Fantasy Impact Of The 2010 NBA Free Agency Bonanza
The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Boston Celtics 83-79 in game 7 of the NBA Finals to officially bring the 2009-2010 NBA Season to a close. Normally, the end of another NBA season is a sad occasion for most basketball heads, but this off-season promises to be every bit as intriguing as the just completed championship series.
The LeBron watch began as soon as the Celtics completed their upset of the Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference semis and will no doubt be at a fever pitch when free agency begins on July 1st. This summer promises to deliver seismic changes to the NBA landscape with a smorgasbord of talented free agents potentially on the move.
The 2010 NBA Free Agency dealings will reach well beyond the real world of the NBA and impact Fantasy Hoops as well. Where some of the top names end up this summer could dramatically impact their Fantasy Value and the value of their teammates as well. What if you have Joe Johnson becoming a second fiddle to LeBron James or Dwyane Wade? Think that won’t significantly affect Johnson’s Fantasy Value?
One popular rumor out there has Chris Bosh becoming a Laker via a sign-and-trade involving Lakers Center Andrew Bynum. The Fantasy Impact of such a move would be enormous! Bosh would immediately drop from the top 10 in most Mock Fantasy Drafts – playing alongside Pau Gasol and Kobe Bryant. Gasol’s Fantasy Value would also take a fairly significant hit with the highly-skilled Bosh joining him in the post.
While NBA Free Agency 2010 will be headlined by some of the bigger names in the class, the quality and depth of this class will also allow some of the less sexy names to make a significant Fantasy Impact as well. Astute Fantasy Owners will be on top of where players like David Lee, Luis Scola, Raymond Felton, Al Harrington, Nate Robinson and Mike Miller end up as well. It is often these lesser known players and the ability to maximize their strengths that ultimately make the difference in H2H Fantasy Basketball success or failure.
Expect the drama to really start to unfold with the 2010 NBA Draft on June 24th. The amount of strategizing taking place in this upcoming Draft might rival anything going on in a Pentagon war room. There figures to be plenty of jockeying as teams look to best position themselves to capitalize on the pending Free Agent Bonanza.
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