Author: John Paulsen (Page 402 of 937)

Q&A Question of the Week: Week 10

Every week, I pick one question from our Fantasy Football Q&A and post it on Sunday morning. This week’s question comes from Raj, who is wondering if he should trade Brett Favre away for Brandon Marshall.

“I have been offered a trade for Brett Favre. He is giving me Brandon Marshall for Brett Favre. I already own Tom Brady. If I take this trade, then I will have no back-up QB. Favre is on-fire this year….not sure what to do. It could hurt me in the finals to, especially If I end up playing him.”

My response: Raj — My first instinct is to say hell yes. Brady should be fine for the remainder of the year. Who’s available on the waiver wire at QB? I’m sure we can find someone that has a decent schedule during the fantasy playoffs.

After the bye weeks have passed, it’s usually wise to start looking to unload your depth at one position to shore up another. Raj didn’t break down his roster in his question, but from a value standpoint a Favre-for-Marshall deal favors the owner getting Marshall. This is due to the relative depth at QB compared to the WR position. Since Raj already has Brady, he is set at QB, so he might as well add a playmaker at WR. There are probably a few QBs on his waiver wire that could act as serviceable backups to Brady if he were to go down before the fantasy playoffs.

Besides, this 40-year-old version of Favre is an injury risk. It’s not like he’s guaranteed to be playing at a high level late in the season.


Photo from fOTOGLIF

Line of the Night (11/14): Brandon Jennings

Are you kidding me? The current frontrunner for the ROY dropped 55 points on the Warriors in a 129-125 win at the Bradley Center. He hit 21-34 from the floor and 7-8 from long range, while also posting five rebounds and five assists on the night. The amazing thing is that he only had 10 points in the first half. He scored 29 in the third quarter, and 16 in the fourth.

He’s really been able to flourish with Michael Redd sidelined. He reminds me of a left-handed Allen Iverson. In fact, he’s one of five rookies to average 20+ points and 5+ assists per game. The other four? Iverson, LeBron, MJ and Oscar Robinson. That’s impressive company (if he can keep it up).

The surprising Bucks are 5-2 on the season, thanks to the rookie and some solid play from Andrew Bogut.

Emeka Okafor on the trading block

Sam Amick of the Sacramento Bee reports that the Kings are considering a trade involving Hornets big man Emeka Okafor.

A source with knowledge of the situation says the Kings are discussing a trade with New Orleans that would send Kenny Thomas to the Hornets and bring center Emeka Okafor to Sacramento.

The deal would be ideal for the Hornets, as Thomas’ expiring contract worth $8.7 million is just the kind of contract that would trim their enormous payroll. The question, of course, is whether the Kings see Okafor as a big man solution worth the five years and approximately $64 million left on his deal.

I don’t get the Hornets plan of attack for the last year or so. They have the best point guard in the NBA, yet instead of making a clear commitment to spend to build around him, they’re slashing salary again. The confusing thing is that they tried to slash salary last year when they negotiated a trade that sent Tyson Chandler to Oklahoma City, only the Thunder sent Chandler back after their doctors had a chance to look him over. Then they turned around this offseason and traded Chandler (who has a short, expensive contract) for Okafor (who has a long, expensive contract). So it looked like the Hornets were willing to make a long-term commitment to build a winner.

Now, after a 3-7 start that has Chris Paul sidelined for a few weeks with a sprained ankle, they’re ready to give Okafor away. What kind of signal does this send to Paul? He’s signed through 2011-12, but at what point does he become disgruntled? They’ve already traded away Chandler and fired Byron Scott, and now they’re looking to move a sure double-double guy in Okafor. He’s not worth his contract, but he’s still valuable, and if the Hornets want to get back to competitive, they could really use him manning the middle.

It’s not like jettisoning Okafor’s salary is going to give the Hornets any immediate salary cap space. They’re sitting at almost $72 M for next season and won’t have any flexibility until the summer of 2011. Paul is 24, so he has plenty of basketball left to play, but David West is 29, and by the time the Hornets have a chance to be competitive again, he might be 31 or 32 and on the decline.

This is a sad situation. The Hornets looked to be on the cusp of competing for a title a couple of seasons ago and now they’re starting a rebuilding process that looks like it’s going to take a while.

Line of the Night (11/13): Al Horford

I thought about giving this honor to one of the Nuggets in their rout of the Lakers, but isn’t the young Hawks’ 97-86 win over the Celtics in Boston more impressive? Joe Johnson, Josh Smith, Mike Bibby and Jamal Crawford all played well, but it was Al Horford that held down the middle against Boston’s formidable front line.

Horford posted 12 points (on 6-9 shooting), 13 rebounds, three assists, three steals and a block. On the season, he’s averaging 13.3 points, 10.8 rebounds and 2.1 blocks, and his subtle game meshes perfectly with Atlanta’s “stars.” The Hawks are now 7-2 and look like they are ready to take a step forward this season. Horford is a big reason why.

Cutler fined $20 K for abusing official

Per ESPN…

Cutler was fined as a result of verbal abuse toward the back judge, which drew an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty in the Bears’ 41-21 loss to the Cardinals. The Bears (4-5) have lost four of their past five games.

Yep, this fine is from the Bears’ frustrating loss on Sunday, not the Bears’ frustrating loss last night. (You know, the one where Cutler threw five picks.)

As a Green Bay fan, the only good thing about this season is that the Bears are struggling just as much as the Packers are. Cutler was supposed to lead Chicago to the promised land, but he’s led them to four losses in the last five games. With Philly and Minnesota up next, there’s a good chance the Bears will be 4-7 heading into Week 13.


Photo from fOTOGLIF

« Older posts Newer posts »