Kobe Bryant Ruled Out for 2013-2014 Season - How to Replace Him?

The injury-struck all-star will not be returning to court action the rest of the season.  Dealing with lingering problems and discomfort from his fractured knee, Kobe and the Lakers' staff have decided to call it quits for this season and rest him up for next year, when the struggling Lakers actually might make playoffs.  This may not come as much of a surprise to some, especially at this point in the season, but if you drafted him in your first or second round, you're at least disappointed.

I, for one, thought he'd be back on the court right about now.  I traded for him, buying him pretty cheap in a four-player deal, so I'm not distraught, but it would've been nice to see him produce for my fantasy team at least a few times.

So Kobe's out.  How do you replace a guy like that?
Easy: Anyone playing right now can replace Kobe.

Jokes aside, let's take a look at a few of the top prospects you should consider adding in Bryant's place.

1. Alec Burks, Utah PG (owned in 72% of leagues) - I'm not a huge fan of Burks's fantasy potential, mainly because he's so one-dimensional.  However, if you're in a category league and were hoping for points from Bryant, Burks might be a solid replacement.  He's been posting 12-23 points over his last 15 games, usually around the 18-19 side, but aside from that, his rebounds, assists, and three pointers made aren't remarkable.  However, given the opportunity, Burks could be a fairly consistent 19-5-5 guy.

2. Amar'e Stoudemire, New York PF/C (owned in 60% of leagues) - I've been a Stoudemire supporter since his Suns days, but I'll be the first to say he's been extremely under-productive this year and every year since he landed on the Knicks.  However, over the past six games, Stoudemire has averaged about 18 PPG and 7 RPG.  He's on the up-and-up, recovering from his injuries well, and I feel pretty confident he could get back up to a 20 PPG, 8 RPG stat-line by the end of the season.

3. Khris Middleton, Milwaukee SF (owned in 52% of leagues) - I wasn't a believer that Middleton would stay this hot at the beginning of his streak, but props to the 52% of people that picked him up.  Middleton has been a consistent source of points and threes, but lately he's stepped up his rebounds, assists, and steals.  He might be the best option for you on a failing Bucks team.

4. Maurice Harkless, Orlando SF (owned in 41% of leagues)

Mo Harkless has increased his play lately, scoring in double digits each of his last seven games, knocking down about two threes per game and stealing the ball well, but most importantly, he's averaged about 37 MPG over that stretch.  When Harkless gets enough minutes, he's always a good option to produce a solid game statistically.  Look to Harkless if you need points, threes, and steals.

5. Miles Plumlee, Phoenix C (owned in 29% of leagues) - Many owners dropped Plumlee recently due to his time out with injuries.  He's the kind of player that you can't hold onto when he gets injured because he doesn't produce enough, but he's also the player you can't drop because he produces well enough.  He's one of those guys that's solid and consistent, but never explosive.  Plumlee is good for 14 and 10 on a given night, especially with facilitators like Goran Dragic and Ish Smith attacking and dishing.  He's probably available, and worth a pick-up in any league.

6. Wesley Johnson, Los Angeles Lakers SF (owned in 22% of leagues) - Johnson has proven that he can produce in every category every night.  In any league, category or points, Johnson is worth a pick-up, as he's shown to be probably the most consistent Laker from a fantasy standpoint.

7. P.J. Tucker, Phoenix SF (owned in 23% of leagues)

Tucker has been a pleasant surprise this season, as have the whole Suns team.  He has been playing great lately, scoring, rebounding, and assisting well.  He produces well in almost every category, and especially in rebounds and points for a small forward.

8. Ryan Kelly, Los Angeles Lakers PF (owned in 3% of leagues)

This is the guy I will be replacing Kobe Bryant with (mainly because Harkless isn't available).  I see potential in the first-year forward, and in his last two games, he's averaged 18 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists.  His only problem is that he can be inconsistent, but I think he'll get a good run down the stretch.

So there you have it, a group of eight solid players with potential that you can pick up to fill the void left by Kobe Bryant.  For many of you, playoffs begin next week, so best of luck to you all and I hope that you can grab someone that helps out your team!

Injured Players - Keep or Drop?

