As the real-world economy continues to spiral downward, many of us are tightening our purse strings and hoarding our pennies.  In order to win Fantazzle’s Salary Cap Challenge, you need to bring that same thriftiness to your desktop when you are crafting your roster.  Fantazzle’s brain trust assigned a dollar value to each fantasy-relevant NBA player, and in order to win your tournament, you must be able to sift through the aisles and figure out which players are being offered at a discount.  And as is often the case this time of year, we have many, many bargains out there for the taking. 

Now, I won’t do your job for you and give you all of the gems, but I will give you a head start on your holiday shopping by identifying a group of players that are currently being undercompensated by the powers that be here at Fantazzle.  Let’s take it from the top, shall we?

1. Spencer Hawes, C, Sacramento Kings.

This rookie has quietly put together the most surprising rookie performance of the season thus far.  Despite collecting fewer than 30 minutes per game, Hawes has averaged 12 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.8 blocks and nearly 1 steal per game.  As unassuming as those statistics may seem, they are enough to rank him 23rd in overall points and 7th among centers according to the Fantazzle scoring system.  Put this together with his ridiculously low $38,000 salary, and what you have here is the most valuable player in Fantazzle Salary Cap Basketball.  If you haven’t had him in your lineup this season, you simply just aren’t paying attention.

2. O.J. Mayo, G, Memphis Grizzlies.

Mayo has been playing with the kind of composure that is hard to find in a rookie, and he is paying handsome dividends to those clever owners who snatched him up in the later rounds of fantasy drafts this fall.  Not only is he the only rookie to crack the top 20 in Fantazzle points this year, he has also been the 7th most productive guard in the game, ahead of stars such as Jason Kidd, Brandon Roy and Allen Iverson.  The former high school and college prodigy is only commanding a salary of $61,000 in the Fantazzle game, which makes him just the 35th highest paid player at the position and $50,000 cheaper than Iverson, $40,000 cheaper than Kidd and $30,000 cheaper than Roy.   He is a must-own during any cycle in which he plays 2 games or more.

3. Andris Biedrins, Center, Golden State Warriors. 

This 22 year old Latvian’s numbers have been up across the board this year, as his scoring has jumped from 10.5 to 15.4 per, his rebounds have jumped from 9.8 to 12.0 and his steals have gone from 0.7 to 1.2.  Due to his statistical versatility (and the fact that his .609 free throw percentage is being ignored) Biedrins actually ranks 7th in Fantazzle points for the season.  With a sticker price of just $80,000, Biedrins is just the fifth highest paid center in the Fantazzle game, and he will cost you nearly $50,000 less than the biggest kahuna, Dwight Howard.  If you can explain to me why you aren’t signing this guy every week, I’d love to hear it.

4. Zach Randolph, Forward, Los Angeles Clippers.

Debo seems to be on a mission this season, doesn’t he?  And as much flack as we’ve all given Isiah Thomas for assembling such a misshapen roster in New York, the deal for Randolph doesn’t seem nearly as dumb these days, does it?  Look, I’m not saying that Randolph is an all-star, or that he is anything but a liability on the defensive end.  But anyone who has watched him play this year knows that he has been absolutely unstoppable offensivily, and in the fantasy realm, that is kind of a big deal.  Sure, he won’t give you many steals or blocks, but what he will do is collect more double-doubles than nearly anyone else in the league.  He is averaging 22.4 points, 11.2 boards and 1 steal per game for the season, which puts him right there along side Biedrins in the top 10 in Fantazzle fantasy points.  Signing Randolph will only cost you the small pittance of $78,000 right now, which qualifies him as one of the biggest bargains in our game.  When Chris Kaman cames back from injury, Randolph may very well collect fewer points and boards, but the big fella isn’t due back any time in the near future, so ride this gravy train for as long as possible.

5. Derrick Rose, G, Chicago Bulls.

After limping through the summer league and underwhelming prognosticators in the preseason, Rose has been nothing short of brilliant in the early going this year.  His 278 Fantazzle points are good for 32nd overall in the game and 13th best among guards, while he commands just a $65,000 salary.  Although he does not qualify as the ultra-bargain that Hawes does, Rose carries the potential of a top-10 fantasy player this year.  No. 1 overall picks tend to have that kind of upside, especially point guards that come out of the gate firing as Rose has.  Although Kirk Hinrich will return at some point this season, my money is on someone else’s numbers taking a hit (sorry, Ben Gordon).

Happy shopping, and may the force be with you. 

–Dr. Quez (aka Dr. Dreidel)

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