Eduardo Najera

Najera will never fill the stat sheet, but is a hustle player who thrives on doing all the intangibles. Thus, he's about as useful as a punter for fantasy purposes.

Najera will be his usual workman self, but he shouldn't be anywhere near your fantasy team. He developed a 3-point shot last year and hit 36% out of the blue. If he can continue hitting the three, perhaps he gets minutes playing pick and roll, but it will be very strange to say the least watching Najera chucking from beyond the arc again.

If minutes in the NBA were dolled out to the guys that played with the most passion Najera would be an All-Star candidate. Unfortunately Kleiza’s continued growth, the return of Martin, and the presence of Bobby Jones will leave the ex-Oklahoma star as the team’s primary bench warmer in 2007-08.

Najera will try and secure his back-up role behind Carmelo Anthony for a second straight season. His biggest competition will come from Linas Kleiza who is a better scorer but doesn't have near the energy or passion of Najera. Expect Eduardo to win the job but don't expect him to have any fanasy value as Anthony will see close to 38 minutes a night and the other bigs up front on Denver will suck up most of the rebounds and points available on a nightly basis.

Najera’s position on the Nuggets is not well defined entering 2005-06. With rookie Julius Hodge looking to spend time at SF and rookie Linus Kleiza looking capable of playing at the four spot Najera will be fighting for his back-up job during camp and preseason. Eduardo is hoping his positives (veteran wisdom, high shooting percentage, unrivaled intensity) outweigh his negatives like poor free throw shooting (63% in 2004-05) and an undersized frame to help keep him ahead of both rookies on the depth chart. If Najera wins the back-up job and Nenê goes down for an extended period of time then he might just be worth a look because he’s got a more rounded offensive game than the big Argentinian. However, until that happens, and until we see him losing time to either of the rookies, we expect that he'll continue down the same road he rode last year. Expect around 20 minutes a night, 5-7 points, 4-6 rebounds, and 1-2 assists.

Najera will see time at both forward spots, but is strictly a bench player. Hustle off the bench is his best asset, and that could earn him 20 minutes a night. But there will be little he can do for your fantasy team.

Najera will work within the frontcourt rotation at power forward and center, but can also play small forward if required to. He's a high energy player, who can hit his shots (career 50.9% FG), but will not play nor shoot enough to make that useful. A fun player to watch, Najera will be a fan favorite in Oakland, but not for your fantasy team.