Fantasy Basketball: Time To Stash JaVale McGee?
By Dave Fuqua
Is it time to stash JaVale McGee for your fantasy basketball team? This could be a very underrated move as the Nuggets have now cleared out Timofey Mozgov and sent him packing his bags to Cleveland. McGee has all the talent in the world, but may be better known for what seems to be a recurring role on the show Shaqtin’ A Fool. He is also better known there for the nickname Shaq has given him, “Tragic Bronson”.
Well, once you get past all the fun and games with JaVale, we need to get down to some serious basketball information. When McGee is not bust producing ‘highlight’ reels for Shaqtin’ A Fool he can actually be a productive basketball player. He is due back sometime around January 14 or so and could see 25 minutes or more a game. That alone for me would make McGee worth a possible pickup in 12 team leagues or larger.
According to basketballreference.com, if JaVale McGee were to get 36 minutes per game, he would be averaging 16.7 points, 9.3 rebounds and 3.8 blocks per game. Those numbers alone say he is worthy of a pickup. I don’t really expect Jusuf Nurkic to lose his grip on the job in Denver as he has the backing of Coach Shaw and the rest of his team. I do expect there will be nights like Wednesday where Nurkic gets in foul trouble and the Nuggets will need to look to someone. Plus, McGee should be able to net at least 25 minutes a night.
JaVale may not be a sexy add and he may not be the savior of your season, but he is a recommended add in 12 team and larger leagues if you have someone you can cut. I would probably not cut anyone who is getting over 25 minutes a game, but if you are in a cats league and need blocks, he would be a great addition. In a small sample size of 14 games this season so far, McGee is improving on his field goal and free throw percentages as well. He would also be a decent trade target if you need to add some blocks in your cats league.
The only other person left on Denver’s roster whom they play at center is J.J. Hickson, and he mainly plays power forward with Kenneth Faried. So the minutes should be there, and according to everything we know McGee, or Tragic Bronson as Shaq likes to call him, should be a guy who will produce nice numbers for your fantasy team. So pick him up in 12 team leagues and larger with tempered expectations, and as always keep an eye on the minutes distribution to see if he will be a worthy flier in standard size leagues as well.