The dust has pretty much settled on the NBA free agent period and most of the players who were eligible have found a new home for the upcoming season. There are of course a few stragglers who have yet to ink new deals; however, the stars and second-tier guys have found their homes. With the ink now dry on the new deals and press conferences complete, it is time to take a peek in at the new faces in new places and assess just how they will fare in terms of fantasy value for the season. We continue our look by moving on from the Atlantic Division to the Central Division.
Cleveland Cavaliers:
The Cavaliers had two fairly major priorities heading into this offseason and those were of course to procure the signature of LeBron James on a new contract and that of the recently acquired Kevin Love. The re-signing of James was really a formality as no one expected James to even entertain offers from other clubs. The question mark for the Cavaliers was would Love remain or bolt for somewhere where he could be more of a focal point in the offense. Well, the worry was for not as Love re-upped with Cleveland without much fanfare at all.
With Love and James on board the Cavs needed to acquire some more talent at reasonable prices in order to keep the club in contention for a championship. In this spirit, the Cavs resigned Iman Shumpert, James Jones and Maurice Williams and they exercised their team option on Timofey Mozgov. Of the lot it is Mozgov who offers the most significant upside as he was a solid interior presence and offered decent fantasy value on a nightly basis.
Chicago Bulls:
The Bulls played out the free-agent period in very similar fashion to their rivals the Cavaliers as they prioritized signing their own guys. They succeeded in doing this as they locked up Jimmy Butler on a new five year contract. This was a great signing for the club as Derrick Rose has morphed into a different player since his injuries and Pau Gasol cannot carry the team along nightly. Butler will come into the season as one of the more sought after and expensive shooting guard options; however, he should live up to the expectations so long as he can stay healthy.
Milwaukee Bucks:
The Bucks made a splash this offseason as they surprised a few folks by signing Greg Monroe to a nice new five year deal. This is a great pickup for fantasy owners as Monroe will have plenty more room to move about the paint in Milwaukee. Monroe averaged a double-double last season in Detroit, despite being stuck on the bench to start the season and playing from the Stan Van Gundy doghouse all season long. Monroe could be a force this season with the Bucks as he immediately becomes the number one option in the paint for the Bucks.
Indiana Pacers:
The Pacers were desperate to overhaul their team and make Paul George the undisputed focal point offensively. In doing so they were able to jettison Roy Hibbert and his salary in order to make room for Monta Ellis. Ellis was no doubt acquired to provide some scoring insurance in case George has a setback on his road of recovery. Ellis is a volume shooter who can certainly put up big nights; however, he can also have terrible nights where his shot isn’t falling. I have never been a big believer in Ellis as I find that he is often bought and sold more so on his namesake than his abilities of late.
Detroit Pistons:
The Pistons made no real moves of significance in terms of acquiring new players. What they did do was lock up Reggie Jackson to a massive new contract which basically has the Pistons paying around $28 million to two point guards this season. Jackson did provide some tremendous fantasy value last season as he was underpriced for much of the season. That situation isn’t likely going to be replicated this season as Jackson has a new contract and much higher expectations coming in. Assess Jackson carefully as he could be grossly overpriced based on those expectations.