-NOTE: Links to articles are diplayed by the title of the article in quotation marks. Players' names which appear with their position eligibility are linked, also:
2-27-12 A quick note on Randy Foye (LAC PG SG). Consider Foye on RED ALERT status for the remainder of this year. He is a better SG than Chauncey Billups will ever be, and he has true PG skills. These skills will get him big minutes, and Foye is a producer. In this shortened season, the real players know they HAVE to step things up to fever pitch to make it count for anything. Foye is a player, and he will really step it up this second half. He and Beno Udrih will make or break an awful lot of fantasy seasons down the stretch, so do what you have to do to prepare yourself for facing them. Pick them up if you can...or at least one of them. Foye is the slightly better option for the Yahoo! fantasy playoffs as Udrih only has two games in the second to last week of the season, but they both must be accounted for as the year winds down. Trade Goat looks at it this way...better Udrih and Foye land on my team than on another contender. Go the safe route and secure one if you can. If the opportunity presents itself, you can always try to trade the player or package him in a multi-player deal for something you really need or must have.
2-24-12 The All-Star break has arrived, and Trade Goat has some updates and alerts for the second half. The NBA is a little bit of a muddled mess, and looking forward to next year is a little bit of a challenge. There are a number of players having marginal years who needed a good year coming into this year. This can be a dangerous situation with a shortened season. It was difficult to predict this year who would rise to the top of the league and who would have better than normal years, and so it will also be difficult to predict who will produce in next year's full season. Tricky times and trading can be risky if you are in a keeper league looking at trading a top 50 player who is having an off year.
With this in mind, Trade Goat would like to start things off with a couple of players for the second half in keeper leagues. First, Beno Udrih (Mil PG). No way will the Bucks be able to keep his leadership skills off the floor. Watch out the rest of the way this year and next year, also. This is the time to snag Udrih for this year if he is available in your league or leagues. This is a high RED ALERT. Brandon Jennings has not been able to keep Stephen Jackson (Mil SG SF), Mike Dunleavy (Mil SG SF), and Ersan Ilyasova (Mil SF PF) in rhythm this year, and I believe it will be his ultimate downfall as a PG. Prospects are that Jennings' long term future will be as a SG, but he will have to become more of a team player even to handle that role. The second player is one for deeper leagues, Jannero Pargo (Atl PG). The Hawks are pretty decent with Joe Johnson in the lineup, but without him, all of Jeff Teague's deficiencies come to the surface. Big problem for the Hawks with Joe Johnson and Josh Smith pulling down over $35 million a year between the two. Teague could end up being a good player, but he's not one, right now. I am looking for Pargo to start getting the starts at PG with Kirk Hinrich at the SG in the second half. Hinrich will possibly get more minutes than Pargo, handing the point when Pargo sits, but Teague should get a big portion of those reserve minutes. Not enough to be high on Teague, though. If you have Teague, Trade Goat recommends keeping a close eye on the situation. If Pargo starts even one game, pick him up. Hinrich should be good the rest of the way in deeper leagues, but Pargo will make the bigger splash fantasy-wise if he takes the point in Atlanta. Consider Pargo a YELLOW ALERT buy He will make the Hawks a better team than Teague can, right now.
Another player Trade Goat is high on for the rest of this season is Elton Brand (Phi PF C). Brand sat back a little while Spencer Hawes (Phi C) stepped up early, but look for Brand to draw some inspiration from Tim Duncan and pick up his game in the second half. Trade Goat is banking that Brand will be a solid keeper for next year at least, also. Brand is a YELLOW ALERT buy.
1-9-12 Trade Goat is now optimistic on bumping the alert on Mario Chalmers (Mia PG) to a RED ALERT buy . This really isn't a huge surprise, so trade offers won't likely be greeted with alot of enthusiasm. He is after all a very young player with alot of talent and great potential. Although he is producing in the top 5 of PGs early this year, Trade Goat recommends treating Chalmers as a top 50 "difference maker" to help you with assists and steals. It's a rarity to have the luxury of this kind of player at the PG position on an otherwise well balanced roster, and it's a great situation. The problem is it's so expensive, and it's difficult to make it pay off. The best situation is on a team with a top PG and a capable backup such as Kirk Hinrich or Mo Williams who have SG eligibility. You may be able to sell a prospective trade partner on the idea of taking advantage of Chalmers' early success to cash in on the excellent draft pick, but, again, this could be expensive.
Chalmers can be substituted at the PG, G, and UTIL positions during his hot streaks and on special occasions to add much needed secondary statistics. Trading for Chalmers is worth looking into but caution is advised. Don't sell the farm. Moreso, it's worth taking a look at the teams of your opponents who picked him up in the late rounds to see how it will affect their team to have been able to acquire him with the late round pick. Make adjustments if necessary.
12-19-11 Trade Goat is issuing a solid buy on J.J. Barea (Min PG). Barea should improve on last year's career best numbers in the Minnesota lineup. Trade Goat is looking for somewhere around 11 PPG, 3 AST, and 75-80 3PTM. Barea is a good fit for the struggling franchise. He will be a strong positive for the T-Wolves as long as he is there. Trade Goat does not have an alert on Barea, but he should be considered a prize acquisition in deep and especially very deep leagues.
