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Fantasy Basketball: Kemba Walker Injury Fallout

By Dave Fuqua

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Today Kemba Walker’s worst fears were realized. He has a torn lateral meniscus in his left knee and will undergo surgery to repair it. This is a tough break for Walker as he was in the midst of an incredible season where he has been a major factor in leading Charlotte to the eight and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

Walker had been a beast for his fantasy owners, so this will be a major blow to them as he was easily performing way over where he was drafted. He was averaging 18.8 points with 5.2 assists on the season and 24.5 points with 4.4 assists over the last 30 days. Most fantasy owners who have Walker have probably gone out in advance and added Brian Roberts, the veteran point guard who is expected to handle the starting duties while Walker recovers from surgery. That is likely a good move, but I don’t expect Roberts to have much value in anything other than 12 team leagues as reports have already surfaced that the Hornets will hit the trade market to replace Walker while he recovers from surgery.

With the addition of another point guard, the likely scenarios will have timeshare written all over them. My thoughts this whole time would be for the Hornets to add Ramon Sessions, who spent the ’12-’13 and part of the ’13-’14 season backing Walker up.

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It had been reported that the Hornets and the Brooklyn Nets had been engaged in trade talks centered around Lance Stephenson and Joe Johnson. Walker’s injury could accelerate this process. Johnson would give the Hornets the much-needed ball handler and play-maker that this offense is going to sorely miss while Walker recovers.

So if you are in keeper or dynasty league, you will definitely want to stash Walker away on your bench or injured reserve. If you are in a keeper or dynasty league where you are not in contention for a championship, you may also want to target Walker in a trade as he will likely be of no use for owners this season. Owners in redraft leagues will likely be able to safely drop Walker, but you will want to check and see when your fantasy playoffs start.

Even if Walker was able to return sometime in the early parts of March, most leagues would be well into the fantasy playoffs. He will be very unlikely to be to full speed and a recommended start before the league would be over.

I would definitely be looking to add Roberts in leagues over 12 teams, and for 14 team leagues and up I would consider adding Sessions or maybe even Norris Cole. Gary Neal could be a player who will see a bump in minutes and touches as well. I would only pick him up in 16 team leagues or larger.

If the Hornets pull the trigger on a deal to acquire Joe Johnson, he might become an interesting buy-low type of player where he would be relied upon pretty heavily to carry the Hornets and keep them in contention for the final playoff spot for the Eastern Conference.

Next: Is D.J. Augustin Worth Picking Up?

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