Posts Tagged Jameer Nelson

Wouldn't you be bored if you had to sit next to Stan Van Gundy all the time? (Getty Images)

Jameer Nelson

It’s been about 2 weeks since Nelson’s surgery on his left knee.  The original timeframe for his return was 4-6 weeks, so that puts him at 2-4 weeks away.  If he’s available in your league (33% of Yahoo leagues), I’d pick him up sooner rather than later.  If you want to trade for him on the relatively cheap, that window is quickly closing.  Jason Williams has established himself in ORL’s rotation, but I still like Nelson to approach top 50 numbers (by averages) with his efficiency.

There’s no real “newsy” news on his status, besides that the original timeframe still applies as of two days ago.  But if you want to read into anything (like I love to do), here’s a quote from last week in the Orlando Sentinel:

“Some teammates have been forecasting a quicker return for Nelson then the original four-to-six week prognosis.

“When asked about how far he was from a come back, Nelson said, coyly, ‘Weeks. Four to six. That’s what I say. I don’t know.’”

Yes, I know, it’s that same 4-6 week timeframe.  But he said it coyly!  Coyly!!!  Anyways.

Tracy McGrady

Is T-Mac the new AI? (Getty Images)

McGrady’s situation is a lot less clear than Nelson’s.  In fact, the clearest report that I’ve read of his potential return is still (admittedly) pretty murky itself.  From yesterday’s Houston Chronicle:

“Rockets coach Rick Adelman said again on Wednesday that there is “no timetable” for McGrady’s return. There is, he said, one criterion to meet for McGrady to make his season debut. McGrady, Adelman said, must be ready in Adelman’s estimation to help the Rockets win.

“As uncomplicated as that seems, however, the decision seems more about basketball than health considerations…”

In other words, it seems like the Rockets are treating McGrady much like a lot of teams were treating Allen Iverson the past couple weeks.  Sure, he still has skills… but is he going to totally disrupt that Houston offense??  The Rockets are surprising everyone — including me, a native Houstonian — this year.  (Although if you think about it, it shouldn’t be too surprising given the Rocket’s performance sans Yao Ming and T-Mac in the playoffs last year.)  If the Rockets were struggling, you’d have to think they might be in a bigger hurry to bring T-Mac back.

Another factor at play here is T-Mac’s trade value.  I haven’t heard any rumors in recent months, but last year a T-Mac for Chancey Billups deal was rumored before Billups was dealt for AI.  T-Mac’s value as a player has declined since then, but he still has that huge expiring contract — and just in time for the FA class of 2010.  Maybe the Rockets are being cautious because they want to be as certain as possible that T-Mac won’t hurt himself and hurt his trade value any more?

Fantasy-wise, it’s a headache that I personally don’t want to deal with.  Even though I wouldn’t be surprised if T-Mac has some monster games this year, I also wouldn’t be surprised by some unexpected DNP’s.  The main reason I’d take a flyer on him is if I thought I could flip him in a trade after a hot streak.  But that’s easier said than done after T-Mac’s injury-riddled last couple years.  (He’s available in 41% of Yahoo leagues.)

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