Andre Miller and Jrue Holiday: Why you should draft both in fantasy basketball

Get paid...I aint mad at ya boy...

Fantasy basketball is all about potential and what we can prove.  With Andre Miller, you know what you are going to get.  He is rarely injured, having missed only three games in his NBA career.  You also know that he is an old school pass first point guard, who will only look for his shot to set up others.

Now, Andre has signed with Portland, you can expect an uptick in his assist totals, which were already sizable.  The uncrease in talent will only help those numbers, plus it will reduce the load on the star player Brandon Roy.

Miller had been in discussions with the New York Knicks earlier in the week but left impressed with Portland’s youthful core after meeting with Blazers’ team officials in Las Vegas last weekend. Once Portland made a formal offer on Friday, it didn’t take long for Miller to make his choice. “I hope to provide veteran leadership to a young talented nucleus and help Portland take the next step in the pursuit of a championship,” Miller, who has averaged 14.6 points, 4.2 rebounds and 7.4 assists per game in his 10 seasons in the league. HoopsWorld.com

GM Kevin Pritchard knew that his team needed another leader to attempt to take the team to the next level.  Steve Blake is a nice piece, but not the lead guard for a championship team.  ESPN.com explains the thinking of the Blazers in signing this contract.

“He is one of the league’s ironmen who brings a wealth of veteran leadership to our team and is a great fit for our young and improving roster,” Portland general manager Kevin Pritchard said in a statement.Miller met with Blazers general manager Kevin Pritchard and coach Nate McMillan at a restaurant in Las Vegas earlier this week.

Pritchard said he was impressed with how much Miller know about the Blazers offense.

“Andre was terrific. He knew our team. He knew how he could help our team. He seemed like a coach,” Pritchard said.

With Miller, the Blazers get a savvy veteran who excels as a physical, post-up guard.

Miller has played an NBA-high 530 straight games and has missed just three in his career.

“I’m just looking forward to the challenge, you know?” Miller said in a conference call. “I know Portland wants to accomplish a lot of things, and I want to add to that.”

The game of musical chairs has implications for other teams.  By the title, you can safely assume the Sixers.  Who do they turn to when they are looking for their floor general?  The answer is simple, think Jrue Holiday when you are planning your draft boards.

don't look only at his UCLA stats...they don't tell the whole story

Miller went to the Sixers in 2006 in a midseason trade with the Denver Nuggets that involved Allen Iverson. He did not miss a game for Philadelphia.

His departure means the Sixers will likely turn to fourth-year guard Lou Williams to run the point. They made UCLA’s Jrue Holiday their first-round pick and hope he can develop into their point guard of the future. Shooting guard Willie Green is the only other true guard on the roster, leaving the Sixers thin in the backcourt.

Lou Williams is a bootleg Allen Iverson, in that he is a shooting guard in a point guards body.  That is not the worst thing in the world, but he is not the answer. (pun intended)

Of course he is going to the rack...he is about his numbers...

Jrue Holliday was miscast at UCLA, since they had a wealth of talent at the point guard position with Darren Collison (also another star in the making) and his game will be suited to the NBA.

Boozer on the move to Chicago?

Get use to this look Chicago, this is the reason why my WCL season was in the trash...

This is what ESPN.com is reporting…

By Marc Stein and Chad Ford
ESPN.com
Another major multiteam trade might be looming in the NBA with the Portland Trail Blazers, Utah Jazz and Chicago Bulls having discussed a deal that would be headlined by Carlos Boozer and Kirk Hinrich, according to NBA front-office sources.

Sources stressed to ESPN.com that no deal was imminent Thursday and that both Portland and Utah are still evaluating multiple trade scenarios. But two sources with knowledge of the three-team proposal confirmed that there have been substantive talks regarding a trade that would land Boozer in Chicago, Hinrich in Portland and Tyrus Thomas in Utah.

A deal featuring those main components would deliver the elite low-post scorer that the Bulls have been chasing for years in Boozer and furnish Portland with a lead guard in Hinrich that the Blazers are known to rate highly as a potential backcourt mate for Brandon Roy. It’s possible that other players would be added to balance out the transaction from a salary-cap perspective if the three teams elect to take these talks further.

Yet even if this deal collapses, sources say it is clear that the Jazz are becoming increasingly open to the possibility of moving Boozer now to increase their financial flexibility to re-sign restricted free agent Paul Millsap.

Despite fresh reports Thursday about the Blazers weighing whether to sign Millsap to an offer sheet, Hinrich is the player Portland prefers, according to one source close to the process, after the Blazers came so close last week to landing the versatile Hedo Turkoglu.

Boozer has only one season left at $12.7 million after declining the option in his contract to become an unrestricted free agent July 1. It’s believed that the Jazz are determined to keep Millsap but are concerned about the luxury-tax consequences of signing him to a long-term deal.

Make up your mind Hedo! You can’t have both…

Don’t light the candles just yet Portland… Hedo has broken off talks.  Actually, I think it is for the best.  You have enough players similar to Hedo and he doesn’t make you better than the Lakers, which is what you need to worry about…ESPN.com reports the news…

Free agent forward Hedo Turkoglu has broken off negotiations with the Portland Trail Blazers, a source told ESPN’s Ric Bucher on Friday night.

Yahoo! Sports reported that Turkoglu backed out of his earlier commitment and has his sights set on Toronto. Yahoo! Sports reported that Toronto can offer Turkoglu about $6 million more than Portland, but would have to trim its roster to do it.

Friday night, a report from the National Post newspaper in Canada said Turkoglu was close to signing with the Raptors, who could have to consider renouncing the rights to free agents Shawn Marion, Anthony Parker and Carlos Delfino.

Earlier Friday, ESPN.com’s Henry Abbott reported that Turkoglu had agreed in principle to a deal with the Trail Blazers, citing sources. The report, which said the deal couldn’t be formally signed until the NBA salary cap is set next Wednesday, followed a Wednesday night dinner in Orlando between Turkoglu and Blazers head coach Nate McMillan, followed by two days of negotiations.

Friday afternoon, Bucher reported that the Turkish star remained in Portland, where he and the team were working on a deal.

After ESPN.com reported the agreement in principle, several news organizations confirmed it, using sources. Late Friday afternoon, the Oregonian reported that Blazers general manager Kevin Pritchard and Turkoglu’s agent, Lon Babby, had not confirmed the deal, but that talks were continuing.

Turkoglu, a 6-foot-10 forward from Turkey who played a prominent role in the Orlando Magic’s recent trip to the NBA Finals, had been looking for a five-year deal in the neighborhood of $50 million.

So, you go to Toronto, they will not have Parker, who is a clutch shooter that will help space the floor,  or Marion, who is the slasher and rebounder.  The only team that it really makes sense to go to is the Magic.  With VC, you are better than you were last year and are in position to repeat…