Chalmers can be substituted at the PG, G, and UTIL positions during his hot streaks and on special occasions to add much needed secondary statistics. Trading for Chalmers is worth looking into but caution is advised. Don't sell the farm. Moreso, it's worth taking a look at the teams of your opponents who picked him up in the late rounds to see how it will affect their team to have been able to acquire him with the late round pick. Make adjustments if necessary.
12-19-11 Trade Goat is issuing a solid buy on J.J. Barea (Min PG). Barea should improve on last year's career best numbers in the Minnesota lineup. Trade Goat is looking for somewhere around 11 PPG, 3 AST, and 75-80 3PTM. Barea is a good fit for the struggling franchise. He will be a strong positive for the T-Wolves as long as he is there. Trade Goat does not have an alert on Barea, but he should be considered a prize acquisition in deep and especially very deep leagues.
Trade Goat is very interested and curious about two players. Those two are Jeremy Lin and Acie Law. They come to mind for very different reasons, but are two players Trade Goat has made it a point to keep an eye on for quite some time.
Lin is tremendously capable and talented, and talent always finds a way to make it in the NBA. The backcourt is deep in Houston, so it appears Lin is in for a long ride to prominence. But anything can happen, so Trade Goat is recommending keeping an eye on Lin for any sign of a breakout. A breakout will likely follow shortly after the first signs.
Law was a can't miss player out of college, who has been labeled all kinds of things since his arrival in the NBA, but he is high character player who will represent any NBA team well. Combine that with loads of talent and he is a candidate for a breakout. Looks like it won't be this year as Law will be playing in Serbia, so the trail is cold for now. However, things can happen fast, and Trade Goat highly recommends checking in on Law from time to time.
12-1-11 Trade Goat is issuing a YELLOW ALERT buy on Mario Chalmers (Mia PG). Chalmers has been on the radar for a breakout year in each of the last two seasons, but, depending on what the Heat do during this year's preseason signing period, it looks like Chalmers could be the man in Miami at the point this year. His situation reminds of Louis Williams (Phi-PG,SG) situation last year in Philadelphia. Williams had a very good year, but Chalmers could potentially outperform Williams' numbers of last year, making him an excellent buy at his Yahoo! preseason rank of 182. There is the potential that he could even break into the top 100 this year, so Trade Goat will have his eye on the situation. If Chalmers is getting serious minutes early this year in Miami, look for a RED ALERT buy, assuming he performs well.
11-9-11 Based on a review of the roster of the Phoenix Suns for 2011-12, Trade Goat is issuing the following breakdown. The starting roster for the 2011-12 Phoenix Suns:
PG Steve Nash
SG Vince Carter
SF Channing Frye
PF Hakim Warrick
C Marcin Gortat
Trade goat is a mild sell on Jared Dudley (Pho - SG,SF) for 2011-12. He should see plenty of action, but his role could be moreso confined to playing defense for the Suns this year in a 6th or 7th man role than so last year. Although he may be more successful as a 3 point shooter/specialist, looks near the basket may be fewer for Dudley, and he may take slightly fewer shots than last year.
Trade Goat is cautiously optimistic for the year of Hakim Warrick (Pho - PF). Warrick could see a huge bump in minutes this year. The opportunity is there for Warrick to put up career numbers, but there are questions. Will the Suns make any notable additions to the 2011-12 roster and, if not, will Warrick be able to seize the opportunity as he was able to do in Memphis? Trade Goat is a mild to moderate buy on Warrick for now but recommends staying tuned for an alert that could go either way.
Trade Goat is cautiously optimistic for the year of Vince Carter (Pho - SG,SF). If he plays, he could put up better numbers than last year, particularly in the 3 PTM and AST categories. Steve Nash is a tremendously inspirational teammate, and this could really bring the game back to VC now that the two are in their second year as teammates. This is somewhat of an explosive situation, and Carter is someone to be ready to buy on immediately if his numbers are good early in this coming short season. Trade Goat has no specific alert on Carter for now, but this could change quickly.
Although Channing Frye (Pho - PF,C) is not eligible as a SF in Yahoo! leagues, Trade Goat projects Frye as the player likeliest to be performing in the role of a starting small forward for the Suns this year. Look for more of the same from Frye with possibly even more 3 PTM and DRB.
Look for similar numbers to last year from Marcin Gortat (Pho - C). However, Gortat could easily see an increase in minutes to the 33 minutes a game range this year and put up 12 PPG and 9 RBPG with 80 to 100 blocks. He's already a very valuable player, so chances are he will be hard to come by in keeper leagues, especially if he starts the year hot. No alerts for the time being, but Trade Goat recommends watching Gortat to see what his long term future may hold.
11-9-11 Trade Goat is issuing a YELLOW ALERT buy for this season for Luc Richard Mbah a Moute (Mil - SF,PF). Mbah a Moute should benefit from the presence of Stephen Jackson and Beno Udrih with the Bucks, two experienced players with assist skills, and show moderate improvement in his numbers this year. Trade Goat is projecting 10 PPG and 6 RBPG for Mbah a Moute, making him an excellent option as a 3rd SF and as a fill-in at PF in deep leagues. He recorded 6.7 PPG and 5.3 RBPG last year. Trade Goat recommends keeping an eye on Mbah a Moute over the course of this year and next. There are a number of comparisons that can be made between he and Luol Deng, in particular, and at least some that can be made with Andre Iguodala.
11-8-11 I was searching for information on a topic unrelated to basketball and came up with this gem on Tim Duncan. Take a look...I got a kick out of the article, myself:
