Bulls Trade Hinrich to the Wizards

The Bulls will trade Kirk Hinrich and the 17th pick in the NBA draft for a conditional future second round pick. Note this trade will likley happen, but is not official until July 8th. The reason for the trade was to give the Bulls more salary cap space to sign premium free agents such as LeBron James.

For the Wizards, this trade gives them more guard depth, which in the fantasy world means the fantasy potential of some guards was reduced. Those potential victims are Hinrich himself, Shaun Livingston, Nick Young, and Randy Foye. At times Young showed he may have some potential for scoring, but the Wizards are apparently signing Hinrich for the depth they feel Young will not provide. Shaun Livingston ended last season on a good note averaging 15 points and 6 assists over his last eight games. The arrival of Hinrich, along with the drafting of John Wall and the continued presence of Gilbert Arenas makes his resurgence with the Wizards unlikely. Randy Foye may be able to maintain some value, as a fairly proven player, but it may require Gilbert Arenas being traded (something the Wizards would probably be happy to do) for this to be realized.

In Chicago, Hinrich's playing time varied from around 28 mpg to a peak of 38 towards the end of the season. The more extended playing time came after John Salmons was traded. With the Wizards, with Wall and Arenas likely starters, Hinrich will probably be in the high 20's and fantasy owners should value him accordingly.

The impact of Hinrich leaving Chicago remains to be seen after they spend their free agent money. I think we all know they will not enter the season with Flip Murray as their starting shooting guard.

Cook Traded to the Thunder

In an effort to reduce the salary of their roster, the Miami Heat trade Daequan Cook and the 18th draft pick to the Oklahoma City Thunder for a second round pick. Cook's playing time took a big drop this past season for the Heat and it was apparent he was no longer needed for his three point shooting. Cook will have the opportunity to be a three point specialist off the bench which the Thunder could use as their main point guard, Russel Westbrook, has yet to develop his three point shot. Overall though, this trade does not make Cook any more desirable than he would have been with the Heat.

Dalembert Traded for Nocioni and Hawes

The Sacramento Kings sent Spencer Hawes and Andres Nocioni to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for Samuel Dalembert. Jason Thompson had been a starter for the Kings in 58 games last season. How much playing time Dalembert gets for the Kings will depend on where they decide to play Thompson. With Carl Landry on the roster they have a serviceable power forward on the roster leaving the center position the best place for Thompson. The Kings are unlikely to put Dalembert ahead of Thompson on the depth chart. This means Dalembert will likely play limited minutes off the bench and not see an increase in fantasy value over what he had in Philadelphia, where playing time for him was at times hard to come by.

The Sixers receive two decent players who have the potential to effectively muddle up the projected playing rotation. Hawes was in and out of favor for the Kings, but he is a young player who should be wanting to prove himself. He will have an opportunity to claim the PF or C position and play alongside Elton Brand. What kind of shape Jason Smith and Marreese Speights show up in will be a factor in how much time that Hawes receives, but him averaging 30 mpg is not out of the question.

Nocioni will likely continue to be a backup, but could combine with Hawes to limit the playing time of Thadues Young. Without this trade, Young would be a much more desirable fantasy player.