Day 19: Kobe Bryant is practicing! What's his fantasy value from now on?

(Illustration courtesy of Timothy McAullife/ESPN)

Kobe Bryant returned to practice yesterday for the first time since he tore his Achilles -- which has to be one of the only body parts you're grammatically-required to capitalize -- in a game against the Warriors. Yes, chums, Kobe Bryant could be re-entering the fantasy basketball world very soon. (Hide the women and children!)

So, obviously, the questions on all of our minds are: when will he actually get in a game, and what will his value be once he returns? I'll start with the first question. A torn Achilles will usually keep an athlete out of action for 9-12 months, but Kobe is clearly well ahead of that schedule. In fact, as far as he's concerned, he could play right now if he absolutely wanted to. "If there was a playoff game tonight, I'd play," he told NBA TV recently in an interview. "I'd play. I don't know how effective I'd be, but I would play."

Ah, but there won't be a playoff game for another six months, so incentive-wise, there's no real reason for him to be rushed out there. Yeah, the team could certainly use his help, what with them being rather inadequate without him, but the Lakers are probably going to take it slow with their aging superstar, or at least they should, considering they're paying him $30 million this year. (That's right, folks. Via HoopsHype, Kobe Bryant makes nearly $8 million more than the second-highest paid player in the league, Dirk Nowitzki, and makes $11 million more than Kevin Durant and LeBron James. Food for thought, I think. But anyway...)

If you're interested in a direct timetable for his return, there isn't one. However, in an interview with Yahoo! prior to the season, Kobe actually addressed this issue and gave an answer that I found illuminating:

Q: Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni said that once you begin practicing, you could need two to three weeks of practice before you begin playing in games. Is that correct?

Bryant: "That sounds about right. We haven't had that conversation, but that sounds about right."

Q: Would it be safe to say you'll be back by December?

Bryant: "Dude, I don't know. I don't give a [expletive] what people believe. When I'm ready, I will play."

What do I extrapolate from that? Well, if he needs 2-3 weeks to get back in game shape, that would put his return right at around the beginning or middle of December. If nothing else, it seems probable that he'll back on the court by Christmas, assuming the 2-3 week thing is still in play, and that he's being completely honest about his Achilles.

So, let's arbitrarily pick a date that Kobe Bryant could return on. How about... Dec. 10, at home against the Phoenix Suns. Sounds good to me! Okay, so Kobe comes back on Dec. 10. Now what? What's his value? Is he worth trading for? Should we expect a slower, less efficient Kobe Bryant after this injury? For all this attention to him, could he actually be overrated?

No. Well, yes. But no.

Here's the thing: more often than not, the person who owns Kobe Bryant in a fantasy league chose to go out of their way to reach for him. If you're a fantasy vet, I'm sure you've been in a fantasy league where some doofus decided to grab Kobe with the No. 1 pick, or at least several spots higher than he should have gone. Owning him is practically a right of passage among his fans, which is to say that unless you were absolutely enamored with the guy coming into the year, you probably don't own him right now. I know his Yahoo! draft ranking was in the mid-40's, but I can't imagine there were many leagues where he wasn't selected earlier than that. In short: Kobe has a lot of fanboys who love to pick him in fantasy drafts, no matter where he's ranked. (In the $100 league I'm in, he was selected with the 29th pick of the draft.)

What this means is that if you own Kobe Bryant, there's a good chance he won't be as valuable as you thought/hoped he'd be, solely because you decided to lose your mind and grab him ahead of much more deserving players. That assessment aside, I honestly have complete and utter faith in Kobe Bryant. Usually, I'm very skeptical when it comes to a player's health. If a player has a chronic injury or is coming back from surgery, nine times out of 10 I'll want nothing to do with them.

Kobe is the exception.

I've seen Kobe go entire seasons playing through injuries that would've kept other players in street clothes, and if he's able to get on the court, there's not a doubt in my mind that he'll play well. Now, will he be better than he was a year ago? Probably not, just because he was outstanding last season. In fact, the only reason that horrible Dwight Howard-comprised Lakers team even made the playoffs is because Kobe single-handedly carried them there. Last year, he averaged 27.3 points, 6 assists and 5.6 rebounds a game. Even if those numbers fell by 20% -- which be an enormous drop-off -- Kobe would still be averaging 21.8 points, 4.8 assists and 4.5 rebounds per game. Numbers that would still be pretty damn fantastic for fantasy purposes.

And you know what? There's not a single part of me that thinks his numbers will plummet like that. Kobe may actually be undervalued, since a lot of writers assumed that his Achilles injury was brought on from him having one foot in the grave. And hey, maybe he'll look rusty and sluggish, ala Derrick Rose, when he finally returns to action. Maybe this all just a disaster in the making. But I'm willing to buy into him, especially since Dwight Howard is gone and Steve Nash is hurt, leaving only Pau Gasol in his path to hurl up as many crazy shots as he wants.

My bold prediction for Kobe: 24.5 points, 5.5 assists, 4.5 rebounds a game. So, yes, he's worth hypothetically trading for. The problem is that whoever owns him in your league would sooner die than get rid of him, unless of course you send him a truly insane offer (like Pau Gasol and Deron Williams for Kobe) that would wind up hurting you in the long run. Essentially, you either own Kobe or you don't. If you don't -- oh well, gotta move on. If you do, you're certainty not giving up on him now that you can kinda/sorta expect to see him back by the middle of December.

