FanHouse Robert Swift

Free-agent time should be like Christmas for these under-30 former first-round picks. If they had played better, stayed healthy or fulfilled their potential, they would be cashing in on new contracts or contract extensions. Instead they are fighting for their NBA lives, afterthoughts in free-agent time, hoping to find one interested team for another opportunity to stay in the league.

The alternative might be Europe or perhaps even the NBDL. With each NBA team holding on tight to free-agent dollars because of the economy and the 2010 free-agent class, contracts -- especially lucrative ones -- will be difficult to procure. So while names such as Ben Gordon, Charlie Villanueva, Trevor Ariza and Hedo Turkoglu will fill the offseason newswires, these 10 players will be searching for work in virtual obscurity.

Here is the list and their stories:

B-Ball, B-Fast is a weekdaily look at last night's NBA action from a fantasy perspective. Bookmark it and visit often.

Cup of Coffee
I recently added Robert Swift for $25 in a really, really deep league. Woo, me. No, seriously, what a nightmare. The Supersonics promised to give him some run because he was going to be a restricted FA and they wanted to know what they had. Instead, Swift is likely out for the season. Taking his place? Johan Petro (who I dropped for him, of course). Petro scored seven points, grabbed 10 boards and blocked two shots last night and in he's gonna be available in most leagues. He's not a total gamer, but hey, it's late in the season and if you're in a deep league and need a center, you could do worse. (Rasho NEST-er-o-VIC, anyone?) The other guy to watch? Mickael Gelabale. He's a youngster out of France and he scored 12 points two games ago and 21 with eight boards, an assist and a steal against the Lakers last night. Look, the Sonics are punting on this season. That doesn't mean you can't take advantage. If Gelabale continues to get run, scoop him.

Hot Cakes
Tyrus Thomas went for 18 points, six boards, five dimes, two blocks and a steal last night. Maybe we can stop calling him an "enigma" or some-such-honkey, and just admit that Scott Skiles didn't know how to use him. Everyone else fine with that? If your trade deadline hasn't passed, trade for him -- could be a monster second half.

B-Ball, B-Fast is a weekdaily look at last night's NBA action from a fantasy perspective. Bookmark it and visit often.

Cup of Coffee
We know that Devin Harris will start (we do know that, right?) for New Jersey once he returns from injury. But you best believe that in the meantime, and probably after, the Nets are going to give Marcus Williams plenty of run. He got it in overtime last night, scoring 25 points with four boards and four assists. And yeah, his team won and he awkwardly outplayed Jason Kidd as well. If Williams is floating around or is on your bench, grab him/get him active; he should be a great source of points and light assists over the next week or so.

Hot Cakes
The word out of Milwaukee is that Charlie Villanueva will start for the rest of the season. He's been beasty when motivated before, so make him a priority add this morning if he's available. (Yes, I am aware that he only got eight points and three boards last night ... doesn't matter.)

Robert Swift will also be seeing a big bump in playing time, as the Sonics see what they've got in the soon-to-be restricted free agent. Kurt Thomas is now out of town, so Swift should be a great source for blocks and boards the rest of the way home -- pre-injury he had shown some serious fantasy potential and was always a pre-season sleeper fave.

With the NBA trade deadline looming, Trade Machinations rounds up real rumors (and creates fake ones) of moves that'd make the NBA a better, brighter place.

What does Orlando want? "In trade talks with various teams, the Magic have been looking to add a defensive-minded power forward, mostly using a variety of their players with expiring contracts as bait." What has Seattle got? Kurt Thomas. Now, yes, you can argue that Thomas has a monster 8 million dollar expiring contract. But I can argue that Orlando has a package -- James Augustine, Pat Garrity and Carlos Arroyo -- that makes more expiring contract money than Thomas. So the Sonics pick up a little extra cap room next year, and Orlando lobs them a second round draft pick as well for their effort. Or not lobs.

Thomas provides the Magic with the defensive power forward they want, Seattle gets to add to it's future cap space and Thomas, who is apparently expendable now that Robert Swift will be stealing his playing time, gets to not be an eight million dollar waste on a non-contender.

Will it happen? Yes. Yes it will. The only hold up here -- I would imagine -- is whether the Sonics and Magic want to consider anything that might involve either J.J. Redick or Chris Wilcox. Well, that and the full compensation for the swap: draft picks, etc.

Remember Robert Swift, the gangly redhead from Bakersfield the Sonics picked in the lottery in 2004? That's the just-drafted Swift pictured. He's still around... but I'm not sure you'd recognize him.

Last summer, dude supposedly grew up. He had added a bunch of muscle to counter his waifish on-court demeanor displayed in his sophomore season. He was handed the opening night starting job by Bob Hill... and he promptly tore his ACL going after a loose ball in Seattle's last preseason game. He missed the entire year, and the Swift Prophecy was delayed one more time.

Gary Washburn of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer caught up with Bob... who spent his year off packing on 40 more pounds of muscle. Also, tattoo artists spent 120 hours inking up Bob's pastey skin. Check out Washburn's story at the link above for the damning evidence in hypercolor.

Will Swift be an important cog in the Seattle youth movement? It's now or never; he's a restricted free agent next summer. He's got to convince someone he deserves to be paid. And with new management in the Sonics front office, there's no nostalgia. It's time for Bob to show the world he can last more than half a season hang with the big guys of the NBA.