Villanueva shocked his critics last season by making the final roster in Dallas after joining the team on a non-guaranteed deal shortly before training camp. He appeared in 64 game for the Mavericks, averaging 11 minutes per game. The veteran forward averaged 6.3 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 0.3 assists per game in his 10th NBA season and served as an outside threat for the Mava, hitting 38 percent from three-point range. Villanueva lived behind the arc, with 61 percent of his 5.7 shot attempts coming from long-range. Overall, he shot 41 percent from the field and attempted just 35 free throws. The Mavericks rewarded the 31-year-old with a one-year contract for the veteran minimum. He will likely be utilized as a three-point specialist once again, helping to spread the floor when needed. Villanueva isn't likely to repeat the success he had earlier in his career with Toronto and Milwaukee, and he remains a one-dimensional fantasy weapon.
As part of the Pistons' failed free agent spending spree back in 2009, Villanueva has been one of the more disappointing players on the roster over the past few seasons. His production hit a new low in 2012-13, as Villanueva averaged a career-low 6.8 points in 16 mpg last season. Despite the constant disappointment, Detroit opted not to amnesty Villanueva this past offseason with hopes that he'll provide the team a stretch four option off the bench or be a valuable expiring contract before the deadline. Whether he sticks in Detroit for the entire season or gets traded, Villanueva will have a tough time carving out enough minutes to make a fantasy impact in most leagues.
The 2011-12 campaign was a lost season for Villanueva, as he missed the first couple months of year with a lingering ankle injury. Upon his return, Villanueva was used sparingly, appearing in just 13 games by season’s end. He finished with averages of 7.0 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.2 treys in fewer than 14 mpg. His role with the Pistons this year is still uncertain, but with better health and more practice time, Villanueva expects to take on a bigger role than he had last season. His main value from a fantasy standpoint remains his ability to hit threes, and he’ll be able to provide help from downtown regardless of his playing time, but his ability to fully bounce back this year will depend on whether or not Villanueva can carve out around 25 mpg or more.
Villanueva has struggled ever since signing a lucrative contract with the Pistons in 2009. His playing time dropped to a career low 22 mpg last season, leading to disappointing averages of 11.1 points and 3.9 rebounds. Despite the limited playing time, Charlie V was able to hit a career best 1.6 three-pointers per game. His role is still undetermined, but Villanueva’s versatility means he’ll likely log minutes at both forward positions. After being vastly under used during his first two seasons in Detroit, Villanueva will have a chance to carve out a bigger role under the new coaching regime. He’s a solid bounce-back candidate to target late in drafts.
Villanueva parlayed a career season in 2008-09 into a fat free agent deal with the Pistons, but his first year in Detroit can only be described as a major disappointment. His 2009-10 numbers show significant decreases in nearly every roto category – three-pointers being the sole exception. In the hopes of bouncing back, Villaneuva has reportedly spent the summer working to improve his quickness and first step – and if his performances with the Dominican Republic's national team are any indication, the summer work is helping.
Coming off a breakout season in which he averaged 16.2 points, 6.7 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.1 threes – all career-highs – Villanueva signed a five-year, $35 million deal with the Pistons during the offseason. It’s worth noting he put up those stats last year while playing fewer than 27 minutes per game, and starting just 47 of them. More steals and blocks would be nice, but Villanueva also helps in both shooting categories, as he’s a solid free-throw shooter. Considering the size of the deal Detroit handed him and that Rasheed Wallace is now in Boston, Villanueva has a clear path to be the Pistons’ starting power forward in 2009-10. It’s a defensive-minded team with plenty of other scoring options, but it would be an upset if he didn’t see the most floor time of his career. With the underachieving Kwame Brown scheduled to start at center, Villanueva will have to crash the boards more than ever, but he should be up to the task. He just turned 25 years old, so the best is yet to come for the fourth-year player. Detroit views him as one of its main building blocks, and it will be nice to see Villanueva finally playing for a coach who believes in him.
It was a good news/bad news offseason for Villanueva. The good – Yi Jianlian was traded to New Jersey – would would seemingly eliminate his biggest competition for the starting power forward spot in Milwaukee. The bad: new head coach Scott Skiles – a defense-first taskmaster – might not be eager to hand big minutes to a defensively-challenged perimeter-oriented four.
Villanueva was traded to the Bucks last season after a strong rookie performance with the Raptors, but he responded with an injury-plagued down year that has lowered his fantasy profile. If he can stay healthy this season, though, he is a good bounce-back candidate. The Bucks run a perimeter-oriented offense that rewards shooters, and Villanueva has the capability to knock down the trey at regular clip. He can also be a solid source of points and boards, which when matched with the treys could make him nice late-draft value. On the other hand, Villanueva was considered a bit of an underachiever coming out of college, and the Bucks did draft Yi Jianlian, who has some similarities in his game and who has reportedly received a playing time guarantee from Milwaukee management.
Villanueva had a solid rookie year last year for Toronto, starting 36 games and averaging 13.0 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. After being traded straight up for T.J. Ford this summer, Villanueva now bring his talents to the Milwaukee Bucks. “Upside” is the key word to describe Villanueva who, at 6-11, has the inside/outside skills to get any shot he wants as evidenced by the 48 points he put up against Milwaukee last year. With Bobby Simmons penciled in to start at small forward, the Bucks might start Villanueva at power forward making him a match-up nightmare for opposing teams. Villanueva has three-point range (1.1 per game after the All-Star break) and is a solid rebounder (8.4 rpg after the break). If you’re looking for a sleeper to draft in the middle rounds, keep an eye on Villanueva.
