Fantasy Basketball Impact of Al Harrington-Jamal Crawford Trade

Golden State has agreed to send Al Harrington to the Knicks for Jamal Crawford. Since both teams operate similar fast-paced high octane offense, there should be little trouble with transition for Harrington and Crawford. 

The Knicks get a little longer by adding Harrington to the mix.  He will likely rain a little on Zach Randolph’s parade (assuming he’s not dealt next) as well as taking a little away from David Lee. 

Wilson Chandler could also see a decrease in minutes. The tempo of the new-look Knicks suggest that none of these guys should suffer too dramatically. Nate Robinson and Quentin Richardson should be the biggest beneficiaries of the deal as they will likely receive a minor bump in minutes.  

The player who will gain the most though is Harrington, as he escaped from Don Nelson’s doghouse.

Meanwhile, the Golden State Warriors gain an experience high-powered perimeter player who can handle both Guard positions.  He will fill the shoes of Monta Ellis until he can stay away from Mopeds long enough to make a recovery. The Warriors play an uptempo style as well and typically go with unorthodox lineups (69″ Al Harrington played Center). 

Crawford should keep his scoring average right around the 19.6 ppg he produced with the Knicks (until Ellis comes back).  C.J. Watson, Kelenna Azubuike, and Anthony Morrow appear to be the biggest losers of this trade. 

Brandan Wright appears to be the biggest beneficiary as he should see an increase in minutes as the Warriors will need to get his 610″frame into the mix now that they’ve dealt one of their only quality bigs.

The main reason the Knicks made the deal is they want to free up cap room for 2010 when LeBron is a free agent. Harrington has an option for next year.  Crawford has an option for the next two years. The reason Golden State made the deal was to get rid of a problem in Harrington and get someone to solve the problem created by Ellis’ injury.