One of the best parts about playing fantasy basketball is that we all get to play the role of Sam Presti, Daryl Morey or, for some of us, Isiah Thomas. It's fun to be able to pull of a trade with the kicker being that it has no real life implications.
So you traded away Carmelo Anthony last week for Kevin Martin. It happens. You wake up tomorrow, put your pants on one leg at a time, and go about your business. Hoops Heist, however, is here to help you target players in your league who will return value that will make you wake up and put your pants on two legs at a times. Imagine that.
We'll run through a few players whose current value might make them an easy target in the trade market. In other words, buy-low candidates. Don't worry, it's not stealing. It's more of a business transaction.
The NBA isn't just made at Staples on Sunday afternoons under the lights, or in a Friday night showdown at the Garden. It's every night, players stepping up and making plays.
It's guys that will eventually be answers to trivia questions making huge shots that endear them and their teams to the hearts of young fans who first make a connection with this crazy, random, beautiful game.
The heroes aren't just the guys on posters and All-Star ballots, sometimes they are journeymen who show up every day, don't shoot a great percentage and get the job done.
MINNEAPOLIS -- Al Jefferson wasn't even born when the incident happened in 1984. But he's seen the old footage.
"The only thing I knew about Kurt (Rambis) from him playing is the highlight of Kevin McHale knocking him out,'' said the Minnesota forward.
Jonny Flynn wasn't born when Rambis won the last his four titles with the Los Angeles Lakers in 1988. But Flynn has seen the highlights as well.
"I remember he had the high socks, the thick glasses and the short shorts,'' said the Timberwolves point guard. "That was my first impressions about him. I said that when we first talked on the phone, and we got a good laugh about it.''
You kids and your Twitter. There's something about 140 characters to get your point across that just seems to make sense. The whole idea got me thinking that instead of dragging out some fantasy basketball column that you'll likely just skim over, what do you say I give you 50 fantasy basketball tips and observations in 140 characters or less. You have no vote in this matter, so you're getting them anyway.
These tips are not only designed for those of you who have yet to draft your fantasy teams, but they're also for those who are looking to improve on their post-draft squads. Hopefully this is a helpful way to get out as much information as possible while keepin' it mainstream.
Things went from bad to worse for the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday, when Al Jefferson joined Kevin Love on the sidelines due to an injury. Jefferson sat out practice with a sore Achilles' tendon, which limited him to just six minutes during the second half of the team's preseason game against the Bucks on Saturday.
While Love's broken hand is expected to have him back in six to eight weeks, there's no timetable yet for Jefferson, and you can bet the team is going to be extremely cautious when it comes to green-lighting his return to the court.
They say that all bad things come in threes. Don't tell that to Kevin and Denise Jonas. In Minnesota, though, they feel like they've suffered enough. Between the Ricky Rubio debacle, Kevin Love's fractured left hand, and now Al Jefferson's sore Achilles' tendon -- that has limited him this preseason -- haven't they suffered enough?
The power forward position is the deepest of all positions. Much like I mentioned how many of the the best power forwards are eligible at center, many small forwards and centers have dual eligibility at power forward. The range of ability consists of some of the league's best rebounders, scorers, three-point specialists, and efficient shooters. Some fantasy owners load up on power forwards and slot them into their center and utility positions. This position runs so deep, so deep that 50 players may not be enough to cover each and every fantasy relevant power forward. The depth leaves great value toward the end of drafts, but there's no reason to sleep on the players atop the draft board.
Again, I followed Fleaflicker's fantasy basketball positional eligibility. The rankings are based on standard, 8-category head-to-head (H2H) scoring: points, rebounds, assists, blocks, steals, three-pointers, field-goal percentage, and free-throw percentage.
Fantasy Basketball Rankings: C | PF | SF | SG | PG
Minnesota figured to struggle this season. The roster is young, the coach (Kurt Rambis) is new, and there are plenty of holes through the roster. But there's always an extra challenge in 'Sota, and this year that extra challenge comes in the form of a fracture of the fourth metacarpal bone in the left hand of Kevin Love that will reportedly sideline the power forward for 6-8 weeks.
According to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Love's hand smacked against the elbow of teammate Stewie GriffinOleksiy Pecherov as Love collected a rebound. Fitting, that the injury would happen on a rebound, considering Love is one of the league's brightest young board hoarders. His absence will force cohort Al Jefferson to be even more of a vacuum on the glass.
There's always a fine line between unearthing a late-round sleeper and reaching on a hot name too soon, leaving proven talent left on the board. It happens every year, and in some cases can lead to an early stumble out of the gate. In other cases, however, taking a chance on a player with promise late in the draft might just improve your shot at winning your league. Just ask the guys who passed on Samuel Dalembert and Tyson Chandler and opted for Brook Lopez and Nene Hilario instead.
This is especially true when it comes to drafting centers, one of the thinner positions and one in which you are required to start two in most leagues. Based on the current average draft position (ADP), per Mock Draft Central (MDC) and Yahoo! (Y!), I will give you a list of five potential sleepers, or value picks.
The Timberwolves rolled in their first game under Kurt Rambis, beating the Bucks in what was the preseason opener for both teams. Minnesota is likely to care a lot more about these exhibition contests than most, considering they have a new head coach, their best player returning from a knee injury, and a rookie point guard running the team offensively.
That's a lot of things to mesh together before the season starts, but Minnesota looked further along than one might have expected, at least in this initial outing.
One especially interesting item from the box score was the line belonging to Jonny Flynn. Because while the rookie was solid in his debut, and finished with 14 points and seven assists, he did so without making a single shot from the field.
One of the best parts about playing fantasy basketball is that we all get to play the role of Sam Presti, Daryl Morey or, for some of us, Isiah Thomas. It's fun to be able to pull of a trade with the kicker being that it has no real life implications. 
The 
Things went from bad to worse for the 
They say that all bad things come in threes. Don't tell that to Kevin and Denise Jonas. In Minnesota, though, they feel like they've suffered enough. Between the 
The power forward position is the deepest of all positions. Much like I mentioned how many of the the best power forwards are eligible at center, many small forwards and centers have dual eligibility at power forward. The range of ability consists of some of the league's best rebounders, scorers, three-point specialists, and efficient shooters. Some fantasy owners load up on power forwards and slot them into their center and utility positions. This position runs so deep, so deep that 50 players may not be enough to cover each and every fantasy relevant power forward. The depth leaves great value toward the end of drafts, but there's no reason to sleep on the players atop the draft board. 
Minnesota figured to struggle this season. The roster is young, the coach (Kurt Rambis) is new, and there are plenty of holes through the roster. But there's always an extra challenge in 'Sota, and this year that extra challenge comes in the form of a fracture of the fourth metacarpal bone in the left hand of 
There's always a fine line between unearthing a late-round sleeper and reaching on a hot name too soon, leaving proven talent left on the board. It happens every year, and in some cases can lead to an early stumble out of the gate. In other cases, however, taking a chance on a player with promise late in the draft might just improve your shot at winning your league. Just ask the guys who passed on 
The 
