Title Chaste is the diary of Matt Snyder in his season a virgin fantasy basketball player.
Well, that didn't take long. Thanks to Mo Williams, Danny Granger, Amare Stoudemire, Brook Lopez, Jason Terry, Andrea Bargnani and Shawn Marion, I won my first career fantasy basketball game. I should also point out I owe the scheduling for the victory as well, because my team checked in as the sixth-highest scorer out of 12. Really, it could have gone either way. This victory was a sign that being lucky is just as worthwhile as being smart in fantasy basketball, just as I already knew in fantasy baseball and fantasy football. On the other hand, skill is still paramount -- as the top scorer for the week was, not surprisingly, Tom Lorenzo.
Folks who frequent the fantasy sports version of this website are likely familiar with my work in the fantasy baseball and fantasy football sections. I have been playing both of those games since the mid-'90s. To those people, I have news for you: I have never played fantasy basketball. Until now. I'm diving right into our FanHouse fantasy basketball league on Fleaflicker.
On top of my inexperience, I haven't even watched more than a few minutes of an NBA game since May 19, 2005. That was the date of Reggie Miller's final NBA game. During that season, the Pacers -- my favorite team since the days of Wayman Tisdale, John Long and Steve Stipanovich -- had ruined my love for the NBA. Thanks a lot, Ron Artest, Jamaal Tinsley and Stephen Jackson!
Now with his seventh NBA team, Drew Gooden has played a variety of roles in his much-traveled NBA career. He is about to have a new one -- starting center for a Western Conference contender, according to a radio report cited by DallasBasketball.com.
When Gooden was signed as a free agent this summer by the Dallas Mavericks, it was widely assumed that he was coming mostly to provide depth in the front court for a veteran team still hoping to make a final push before it starts to rebuild.
On Monday, Mavericks GM Donnie Nelson mentioned at a press event that incumbent starting center Erick Dampier could come off the bench this season. Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News followed up to report that it's not a set-in-stone matter, and that Nelson was just generally speaking about the team's flexibility.
That got Matt Moore and I thinking -- err, talking -- about the Maverick rotation. Our discussion (with a somewhat relevant Magic-Cavs vignette) is after the jump.
There's still some tidying up to do this free agent season. We still need to find out about Lamar Odom, David Lee, Andre Miller, Drew Gooden and a few more interesting names out there.
But there's already plenty in the books, so let's take a look:
Wallace is a perfect fit in Boston, playing alongside veterans Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen. If Boston stays healthy, they'll likely have the best interior defense in the league: Kendrick Perkins, Garnett and Wallace.
What had been a tricky deal between Dallas, who is apparently in BUY! BUY! BUY! mode, and Toronto, who is attempting to maximize its Hedo Turkoglu cushion, turned into a four-way ballroom dance. Orlando reportedly jumped in to get a trade exception for the loss of Hedo and Memphis will provide its usual role as facilitator.
Turkoglu's agent Lon Babby admitted Saturday that Hedo made a verbal committment to the Blazers Friday before changing course. That might seem like bad pool, but that's one of the dangers of negotiating deals during the free agency moratorium the first week of July. Last-minute reversals have happened before, and they'll happen again. (It's also worth noting no one confirmed a Portland deal on the record during Friday's crazy hours. Everything was anonymously sourced.)
For awhile Friday, it sounded like Hedo Turkoglu was trying to become an NBA double dipper, playing for two different teams at the same time. Or like one of those traveling salesmen who quietly kept different wives in different cities.
And maybe he thought since the teams -- Portland and Toronto -- are in different countries, he might be able to slip by. You could just imagine that sly smile of his as he nodded yes to both teams.
Unfortunately, it doesn't work like that. Either Turkoglu got cold feet or several news organizations got it wrong.
Not everyone is waiting for 2010 – the mother of all free agent summers – to try to improve their team by throwing big money at the seasoned veterans.
Even in hard economic times, the top players like Carlos Boozer, Hedo Turkoglu and Jason Kidd will leave teams and get their financial reward in other places. The squeeze will be on the lower-level free agents who must settle for minimum or various exceptions.
What hurts this class is that only seven teams really have major room under the salary cap to make something happen, and they usually aren't the NBA's biggest spenders. Unless the free agents stay with their current teams, only Memphis, Oklahoma City, Sacramento, Atlanta, Portland, Toronto and Detroit have major room.
Although there has been plenty of dancing and unofficial talks the last few days, the real dealings can't start until 12:01 a.m. Wednesday.
Here is a breakdown by position of the five most intriguing – and unrestricted – free agents.
Title Chaste is the diary of Matt Snyder in his season a virgin fantasy basketball player. 
Folks who frequent the fantasy sports version of this website are likely familiar with my work in the fantasy baseball and 
Now with his seventh NBA team, 
On Monday, Mavericks GM 
There's still some tidying up to do this free agent season. We still need to find out about 
The rumored sign-and-trade sending 
The Mavericks have quietly been the most active NBA team this month, not only locking up incumbent point guard 
It seems 
For awhile Friday, it sounded like 
Not everyone is waiting for 2010 – the mother of all free agent summers – to try to improve their team by throwing big money at the seasoned veterans.
