Why Derrick Rose Will be a Top 15 Fantasy Player

"My confidence is very high...my confidence level is through the roof."

In case you missed these Team USA Camp highlights going viral in the sports world, take a minute to see the kind of shape Derrick Rose is in.

In my opinion, he becomes a top 15 fantasy option.  You might be able to get him lower, but he won't fall far, despite his injuries.  The previous Rookie of the Year and MVP is going to return to full form by playoffs at the very latest, if not 20 games in.  You might also be able to trade cheap for him if he struggles early on.  But he's had surgery on both knees, both stronger now than before, and he's had two years to perfect his shot and work on his game.

The difference now is that he has shooters on his team.  Jimmy Butler has been coming around, Mike Dunleavy is a specialty shooter, and Doug McDermott, the NCAA leading scorer, will be huge for them.  He has three great shooters to facilitate to, not to mention that Pau Gasol can knock down a mid range jumper as well as, if not better than, Carlos Boozer.

Rose is the number 1 facilitator on the team, has a great nose for the ball, and has a full team of options for passing the ball to.  By the All-Star Break, I predict Rose will be back around 23 PPG, 8 APG, 4 RPG, 1.5 SPG, 3 TPG, and shooting above 45%.  However, right out the gate, there is a possibility he struggles around 15 PPG and 5 APG on 30% shooting with 4 TPG.  That is one reason I might recommend passing if you can get a great player early and then trading cheap for him.

Bottom line is, I don't draft Rose in the first round, but if he's available in the second round, he's mine, no question about it.

Kobe Will Return in 2014, "My plan hasn't changed"

For those of you who drafted Kobe Bryant, you've probably been thinking about trading him for a while now.  You're thinking that Kobe is on a struggling team who won't make playoffs, and you think it might be a safer bet to trade him and get whatever you can instead of the possibility that he might not play.

I, on the other hand, am one of the few people who actively sought after Kobe.  I had been trying to acquire Kobe since early on in the season, and luckily for me, the guy who traded him to me barely let him go.  That saved me probably six weeks of a spot on my roster that could've been filled by someone producing.  I bought him cheap, trading away DJ Augustin and Jimmy Butler for Bradley Beal and Kobe.

ESPN Los Angeles reports that Kobe Bryant will be returning to court action this season.  "My plan hasn't changed," said Bryant.  "I'm just going about it every single day just trying to get better.  That's my job.  My job is to get...back out there on the court when I'm healthy enough to play and that hasn't changed."

Basically, here's my advice.  Whoever owns Kobe in your league most likely would give him up if you gave him a decent offer.  The problem is, he's really only worth it if you're comfortable with grabbing a playoff spot.  If you're competing just to get into playoffs, maybe that's not the move for you, because Kobe still probably won't play until early March at the very earliest.  If you can stand to have somebody on your team who's not playing for a couple weeks, this is most likely your best chance at getting somebody who's really going to come through for you come fantasy playoffs.


Does this look like the kind of guy who's body is deteriorating?




I didn't think so.