Saturday, November 20, 2010

Hornets, Raptors Agree to Five Player Swap

Sources are reporting that a trade has been agreed upon that would send Jarrett Jack, David Andersen, and Marcus Banks to the New Orleans Hornets in exchange for Peja Stojakovic and Jerryd Bayless.

The Breakdown
New Orleans Hornets: The Hornets made this move to improve their bench, most notably with the addition of Jack to back up Chris Paul after being the starter in Toronto. If you own Jack, this is horrible news. Paul is playing about 35 minutes a night, leaving very little playing time for Jarrett at the point. Although he may see some minutes alongside Paul, Jack is going to struggle to get even 20 minutes a night in New Orleans. Owners in standard leagues may want to start looking for other options.

Andersen will provide New Orleans additional front court depth. He may see some time at center behind Emeka Okafor because New Orleans doesn't have great center depth. Still, he figures to only have relevance in the deepest of leagues. As for Marcus Banks, he should continue being a back of the bench player and a non-factor for fantasy purposes.

Toronto Raptors: Toronto made this trade solely for Stojakovic's expiring contract. Stojakovic had fallen out of the rotation in New Orleans, so he may see more playing time in Toronto. He'll have to compete with Sonny Weems and Linas Kleiza for court time, though. Deep leaguers may want to take a flyer on Peja as a speculative add in case he takes on an increased role with the Raptors, though we are not expecting much out of him.

As for Jerryd Bayless, he has the most fantasy upside following this trade. As the back up point guard, he could see around 20+ minutes a night. Although we expect Jose Calderon to take over as the team's starter, Calderon won't be playing Chris Paul type minutes. That will give Bayless enough minutes to prove he is fantasy viable. Deep leaguers may also want to take a shot on Bayless in case he gains some value in Toronto.

No comments: