The Los Angeles Clippers, Cleveland Cavaliers, Orlando Magic and Brooklyn Nets are now working on a complicated, four-way deal that will land Dwight Howard in Brooklyn. The deal will involve 13 players, four first round picks and three million in cash changing hands. Instead of rehashing it ourselves, we’re just going to let ESPN.com take over from here. Read More »

Weekend Wonder: Ersan Ilyasova makes his debut here after averaging 28.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 0.5 assists, 1.5 steals and 2.5 threes in two games over the weekend. In that stretch, he shot 69 percent from the field, 92 percent from the free-throw line and averaged turned the ball over just once. In his last 13 games, Ilyasova has averaged top five numbers, making him a serious contender for pickup of the year. Read More »

Beast of the Night: Danny Granger returned from a one-game absence with a bum ankle to put up 32 points, five rebounds, an assist, a steal, a block and four made three-pointers last night against the Nets. He shot 50 percent (10-20) from the field, 89 percent (8-9) from the floor and had two turnovers. Granger is having a great month, averaging 20.9 points, 4.6 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 2.7 threes through nine games. He’s pulled his value up into the realm of the top 35. Read More »

Beast of the Night: Josh Smith exploded for 30 points, 17 rebounds, seven assists, four steals, three blocks and two three-pointers last night. He shot 52 percent (12-23) from the field and 67 percent (4-6) from the free-throw line, and turned the ball over four times. Smith is improving his averages from month to month and continues to be a dominant fantasy asset on most nights. Read More »

If there’s one thing fantasy basketball owners should know, it’s that a team coached by Mike D’Antoni is a team to embrace. While his attention to offense and disregard for defense bring up valid concerns about the New York Knicks‘ real-life success, it’s pretty much gold for fantasy basketball purposes. There are two players driving the bulk of this team’s fantasy appeal, and in this type of offense there’s always the possibility of plug-and-play success for guys who fill in for injured players, especially in the backcourt. Still, as currently constructed, the Knicks do have some potential issues that diminish their fantasy luster, though not by much. Read More »

Mother of Lailaa; wife of Shelden; sister of Anthony. Candace Parker goes by many titles these days, but we all know her as arguably the best female athlete in the world. While she’s not in L.A. lighting it up for the Sparks, the 6-4 forward spends her offseason playing basketball overseas for UMMC Ekaterinburg in Russia. In between her motherly duties and obligations to her Euroleage team, we were able to catch up with Candace to talk Sparks championship hopes, playing ball post-pregnancy and her idolization of Ron Harper. Read More »

After months of speculation, we can purge ourselves and our Twitter feeds of the nauseating(ly named) “Melodrama.” Late Monday night, a big-time three-team deal took place that finally sent Carmelo Anthony to the New York Knicks, among other things. There are many cogs to this machine, the trade is awaiting league approval, and the wheeling and dealing for some of these players isn’t done yet, but here’s a quick look at what we can expect in the aftermath from a fantasy perspective. Read More »

Now that the deed is done, there’s one lingering question: While the Knicks certainly got better overnight by trading for Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups to form a Big Three with Amar’e Stoudemire, did they improve their standing in the Eastern Conference at all? Forget the Celtics and Heat. Have the Knicks done enough to overtake the Magic, Bulls or Hawks? … In case you haven’t heard, here’s the fallout: New York gets Carmelo, Chauncey, Shelden Williams, Anthony Carter, Renaldo Balkman and Corey Brewer (from Minnesota); Denver gets Ray Felton, Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler, Timofey Mozgov, one first-round pick, two second-round picks and cash; and Minnesota gets Anthony Randolph, Eddy Curry and a legion of happy pizza delivery guys in the greater Minneapolis/St. Paul area … Read More »

I don’t care if Kobe Bryant had to play press secretary, or if Craig Sager decided to be a full-time reporter instead of a part-time pimp during All-Star Weekend in his efforts to get the scoop on Carmelo Anthony‘s future — I’m still refusing to stick the suffix “-gate” on the ongoing ‘Melo story line. Monday’s update: Read More »

If the latest rumors are true, the New York Knicks are going to get stood up for their date with Carmelo Anthony. Not long after it was reported that the Knicks are Nets have meetings scheduled during All-Star Weekend between ‘Melo and their respective majority owners, now it’s been reported that the Nets have a deal in place for ‘Melo that is essentially contingent on the four-time All-Star’s approval. Read More »