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Carmelo Anthony Traded to Knicks... Instant Reaction

The trade included three teams (New York, Denver, and Minnesota), 12 players, and broke down like this:

New York Knicks received:
Carmelo Anthony,
Chauncey Billups,
Shelden Williams,
Renaldo Balkman,
Anthony Carter, and
Corey Brewer (from MIN)

Denver Nuggets received:
Raymond Felton,
Danilo Gallinari,
Wilson Chandler,
Timofey Mozgov, and
three picks (1st NY-2014, and two 2nd-rounders) and cash

Minnesota Timberwolves received:
Anthony Randolph and
Eddy Curry

This is how I see things shaking down in fantasy. There are still a lot of unknowns, but if you're looking to make a move soon, these are the ideas I'm operating from for any of my moves and trade offers.

The Knicks will have one open roster spot as a result of the trade that they'll be able to fill via a free agent or a corresponding move. (I was mistaken. The Knicks have a full roster right now. They would need to waive someone to sign another player.) We should see a starting lineup that features Chauncey Billups, Landry Fields, Carmelo Anthony, Amare Stoudemire, and Ronny Turiaf. There is a possibility that the Knicks opt to start a smaller lineup with Stoudemire at center and Shawne Williams in the starting lineup, pushing Turiaf to the bench. Such a lineup should be utilized often even if Williams never enters the starting lineup.

Billups will likely play big minutes, Fields should get a full compliment of minutes (pushing 40 nightly), Anthony's production only stands to increase if he's playing a lot of power forward (read: more rebounds), Stoudemire's offense will likely suffer some, and Williams really stands to be the biggest riser in fantasy value if the Knicks' roster remains as currently constructed. Corey Brewer doesn't really fit in with the Knicks, because he's primarily a defensive player. It's hard to imagine Brewer playing many minutes, and even if he does, he won't have much value in fantasy.

Knicks: I'm picking up Shawne Williams in deep leagues and banking that they run a smaller lineup of Williams and Anthony at the forwards with Stoudemire at center most of the time.

The Nuggets have a fuster cluck of talent on their roster right now, but reports from early Monday foretold that two or more of Felton, Gallinari, and Mozgov could be on the move in separate deals. If that's so, than Ty Lawson should be the man to own in Denver. Chandler seems to be the piece the Nuggets coveted most, and he should thrive as the team's starting small forward the rest of the season. If Chandler is available for trade in any of your leagues, it might be worth throwing an offer out for him. Catch an unwitting owner off guard under the belief that Chandler's value might get squelched in roster noise.

Mozgov, Gallinari, and Felton should all come off the bench initially. If they remain on the team, the Nuggets could opt to start Gallinari and Chandler at the forwards next to Nene, but it's hard to see the team pushing Aaron Afflalo out of the starting shooting guard spot. He's been too large a part of the team's foundation so far.

Nene, Kenyon Martin, and J.R. Smith are all current Nuggets who could get moved in separate deals. But without getting into too many permutations, the Nuggets will likely run out a starting lineup of Lawson, Afflalo, Chandler, Martin, and Nene when this deal is finalized. Mozgoz, Gallo, and Felton should all come off the bench initially. George Karl will still be aiming to make the playoffs this season, and Lawson already knows the team's offense.

Nuggets: I'm picking up Lawson in all leagues right now. Even if Felton were to stay and usurp the starting point guard role, it'll take a few days for the trade to be finalized. As a result, Lawson is guaranteed a start Tuesday to prove he deserves the job. Chandler should take over Melo's role in a less ball-dominating way. I'm trying to acquire him in any leagues that I don't currently own him. Afflalo and Nene should get a few more shots with Melo out of the picture. Gallo, Mozgoz, and Felton all stand to take hits in value unless they're moved in subsequent trades.

A concession:
David Aldridge is reporting that the Nuggets intend to keep Mozgov and Gallinari. If that's true, and it's not just a ploy to keep their value up for another trade, Mozgov should come off the bench as long as Nene is on the team, and Gallinari should eventually start alongside Chandler at the forward spots. Concerning Lawson and Felton, the one thing that leaves me with some apprehension in asserting that Lawson is the man going forward is the criticism coach George Karl put on Lawson earlier this season. Karl often spoke about Lawson's lack of maturity on and off the court. If Felton stays with the Nuggets and shows more maturity, we could see Felton claim ownership of the starting gig very soon.

Eddy Curry is expected to be bought out immediately. The T-Wolves probably won't even bother having him report to the team. Anthony Randolph will back up Darko Milicic and Kevin Love at power forward and center. That will probably mean Love shifts over to center when Randolph is in. With the T-Wolves firmly out of the playoff race, they should look to get Randolph in the lineup from the get-go and see what they've got. Love has averaged about 38 minutes recently and Milicic has averaged about 27 minutes recently. If Randolph serves as both players' primary backup, we could see him playing as many as 25-30 minutes per night the rest of the season. That would give Randolph enough run to be of use in deep leagues going forward.

Timberwolves: I'm picking up Anthony Randolph in deep leagues, but I'm tempering any expectations. Love and Milicic should still get the majority of the frontcourt minutes.

If you're on twitter, you can find me @fbm|UNDER|kyle. Thanks for reading.
Kyle McKeown