The dust has pretty much settled on the NBA free agent period and most of the players who were eligible have found a new home for the upcoming season. There are of course a few stragglers who have yet to ink new deals; however, the stars and second-tier guys have found their homes. With the ink now dry on the new deals and press conferences complete, it is time to take a peek in at the new faces in new places and assess just how they will fare in terms of fantasy value for the season. We start in the Atlantic Division where we have some decent new acquisitions.
Toronto Raptors:
The Raptors acquired four new players thus far with DeMarre Carroll and Bismack Biyombo being the headliners here. In terms of fantasy value, Biyombo offers little as he is a defense first player who provides limited value in terms of scoring and rebounding. Carroll offers the most potential here and even at that the future doesn’t look all that bright. In Atlanta Carroll certainly benefitted from the interiour presence of Al Horford and Paul Millsap whereas in Toronto there is no strong post presence that will collapse defenses and open up the outside shot. After a career year in Atlanta last season, Carroll is certainly poised for a letdown this year as the Raptors have a long history of acquiring players after a ‘up-season’ only to see them struggle once becoming a dino.
Boston Celtics:
The Celtics have been quiet on the free-agency front as their lone newcomer thus far is the former Toronto Raptor Amir Johnson. The signing here is a bit of a curious one as the Celtics are in full on youth-movement mode, while the ten-year NBA veteran in Johnson is more than likely wanting to win. While Johnson is undoubtedly a solid locker room guy, his value doesn’t translate to the court here. Johnson remains a player with limited upside and little free-agent value moving forward here.
Brooklyn Nets:
For the Nets their two biggest free agent moves involved keeping two of their own players. The Nets were able to resign big men Brook Lopez and Thaddeus Young to multi-year contracts. Young is a solid player who should continue to post decent numbers in his brief stint in Brooklyn. The true fantasy value here lies with Lopez who after recovering from injuries early in the season, rebounded nicely to finish the season with averages of 20.3 ppg and 9.1 rpg over the last three months of the season. If Lopez can remain healthy heading into the season he will be a premier fantasy option among all the centers.
Philadelphia 76ers:
The 76ers have stood pat in the free agent market by not acquiring any new players via free agency. The 76ers did pull off a trade with Sacramento that netted them Nik Stauskas and others; however, there has been no significant player acquisitions as of yet. It remains highly unlikely that the 76ers do make a move here as they are clearly going with the youth movement and will want to see what their recent draft picks can do before trying to fill out a roster with expensive free agents.
New York Knicks:
The Knicks were certainly rumoured to be major players this offseason in the free agent market; however, they fell flat and missed out on some of the bigger names that they were hoping to woo. The Knicks did fairly well to land themselves Arron Afflalo who bolted Portland for the money and glitter of New York. Afflalo wasn’t the only Trailblazer to be lured to The Big Apple as Robin Lopez also signed on as a free agent. Afflalo will be a contributor for the Knicks; however, playing with Carmelo Anthony could prove challenging as Anthony is not renowned for his ball movement. Afflalo made his mark as the go to offensive player in Orlando; however, since his departure there to Denver, Portland and now to New York; his stats have been in steady decline as he has morphed into more of a spot-up shooter. Afflalo will give limited value as the season progresses; however, once Anthony gets injured again, Afflalo will see a much increased role.
The pickup of Lopez was a good one for New York. On the face of it, Lopez no longer needs to do battle with some of the best centers in the league on such a regular basis now being in the Eastern Conference. Lopez could very well see a resurgence here as his numbers should bounce back to resemble his days in New Orleans of posting near double-double averages. Biggest thing for Lopez is to stay healthy and if he can do that for the Knicks he will also pay off nicely with solid fantasy production.