NBA Training camps are set to open across the country and with it the start of the NBA season will be official. The NBA offseason can be a long one and once the free-agency period is over and the draft is concluded we are left to chew on NBA Summer League tidbits. The offseason saw a couple big free-agent signings and an NBA entry draft that was full of surprises despite the low expectations
We will be making stops at each division to recap the tumultuous offseason and to highlight the new faces on each team. With it we will provide a fantasy spin and impact of these new additions. How will these new players fit into their new spots? Will these players have as much of an impact as management had hoped or will they falter?
Our next stop along the way is the ultra-competitive Southwest Division where we saw the biggest offseason signing go as well as a multitude of other team’s roster moves. So without further ado let’s delve into it and see how the new faces in the new places.
Houston Rockets
The Rockets easily made the biggest free agency splash as the landed the big fish that is Dwight Howard. Howard left Los Angeles for a near max-deal down in Texas where he will be teamed with James Harden and the rest of the young Rockets nucleus. Howard will also pair with Rockets big man Omer Asik at times to create a fearful frontcourt that is sure to protect the rim and create defensive mismatches.
Howard’s numbers were down a little bit last year in LaLa Land; however, in fairness he was playing hurt, playing with a ball dominating shooting guard and in a system that was not designed to have a back-to-the-basket center. Given Houston’s system under Head Coach Kevin McHale, Howard will get his quality touches down low and he should outperform his career averages of 18.3 ppg and 12.9 rpg this season.
A secondary addition to the Rockets was that of Omri Casspi. The Israeli born, 25-year old had seen his role diminish over the last two season in Cleveland and his once productive stat line 10 ppg and 4.5 rpg was becoming a distant memory. The Rockets are hoping that Casspi can revert back to his productive ways and be a solid 20-25 minute per game guy who will play hard and spell off the minutes for the regulars.
San Antonio
The San Antonio Spurs did little in terms of roster moves as their biggest offseason priorities were to lock up Tiago Splitter and Manu Ginobili. Both players were signed and with it the Spurs deemed themselves set to make another Championship run.
One new addition to the Spurs roster is yet another import player as they added Marco Belinelli to fill a reserve role on the squad. Belinelli will get some minutes off the bench and he will be looked upon to score for the second unit. Belinelli had 28 games in which he scored in double digits, he only started 27 games for the Chicago Bulls; so he has clearly demonstrated his ability to come off the bench and be productive. Belinelli has a limited fantasy value and given Coach Popovich’s tendency to play a long bench at times, Marco could quickly fall out of favour in San Antonio.
Dallas Mavericks
The Dallas Mavericks had themselves one busy offseason. Despite missing out on landing Dwight Howard and whiffing again on Andrew Bynum the Mavericks were still major players in the free agent market as they added seven new players to the roster.
Heading the list of new additions was Monta Ellis, whom the Mavericks acquired via a three-year $25 million deal. Ellis is a point guard by position; however, he will likely team with another new addition, Jose Calderon and move over to the shooting guard position. Ellis could struggle to find as many shots in Dallas as he did in Milwaukee. Dirk Nowitzki is still the man in Big D and that isn’t going to change till his retirement. Ellis will be a nice piece to the puzzle and will provide that outside scoring threat that is needed to open up the mid-range jumper for Nowitzki.
Jose Calderon will have a resurgent type year in Dallas as he will run the point and mentor Shane Larkin and Gal Mekel. Calderon still had a solid year last season in Detroit; however, in Dallas his offensive options are more plentiful and the offense is more predicated on motion concepts and pick and pop sets; this plays in Calderon’s playmaking abilities nicely and his stats will be better than last season.
Memphis Grizzlies
The Memphis Grizzlies had a relatively quiet offseason as they seemingly sat-happy with their current roster. Perhaps the biggest offseason move made by the franchise was to lock up Tony Allen and keep his tenacity and leadership in the fold. As a team that views itself on the precipice of success that has been built on toughness and continuity the Grizzlies did do some offseason shopping for players who would complement the style and attitude of the franchise.
What the found was that Mike Miller bought in and choose to return home to Memphis rather than chase a Championship with the rival Oklahoma Thunder. Miller will likely be used sparingly in the regular season to preserve his minutes for when it counts; the playoffs. Miller’s fantasy value for the regular season is minimal; however, come playoff pool time he can be a risk/reward pickup for deep rosters.
To further complement the roster and in effort to spell of Marc Gasol’s minutes, the Grizzlies traded for Kosta Koufos from the Denver Nuggets. Koufos brings some much needed size to the roster as well as a complementary offensive skills set. The five-year pro started all 81 games he played in last season and that kind of durability will serve the Grizzlies well.
New Orleans Pelicans
The New Orleans Pelicans waded into the offseason markets and managed to acquire to quality young players to complement the youthful roster already in place. The Pelicans managed to pry Jrue Holiday from Philadelphia for the draft day rights to Nerlens Noel. Holiday was coming off a career year and was still on an affordable wage scale. Despite this the need to reload and rebuild took precedence in Philly and with it Holiday had to go. New Orleans will benefit from pairing Holiday with Eric Gordon in the backcourt. This duo will propel the Pelicans and once some roster maturity is gained the Pelicans could challenge in this division.
To complicate the backcourt situation in New Orleans, the Pelicans went out and acquired Tyreke Evans from Sacramento. Evans fancies himself as a point guard, yet his play would suggest he is better served as the two-guard and unfortunately that is where Gordon fits in. The signing doesn’t make a lot of sense on paper, so we shall see how the on-court results play out. A simple matter of deduction would suggest that Evans, Gordon and Holiday can’t all have career years. The odd-man out in this rotation is going to be Evans and his fantasy value will suffer from a reduction in minutes and shot attempts.