Fantasy Basketball Fallout: Breaking Down the Fantasy Impact of the 3-Team Trade

There's going to be a lot of breaking news in the NBA today as things open for business, but the biggest move of the shortened off-season might have happened last night.

A three-team deal went down which sends Chris Paul to the Lakers, Pau Gasol to the Rockets and a host of players to the Hornets.

You will find a lot of varying opinion on who the winners and losers in this deal are, and I have my own opinions as well.

But we’re not here to talk about that, we’re here to break down the fantasy impact of this deal.

I will be looking at each player in the deal and what this kind of trade means to their fantasy value, as well as who else might benefit from the trade.

Los Angeles Lakers Receive:

Chris Paul

This is the guy who set this whole thing into motion and made this trade go down.

The Lakers coveted Chris Paul and the Lakers got their guy.

What’s the fantasy impact of the move?

Well, Chris Paul is still Chris Paul and he’s still going to be doing his thing.

Paul will average 16-18 points per game, and he’ll probably hit double-digit assists or close to it.

And he’ll still be one of the best, if not the best steals guy in the league. Paul is still the No. 3 guy on my overall list, and still the No. 1point guard in the league.

Other Lakers Affected

The Lakers got rid of two of their best post men in the deal, and that means someone has to step up to the plate.

Chances are that someone will be a free agent or another trade target.

But it could mean more playing time for Matt Barnes, who could have some deep league value if he actually goes into the season as a starter.

Chris Paul’s arrival also signifies Derek Fisher losing the very little value he actually had left.

Houston Rockets Receive:

Pau Gasol

The Rockets are apparently very high on Pau Gasol, because they gave up an awful lot to get him.

And while it is debatable as to whether the Rockets gave up too much, Gasol is a great player, and he’s an even better fantasy player than a real one.

Being the only surefire big man on the team right now, Gasol should have no problem averaging a double-double again, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him finish with 20+ points per game.

The Rockets have left themselves without much for scoring options, and they’ll be relying heavily on Gasol to bear the load.

Other Rockets Affected

The biggest hole right now on the team is at shooting guard where Kevin Martin used to be.

Unless the Rockets go out and get someone, which they may very well do, the leading candidates for the starting spot are Courtney Lee and Terrence Williams.

Lee had some bright moments down the stretch, with 10.4 points per game off the bench in the second half. Lee has some decent range as a shooter and quick hands to grab some steals. He could be a nice sleeper if nothing changes.

I also like Chase Budinger all the more now that Kevin Martin is gone.

Gasol and Kyle Lowry can’t do everything, and Budinger should have a shot to be a strong No. 2 or 3 scorer.

I already had Budinger as one of my favorite sleepers, and this bumps him up a little more.

New Orleans Hornets Receive

Lamar Odom

Odom never got as much credit in Los Angeles as he deserved, and this trade might show that.

Odom scored 14.4 points per game, and had 8.6 rebounds coming off the bench most of the season.

And of the games he did start, he scored 16.3 points per game on a team with multiple scoring options.

It’ll be interesting to see if Odom ends up starting in New Orleans at small forward, or taking on the same role as he did in Los Angeles and backing up both forwards and playing 30 minutes per game off the bench.

Odom is going into his 12th eason, but he hasn’t yet shown signs of wearing down.

Kevin Martin

Martin should continue doing what he does without skipping a beat going into New Orleans.

He’s a fantastic scorer with one of the sweetest shots in the game this side of Ray Allen. And he does get to the line and hit a high percentage of his free throws, hitting close to 90% last season.

Martin will be the leading scorer again in New Orleans, and he’ll put up 23-25 points per game again. But he's still an injury risk, and he still is limited in the categories that he helps you in.

No changes in rankings for Martin in my opinion.

Luis Scola

I like Scola, but of all the guys that were traded, this might be one guy who loses a little value in the deal.

Last year Scola was the only threat in the paint, and because of that he scored a lot of the points inside and grabbed a lot of the rebounds.

The Houston center last season was 6-6, so there wasn’t a ton of competition down low.

Now Scola will be playing alongside Emeka Okafor, a rebounding and shot blocking machine, as well as Lamar Odom, a great rebounder in his own right.

Scola will still be the team’s No. 2 scorer in New Orleans, and could get to 18 points per game, but it’ll be tough for him to get more than 8 boards per game. He also doesn't add much in the way of steals or blocks.

I won’t be downgrading Scola too far, but I will probably drop him a few spots because the upside takes a hit considering who he’ll be playing besides.

Goran Dragic

As of right now it’s going to come down to Dragic and Jarrett Jack for the starting point guard spot in New Orleans. Dragic has a fair amount of potential that he just hasn’t had the chance to show off as of yet.

Last season, Dragic had the chance to start five games, and he averaged 13.4 PPG, 7.8 APG, 7.8 RPG and 1.6 3PG in those starts.

I personally like the upside of Dragic more than Jarrett Jack, and if he can win the starting job, I’ll be considering him a very nice sleeper option.

Monitor what happens here.

Other Hornets Affected

As mentioned above, Jarrett Jack will, if nothing else, get more playing time, potentially getting the starting job.

I don’t love him as a fantasy player, but if he’s getting starters' minutes, he’s viable in deep leagues.

The other player potentially affected here is Trevor Ariza, who could lose some of his 35 minutes with Lamar Odom in town.

Even if Odom doesn’t start, he’ll likely knock Ariza down under 30 minutes per game.

So there’s the breakdown.

Honestly, the deal is huge for the NBA, but it isn’t going to have a massive effect on fantasy basketball the way I see things shaking out.

Scola could see some decline in his numbers, while Gasol could see a slight increase. If he wins the startng job, Goran Dragic could be the biggest winner of everyone in the deal.

What are your thoughts on the trade? Is there fantasy impact that I am missing here? Give us your thoughts.