Day 47: Hey, Brandon Wright did something decent!

(Illustration courtesy of Timothy McAuliffe)

The New York Knicks are an extremely stupid franchise. But it only dawned on me yesterday just how extremely stupid they really are. And let me tell you something, folks. They are a stupid, stupid franchise, maybe dumber than every other team in the NBA.

This fact came to me in an epiphany the other day as I was thinking about how the Knicks have a triumvirate of centers who they're going to have to pick between in the near future. Right now, they have Tyson Chandler, Amar'e Stoudemire and Andrea Bargnani under contract, and they're all exorbitantly expensive. Bargnani makes $23 million over the next two years and even cost the Knicks a first round draft pick when they acquired him from Toronto. Stoudemire makes $45 million over the next two years and doesn't even start. Chandler makes $28 million over the next two years, and he's not even healthy.

The Knicks are so, so, so stupid that they loaded their roster with these grossly-overpaid bigmen, even though Carmelo Anthony operates best as a power forward, meaning they can only have one big on the floor with him if they want to put out their most efficient lineup -- which they're doing, because they want to appease Carmelo so that he doesn't bolt to a new city in the offseason. The Knicks, essentially, are paying three players a combined $46 million this season to operate in a timeshare at the center position. That's how dumb they are.

But they're even dumber than that, because let's not forget that there was a report earlier this season that the Knicks were looking to deal Iman Shumpert to the Denver Nuggets for Kenneth Faried -- who's yet another bigman. So if the Knicks had their way, they would actually bring in yet another player to further complicate what's already a $46 million timeshare at center. That they're paying Amar'e Stoudemire $21.7 million this year -- the fourth-highest salary in the league -- to play reserves minutes off the bench matters not to them, because that's how ragingly stupid they are. They would rather shell out $23 million and give away a first round pick for Bargnani, who they in no way needed, than pay $24 million to Jeremy Lin, who they actually could really use since they don't have a point guard -- and as an added bonus, they'd still have a draft pick. (And to think LeBron James decided to pass up the Knicks in 2010 for a franchise run by Pat Riley. Gee, I wonder why he did that...)

So to summarize, the Knicks are run by buffoons and they're back to making comically buffoonish decisions again, which they stopped doing for a split second when they brought in Donnie Walsh. I'm sure most of you reading this already came to this conclusion like months ago, but whatever. All righty. Shall we dive into some other fantasy stuffitude?

• Brandon Wright made his season debut for the Mavericks and was sensational, putting up 19 points on 9-10 shooting to go with 6 rebounds. Wright, who's 26, hasn't really done a lot in the NBA, but he's never been given much of a chance to establish himself either, and let's not forget that he was once a top-10 draft pick and was so highly thought of by the Warriors that they traded Jason Richardson in his prime for him. Sure, Wright's outing came with Dirk Nowitzki resting, and it came against a really awful Bucks team. But he has a ton of promise, which is highlighted by how gaudy his career per-36 minutes averages are. Now that he's completely supplanted Samuel Dalembert in the Mavs' rotation, Wright makes for a terrific flier add if you're looking for a good center.
• Larry Sanders got the pin removed from his thumb the other day and has been cleared to take part in basketball-related activities (whatever those are). Sanders, before suffering his completely idiotic bar-fight-related injury, was having a horrible season anyway, meaning there's a decent chance he's sitting on the waiver wire in a lot of competitive leagues right now. With Sanders about two weeks away from returning, now is an excellent time to stash him. Yes, his numbers this year were bad, but keep in mind that he only played in three games. And yes, John Henson has been terrific in his absence (he had 18 points, 13 rebounds and 2 blocks yesterday). But the Bucks are so atrocious right now that they have no reason not to hand Sanders 30 minutes a night when he's out there, even if that means playing him beside Henson. Sanders, after all, received a four-year $44 million contract in the offseason and was supposed to be the de facto team leader. Will he live up to those expectations? Maybe not. Hell, he may not even play better than Henson when he's out there. Still, Sanders is in the super elite of shot-blockers and holds fantastic value, even if he can only maintain his averages from last year. In most cases, you'd be wise to pick him up right now.
• Terrence Ross was less than amazing on Saturday, going 4-12 from the floor and finishing with 9 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal and a 1 block, and he did not hit a three. So basically, he decided to make me look bad one day after I anointed him a must-own player, which irks me slightly. Still, when Ross is shooting the ball well, he's a really solid fantasy option if you need three's, so I'm not bailing on him just because he had one subpar outing.
• Even though he didn't play in the fourth quarter because the Sixers got decimated by the Blazers, Tony Wroten still had a great fantasy line: 18 points, 7 assists and 6 rebounds in 24 minutes. Wroten has been great in Michael Carter-Williams' absence, but the Sixers are so woefully incompetent without MCW that it's pretty clear they need him out there in the worst way -- if they're actually looking at winning, that is, which they might not be. Wroten could very well hold some value when MCW returns, though that remains to be seen. For now, he's a must-play with MCW unlikely to suit up on Monday.
• Kawhi Leonard had a nice night for the Spurs, dropping 13 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals on 6-8 shooting. While Leonard simply isn't an elite player and probably won't come close to justifying his preseason draft ranking, he's still a solid player who'll help you significantly in the steals column.
• Even though the Jazz got blown out at home, Enes Kanter played only 16 minutes off the bench, and he produced only 2 blocks and 3 points on 1-6 shooting. I firmly believe that Kanter is a must-own player when he's in the starting lineup, and that at some point he'll return to it and be an asset on fantasy teams. But the Jazz are underplaying him so heavily right now -- for reasons I don't quite understand -- that I can't possibly recommend him being on your fantasy team. Until the Jazz stop being goofy with their rotations, he's practically useless.
• Andrew Bynum was on the court for just 18 minutes on Saturday, scoring 4 points on 2-2 shooting with 4 rebounds and no blocks. I actually watched him play yesterday, and I'm here to tell you guys that he is nothing less than a ticking time bomb. He can't move. He's incredibly immobile, and the fact that he's even been able to have some great nights recently is a testament to how naturally talented he is. And because of how talented he is, he's not incapable of popping up with a good game every once in a while. Still, he's so gimpy right now that I can't possibly imagine that he'll stay healthy throughout the season. To me, if you can't sell him to some gullible sucker, I'd drop him in an instant for a more enticing bigman.
• Pau Gasol had a nice line for the Lakers: 15 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 4 blocks, though he did shoot 6-18 from the floor and commit 6 turnovers. Gasol is having an awful shooting season, and there are rumors abound that he could be dealt at some point. But he's still good enough to roll out there on a nightly basis.
• I've started watching Bob's Burgers on Netflix. It's an extremely silly, stupid show, but it's a really nice change of pace from all the Seth MacFarlane shows on the air. I'm a fan.