Nazr Mohammed

Re-signed in July as the primary option behind Noah, Mohammed, a journeyman veteran, is one of the league's oldest players at 36 and will play a small supporting role at the five, good for a handful of points and rebounds in late game situations.

Signed to replace Omar Asik, he'll be a decent backup to Joakim Noah in the Windy City but has limited upside.

Acquired in a midseason trade last year with Charlotte, Mohammed played a dependable bench role for the Thunder. He aptly filled in at center while Kendrick Perkins was injured, averaging 6.9 points and 4.8 rebounds per game with Oklahoma City. He'll reprise that role this season, joining Perkins, Serge Ibaka and Nick Collison in a 4-5 rotation that should net Mohammed 15 or so minutes a game. Mohammed is not a huge physical presence in the frontcourt at 6-10, 221, and isn't especially quick, so even if Perkins goes down again, Mohammed probably still wouldn't put up valuable fantasy numbers.

Mohammed actually made his way into the Charlotte starting five for a while last year, from late December to mid-late February. Unfortunately, back problems limited him the rest of the way. However, even during his stretch as a starter, Mohammed only averaged about 20 minutes per game-hardly making him a must-own fantasy commodity. This year, with both DeSagana Diop and newly acquired Erick Dampier around, it's hard to see Mohammed actually getting more court time.

Mohammed gets the majority of his minutes in mop-up duty and we don't see this changing any time soon. It has also been reported during the off-season that the Bobcats have been looking at including him and his large contract in various potential trade scenarios.

Potentially, Mohammed could be this team’s starting center and earn himself 25-30 minutes a night, as he did when starting last season. He’s not very quick defensively, but gets in a good position to rebound and doesn’t stray too far from the basket on both ends of the court. If he were to play more consistently, coach Larry Brown will continue to give him playing time. Mohammed can be part of the solution to Charlotte’s thin front court.

When Detroit lost Ben Wallace in the summer of 2006, they felt they got a poor man's Wallace when they signed Mohammed. They were wrong. Mohammed never quite fit with the Pistons, and by the end of the year he was sitting on the bench a lot. The Pistons did not retain the services of Chris Webber or Dale Davis, so they may have to give Mohammed a shot again this year. The Pistons plan to move Mohammed in a deal for a quality big man, but until then, they're stuck with him as their starting center.

Mohammed gets a shot at the big time, replacing Ben Wallace on the championship-caliber Pistons. He’s athletic and can run the floor, but is still developing an offensive game. He can rebound some – especially on the offensive boards – but he can’t Ben-Wallace rebound, so he needs to deliver in more than one category.

When Mohammed was traded from New York to San Antonio last season, he lost a good deal of his fantasy value. Since then, he’s moved ahead of Rasho Nesterovic on the pecking order, so he should get some of that value back. He’ll need to keep up his defensive intensity if he expects coach Gregg Popovich to keep him on the floor.

After coming over from Atlanta last season, Mohammed started 23 games for the Knicks and averaged 9.1 points and 7.7 rebounds on 56.3 percent field goal shooting. He’s had some good stretches of basketball, but has never really been given consistent minutes. That suggests he may have some issues with playing defense. Mohammed will be given the opportunity to start at center, but coach Lenny Wilkens will not be shy about removing him. With Kurt Thomas and Vin Baker capable of playing the low post, Mohammed will have to play hard on the defensive end if he is to keep his minutes. If he doesn’t take hold of the job, it’s likely Kurt Thomas will step in with Mike Sweetney starting at power forward.

A stress fracture in his right foot limited Mohammed to just 35 games last season. If he proves he's healthy, he's got a good shot to get significant minutes at forward or center if no late veterans are signed or with injuries. He's been a streaky player, but can be productive if given minutes. He'll be a valuable bench player.