In other words, I'm not sure how helpful this post is, considering Kobe is more or less untouchable in most leagues. All the same, I figured an update on him was deserved.

All righty then. Now that we got the Black Mamba outta the way, let's see which non-animal-nicknamed players had a good night on Saturday.

• Derrick Rose still hasn't shot 50% in any game this season, though he came pretty close on Saturday. Against the then-undefeated Pacers, Rose scored 20 points on 7-16 shooting, knocking down 6 three's and adding 4 assists and 3 rebounds. Those aren't quite vintage D-Rose numbers, but they're a definite step in the right direction after he missed the Bulls' previous game with an injury. This is as good a time as any to buy low on him if it's at all possible.
• Ty Lawson was awesome against the Rockets, scoring 28 points on 11-17 shooting while also tacking on 17 assists. Just a masterful performance from one of the rising stars of the NBA. A point guard capable of getting 20 points and 7 assists while also shooting over 50% and being able to knock down three's? It's next to impossible to design a better point guard than Ty Lawson. Only the elite of the elite are better than him.
• Victor Oladipo had a mixed night on Saturday. The good was the 10 points, 6 assists and 4 rebounds; the bad was the 9 turnovers he committed in just 28 minutes, which is a disastrously-high total that probably cost a lot of owners a chance to win the turnovers category. He's a productive bench player and is poised to do good things as the season progresses, but he's got to take better care of the ball, otherwise he might face a fantasy owner revolt.
• Josh McRoberts' perplexingly decent season continued, with Sideshow McBob getting 6 points, 9 assists and 7 rebounds against the Heat. McBob -- who might actually be a worse jump-shooter than Josh Smith -- is averaging 9 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists for the Bobcats, which is pretty decent. I honestly hold no stock in him, though, just because he's putting up these numbers with Al Jefferson out, and there are younger, more important players who deserve minutes on the 'Cats roster than him, so I don't exactly like his value long-term. Still, if you're clawing at the wallpaper in search of a small forward who can hand out a few assists, McBob is your man.
• Terrence Jones had his third straight quality outing since becoming the Rockets' starting power forward. Against Denver, Jones finished with 14 points, 12 rebounds and 3 blocks. I try not to chase after unproven waiver wire players, since a lot of times they'll just fade out after a couple games. (Xavier Henry, Steven Adams, etc.) But Jones is a natural fit in the Rockets' starting rotation and has now had enough consecutive good games to earn my respect. He's lanky enough that he's not imposing on Dwight Howard's territory like Omer Asik was, but he's a good rebounder and he can even hit a three-pointer. There are so many scoring options in Houston that Jones probably won't get you more than 10 a game, if even that. But the Rockets honestly don't have a lot of other big men to play right now while they try to get something in return for Omer Asik. I can't say that Jones will be consistent for you or even have much value by the season's end, but for now, he's not a horrible pick-up.
• Jared Sullinger, one of the unproven waiver wire commodities I just talked about, had only 3 points and 4 rebounds off the bench for the Celtics yesterday. Sullinger had 26 points in his previous game, which made him a trendy addition off the wire, but this performance is quite the downer. I'm not going to poo-poo him completely, because he's a young dude on an awful team and he's bound to put up decent to good numbers once in a while. The problem is that between Kelly Olynyk, Brandon Bass, Kris Humphries, Gerald Wallace, Jeff Green and Vitor Faverini, Boston has a million forwards and centers to give minutes to right now, and Sullinger is just another one. He could very well separate himself from the pack (except from maybe Jeff Green), but for now, his minutes aren't consistent enough for me to be all that interested in him.
• Anthony Davis had another amazing performance on Saturday, notching 13 points, 9 rebounds and 8 blocks in only 29 minutes. He easily could have recorded a triple-double, but the Pelicans annihilated the Sixers by 35, and Davis was forced to watch the final quarter from the bench. Davis is having a phenomenal season, though it remains to be seen whether he'll finish the year with better stats than Kevin Love (who had 23 points and 12 rebounds Saturday).
• Martell Webster played 43 minutes on Saturday in place of the injured Trevor Ariza, scoring 14 points and adding 7 rebounds and 2 three's. Those may not be jaw-dropping numbers, but Webster is in line to receive major playing time for the week or so that it takes Ariza to come back from his hamstring injury. To illustrate how desperate the Wizards are at the moment, they actually played Jan Vesely 23 minutes yesterday. And if you've ever seen Jan Vesely play, you know that he should never, ever get that many minutes in any game, even if it's in NBA 2K14. Bottomline: if Vesely of all people can get that much playing time, Webster's status is more than secure. He's a fantastic short-term add if you'd like a small forward who can hit three's.
• Kyrie Irving had a very good game against the Wizards, scoring 41 points to go along with 5 assists, 4 rebounds and 4 three's. The only issue that haunts him is health. Otherwise, he's one of the best guards in the entire league.
• Giannis Antetokounmpo didn't do much for the Bucks on Saturday, scoring 2 points and pulling down 5 boards in 15 minutes. For my own selfish reasons, I'm hoping Antetokounmpo has a quiet, unsung season, just because his last name is a real pain in the ass to spell.