Fantasy Basketball: Guys I Don't Trust

Kevin Garnett and Al Jefferson - These two will forever be entwined because of their trade so why not lump them together.  I like both players and their respective games, but both are coming off injuries.  KG is getting older and he has logged a ton of minutes.  Big Al is battling a new injury (Achilles). 

Yahoo!, for example has them ranked 12 & 13.  I much rather take Dwight Howard or  Tim Duncan if I wanted to go big early.  If not I’d take a Deron Williams, Chauncey Billups type and grab Brook Lopez later.

Vince Carter - Vince is moving on to Orlando, who unlike the teams he’s played for recently, is good.  Stan Van is not going to be OK with Carter shooting 20+ times a night.  The offense will still go through Howard and Rashard Lewis.  You can get Paul Pierce, Carmelo Anthony or Kevn Martin in similar spots.

Gilbert Arenas - If I want to take a PG that is an injury risk, I’ll go with Baron Davis.  At least his track record isn’t nearly as bad as Gilbert’s.  He’s played in 15 games the past two years.  If you think you’re getting a 28 ppg guy, you’re crazy.  I’d take Monta Ellis over Arenas as well.

Elton Brand - Again, I’m not spending an early pick on a guy who has been injured for most of the past two seasons.  I’d rather take a more reliable guy like Josh Smith, LaMarcus Aldridge, or David Lee.

Michael Redd - This may be beginning to sound redundant, but I am not going to spend an early pick on a player with Redd’s injury history, especially when he offers little more than points and three-pointers.  I’d rather take O.J. Mayo, Rudy Gay, or even John Salmons over Redd.

Andrew Bynum - Put the injury history aside, what is Bynum going to give you.  There’s Kobe, Gasol, Artest, and Odom ahead of him as scoring options.  He should be able to grab boards, but with that cast around him, how many boards is he going to grab.  I prefer Luis Scola, Zach Randolph, and even Spencer Hawes over him.

Luol Deng - I used to love Deng, but that ship has sailed.  I’m tired of waiting for him to be the next best thing.  He’s dealt with injuries the past two years, and even with Ben Gordon out of town, I’m sticking with John Salmons over him.

Richard Hamilton - Speaking of Ben Gordon, doesn’t he essentially mark the end of Rip’s run as a viable starting fantasy player.  He does little more than score, and with Gordon on board, look for that to diminish.

Zydrunas Ilgauskas - Can you envision Shaq and Ilgauskas manning the middle together?  Me neither.

Originally published at LestersLegends.com .