsley isn’t even worth keeping around in the deepest of leagues much less as a primary backup.