In this post, I'm going to discuss in-depth which injured players are worth holding onto and which injured players are not worth holding onto.  So here we are in Week 16, which runs two weeks long, and chances are you've got at least one player on your roster who you've considered dropping or trading because they've been out injured for a few weeks already and won't return until "after the All-Star break," as they always say.  So here's my opinion on each of those players, and why.

Players to keep:

1. Russell Westbrook - This guy's a no-brainer.  He is a constant threat to produce in every single category on any night, posting season averages around 21 pts, 6 rbs, 7 ast, 2 stl per game.  He posted a triple-double the game before he had surgery, and he'll come back just as strong.  Hold onto him.
2. Kobe Bryant - Ah, the most debatable player in fantasy basketball this year.  Should you keep him?  Should you drop him?  Trade him?  Anyone will give you a different answer, but I say keep him, and here's why.  Kobe wants to play.  If Kobe wants to play, then if he can, he will.  There's no reason he won't be back before the end of the season, and although the Lakers might not make playoffs, he'll be back for fantasy playoffs.  Now don't you want an elite scorer with passing and rebounding abilities on your roster?  I do.
3. Kawhi Leonard - He may be one of the guys you're more inclined to drop because he's just an average player on the rotational Spurs team.  Leonard is a must keep.  As the season winds down, especially during fantasy playoffs, Popovich begins resting his stars.  He will mainly rest Parker, Ginobli, and Duncan, and Leonard and Splitter will man the workload of the team.  The starting five for games down the stretch will probably look like Patty Mills, Marco Belinelli, Kawhi Leonard, Boris Diaw, and Tiago Splitter.  Leonard is the biggest asset because now, he has an increased role on the team and as a young player, he will probably play around 40 minutes a game toward the end of the season.
4. Ty Lawson - Absolutely.  Lawson is averaging almost 9 assists per game this season to accompany is 18 PPG.  He's a top-30 fantasy player, and despite his cracked rib, there's no other natural point guard on the Nuggets.  Randy Foye has been shouldering the workload, and now Quincy Miller will be doing some of the work.  Either way, the Nuggets are only 5 games out of playoffs and will be playing hard down the stretch to reach that 8-spot.
5. Eric Bledsoe - Bledsoe had been having a great season before his injury, and there's no reason he won't continue his success upon his return.  The All-Star break is already here, and he will probably be returning late February/early March.  If your roster can stand holding onto him, he's a great add if he's not owned in your league.

Players to release:

1. Anderson Verejao - Now this guy's debatable, and if you could make work out a trade with somebody that you get a pretty good deal on, I say take it.  Verejao is a prolific rebounder, but on a declining Cavs team, they won't rush Verejao back into action if he isn't 100%.  Verejao has a history of injuries, so if you can deal him away somehow, do it.
2. Larry Sanders - Sanders has just been diagnosed with a fracture to his orbital bone (eye), putting him out indefinitely.  Sanders has been dealing with all sorts of various injuries this season, and this just adds to the list.  Now you probably can't trade him before a timetable for his return is released, but it's worth a shot.  None of his previous injuries have crept back up, but as an injury risk, I think he provides for risk than he does reward.  Look for Zaza Pachulia or John Henson to command the most minutes in Sanders's absence.
3. Ersan Ilyasova - Ilyasova has been playing decent basketball lately, but even then, he brings below average scoring and below average rebounding from the power forward slot.  He's been shooting the ball better, but he has been having lingering back issues.  It's never good to hold onto players with lingering issues.  You never know when one game he'll suddenly be ruled out because his back issues flair up.  In most leagues, Ilyasova might not even be worth a trade, but definitely keep an eye on him.  Khris Middleton might be a nice pick-up in the meanwhile.
4. Dwyane Wade - Whatever you have to do to trade this guy, do it.  Wade has been having a injury season, to say the least, playing in just about half of the games.  He has potential if healthy, and he's too valuable to drop, but try and work a trade out where you'd be getting something more consistent.
5. Nick Young - He's a scorer at best, and very little besides that.  He will bring very little to your fantasy team and underproduces from the shooting guard position.  He's injured, and his return will most likely coincide with Kobe Bryant's.  Young is worth a drop; it's hard to justify holding onto him.

If you had any more questions about players I didn't mention, feel free to contact me and I'd be glad to give you my advice.

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.