Fantasy Fallout: What Does the Chris Paul Trade Mean for Fantasy Basketball?

It was starting to feel like it might not ever happen considering the people pulling the string behind the deal, but Chris Paul has been traded to Los Angeles, and it’s the Clippers who put together the winning package. Now we can finally analyze what all of this means for fantasy basketball.

The move impacts the players involved in the trade, but it will also have a ripple effect on many of the guys who are still around in New Orleans and Los Angeles. Let’s take a look at who's had their fantasy value affected by this blockbuster deal.

The Los Angeles Clippers Side

Chris Paul

If nothing else Chris Paul won’t be playing this season miserable on a team that he doesn’t want to be playing for. Instead he’ll be in sunny Los Angeles and he will be teamed up with the most talented teammate he has ever played basketball with in Blake Griffin. The setting will be similar for Paul, as just like in New Orleans he has a go-to power forward down low as his best scorer. No offense to David West, but he’s no Blake Griffin.

With Griffin on his team and a couple of competent shooters I imagine there aren’t quite so many assists wasted in Los Angeles than there were in New Orleans last year and Paul should jump back over the 10 assists per game mark.

Having a dominant inside presence like Griffin should also open up more open shots and free up the lane a bit more and Paul should also see a rise in points per game. The move doesn’t push Paul any higher than the No. 3 ranking where I had him, but in my opinion it’s enough to where the debate about whether Derrick Rose has passed him as top point guard should cease.

The Rest of the Team

Paul coming in and Eric Gordon going out means Blake Griffin’s scoring should be on the rise. He is now the clear cut number one offensive weapon on the team and he has a real point guard to get him the ball and throw sick alley-oops to him. Griffin’s is still just a points and boards guy with a great field-goal percentage, but his points should go up making him even more appealing.

The question that carries the most fantasy impact is who is going to play the 2-guard position with Eric Gordon gone. At this point the Clippers have three strong point guards and their only two guard is Randy Foye. Inevitably Foye is going to get some extra minutes this season and could emerge as a deep league sleeper.

I would assume though that Chauncey Billups gets the most run at shooting guard because even at his age he’s better than a sixth man. If Billups starts next to Paul he should average 15-16 points as the team’s number two scorer and could knock down close to two treys per game considering the open looks he’ll have. Billups loses a little in the rankings by moving to the two, but he still has nice value.

New Orleans Hornets Side

Eric Gordon

I was already predicting a breakout year for Eric Gordon where he goes from budding star to legitimate star. This move only ups the odds of that happening. Just like going to play with Blake Griffin helps Paul’s fantasy value, leaving Griffin helps Gordon’s fantasy value.

There is no one in New Orleans to share the offensive spotlight with and Gordon should come close to scoring 25 points per game or better. It’s all a matter of if he stays healthy which he has struggled to do in his young career, but if he stays healthy Gordon I’m projecting 25 PPG, 4.0 APG, 1.5 SPG and 2.0 3PG. And also Gordon’s first all-star appearance.

Chris Kaman

The Caveman was thrown in because of his expiring contract, not because of his talent, but one shouldn’t discount the talent he has. It might be a bit awkward, but it looks like Kaman is going to play alongside Emeka Okafor upfront as the team really doesn’t have any power forwards. I think the two can make it work because Okafor isn’t an offensive presence and so Kaman won’t lose many touches to him.

Considering the team’s talent level Kaman could come right in and be the number two option on offense 16-18 points per game this season with 8-9 rebounds and a block. Of everyone involved in the deal Kaman’s fantasy value might be helped the most by it and he should see a pretty decent ranking when my centers rankings come out.

Al-Farouq Aminu

This is the guy the Hornets are hoping ends up putting this deal over the top for them. In terms of fantasy value Aminu gets a bit of a jump from stay away to deep league sleeper. Aminu was being buried under Caron Butler on the LA depth chart and wasn’t even guaranteed the backup job. In New Orleans Aminu will still be coming off the bench behind Trevor Ariza, but as of right now he’s the most talented guy on the bench and should get 20-25 minutes per game if he can prove he deserves it. You won’t want to gamble on him in standard leagues, but in deep leagues Aminu might be worth the risk.

The Rest of the Team

Eric Gordon and Chris Kaman’s arrival to New Orleans isn’t really putting anyone out of a starting job, because the Hornets didn’t even have starters lined up at those spots. And as I said earlier Okafor’s value isn’t hurt much by this because he wasn’t an offensive weapon anyway. Okafor’s value comes on the defensive end where he should continue to block shots and grab rebounds at a nice clip.

As for Trevor Ariza his leash might be a bit shorter with Aminu backing him up, but he should also get some more touches considering the team doesn’t have many offensive weapons. So really his value doesn’t change much.

The biggest impact comes for Jarrett Jack, who is in line to fill the opening at the point. Jack started some games in Toronto last year before being dealt to New Orleans and in the 15 games he started he averaged 12.3 PPG and 4.6 APG. The Hornets are going to have to sign a backup, but the job is Jack’s for the taking. He could get close to 35 minutes per game and I can see him putting up 14-15 points and 5.5 assists per game. He doesn’t hit many threes, but he is a decent rebounder for a point guard. Ultimately I see him landing somewhere around the Jameer Nelson range in the high 20s of my PG rankings.

What do you make of last night’s deals? I think Jarrett Jack and Chris Kaman are the biggest winners in the deal, who do you think is? Who do you think loses in the deal? I’m not sure anyone really does. Let me know what your thoughts are.

For more fantasy basketball analysis like this check out Rotoprofessor or follow me on Twitter @Will_Overton.