The Western Conference welcomes some new faces this season. Teams in the West, like the Los Angeles Lakers and the Dallas Mavericks made significant moves this off-season in effort to return to championship form. While perennial favorites, the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder remained status quo, their competition in the conference stiffened.
These five players are impactful to not only their new teams but also your fantasy league. Who will see an increase in their production and who will be resigned to taking a lesser role, all in search of that elusive championship?
Chris Kaman – Dallas Mavericks
This big-man in the middle for the Mavericks must stay healthy to be effective. Kaman has missed a ridiculous amount of time during the past four seasons due to various injuries. When Kaman is healthy enough to start and play 30 minutes plus per game he is a very productive center. With the Mavericks, Kaman won’t be an offensive focal point; however, he still rebounds well and gets a lot of those close range cheap put backs.
I wouldn’t look at drafting Kaman too early, as I view Kaman as a middle of the pack fantasy option at the center position. Given his health and depending on how he is used offensively, I would look elsewhere for a number one center man. The Mavericks roster of Dirk Nowitzki, Elton Brand, Vince Carter, Shawn Marion, O.J Mayo and Kaman will propel them into the playoffs again, but it is not enough to get them back to the finals.
Andrew Bogut – Golden State Warriors
Sticking with theme of staying healthy, this new big man in the Bay area hasn’t played a full season in six years, with last season seeing him lace em’ up for only 12 games. The Warriors and Bogut expect to be ready to go for their season opener, but time will tell how long he can go for. Bogut is needed in this lineup, as the Warriors are weak up front with Andris Biedrins in the reserve role.
When healthy and in the lineup, Bogut is capable of posting regular double digit point and rebound games to go along with a couple blocks. Let’s hope this 27 year old product from down under can regain his strength and return to pre-injury form. Similarly to Kaman in Dallas, I rank Bogut as a middle of the pack fantasy option at the center position.
Jeremy Lin – Houston Rockets
This highly hyped Harvard product that started all of 25 games last year is being looked upon as the saviour for the Houston Rockets. Lin arrived in Houston on the heels of a new lucrative contract that will pay him like a top tier point guard. The challenge for Lin will come as he no longer has Amare Stoudemire or Carmelo Anthony around to help offensively.
Lin will now be called upon to not only score, but to also make his teammates around him better. Lin will undoubtedly see an increase in his court time from last year, where he averaged only 27 minutes per game. Lin should now expect to see at least 35 minutes of action a night and as a result will be expected to improve upon his last year averages of 14.6 ppg and 6.2 apg. Lin should have a descent season statistically, while suffering through a dreadfully long losing season with the Rockets.
Andre Igoudala – Denver Nuggets
The Nuggets scored nicely when they were able to steal Igoudala out of Philadelphia. Now Andre looks to help bring the Nuggets back to playoff prominence. George Karl is excited to see what Iggie will bring to the Mile High City. Pairing this versatile shooting guard with Ty Lawson, Danilo Gallinari and JaVale McGee will make for some exciting, fast-paced basketball.
Iguodala thrives in this up-tempo style of offence, allowing him to use his athleticism and length to create easy scoring chances. Given the offensive make-up of this Denver club; Iguodala’s points per game averages should bounce back to around 17 per contest while still averaging six rebounds and five assists. Iguodala should be a mid-round pickup in most draft leagues.
Dwight Howard – Los Angeles Lakers
Mith Kupchak calls him the future of the Lakers franchise, while that is true, it’s the present Lakers bunch that are looking to win now. There is no question as to what Dwight Howard brings to a basketball team; the question is what will he bring to the Lakers? How will he and Kobe gel? Will frustration build and animosity grow in Howard if he sees a dip in his career averages? Let’s not forget that Howard is essentially playing on a one year contract, and he could decide to leave at the end of the season.
From a fantasy perspective, Dwight should be either first or second off the board. Some, such as myself, see Bynum as having a better statistical season. Nonetheless, baring a slow start coming off back surgery, Howard will be the impact player the Lakers were hoping for. This team has all the talent to make a championship run, let’s just see if they can put it together.
Western Conference General Managers had a busy off-season as teams were trying to keep pace in the ultra competitive conference. Not quite cracking my top five list here today for new faces in new places are; Goran Dragic & Luis Scola in Phoenix, Steve Nash with the Lakers, Mo Williams for the Utah Jazz and Andrei Kirilenko and Brandon Roy going to Minnesota.