Jan. 6 -- It’s a new year, but some things remain the same. That’s right, similar to – well, anything that is recurring – The Cates Files are back for 2006.

14 team H2H - FG%, FTM, FT%, 3PTM, PTS, REB, AST, STL, BLK
Currently tied for 2nd at 50-30-1, 2.5 out of first, 9.5 ahead of 4th place team

PG Hinrich; SG Nelsonl; G Jason Williams; SF LeBron; PF Bosh; F Gooden; C Dalembert; C Mourning; Ut Diaw; Ut Reggie Evans; BN Elson, Calderon, Damon Jones (dropping for Livingston if waiver clears)

I am doing very well with this squad, winning blocks and assists almost every week. Where I lose is usually 3PTM (big) and STL (close).

Considering offering the last place team Alonzo for Marbury. Is that a fair trade, or does it look way too lopsided to offer? She has Billups AND Nowitzki, and tons of guards (she forgot about frontcourt in draft and is paying for it) so I figure I might be able to get a bite.

-dharvey

I’ll put it this way: if this trade gets accepted, you have just pulled a Grand Theft Roto. You asked if it looked too lopsided – and in short, lopsided is an understatement. Let’s go over why this is.

For one, Stephon Marbury – while having in a bit of an off-year – would help your team tremendously more than Alonzo Mourning could. If Mourning had the starting job, that statement would change, but the fact is that he doesn’t, and there’s no way a backup center is worth even close to an elite point guard, even when said backup center is a block machine. Now, if this person is reasonable unknowledgeable, and simply looks at season stats to make their decisions, Mourning will look a lot better to them than he actually is, and would in fact possibly appear to be worth more than Marbury to this last place owner.

You did state that the owner “forgot about the frontcourt and is paying for it” and “has…tons of guards”, so that is working in your favor. If nothing else, while this is a sizably lopsided trade, it’s worth offering. Worst case, you get turned down, best case you’ve got a new stud point guard at a discount price. Either way, you’ve got to give it a shot.

Larry Hughes was the guy who won me both of my leagues last year, so naturally I traded for him in my H2H league.

And he now joined my wounded/inactive corps! Yao, Artest, Ford, Tinsley and Hughes make up for around 3-4 losses each week, esp. with Hinrich struggling and Ridnour just getting back to the lineup. Yeah, and Swift is my No.2 C ... great!

Now, what do you think I should do? Stand pat and pray for an Artest trade, drop some of the above mentioned guys, or trade? There is not much on WW, maybe Diogu, Magloire, AlJefferson, Simmons, D.West(BOS), E.House, Croshere deserve some thought, but I feel my guys are not worth dropping for them.

Any (counter) opinions would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

Sammy Davis

Sorry to hear about the unlucky Larry Hughes acquisition. I thought I was the only one that did that sort of thing. In my case this season, it was Marcus Camby. I know, I know, don’t even say it. You’re in a very tough spot right now, loaded with injured and struggling studs who are extremely difficult to drop or to deal, What a predicament.

You mentioned some decent talent out there on the wire, but let’s first review who you’d be dropping. Ron Artest is simply too valuable to drop, given his potential on any other team in the league. While Yao Ming will likely end up missing about two months, he just can’t be dropped. Jamaal Tinsley could potentially be dropped, given the talent ahead of him and his – to a certain extent – lack of production, but he’s really a better option than anyone available. T.J. Ford and Hughes should also remain on your roster.

Of all the free agents you mentioned, none are better than your current roster, and none are worth the sacrifice of an injured stud. Thus, all of your improvements are going to have to come via trade. I don’t often trade - or for that matter try to trade - injured players, so it’s hard for me to say what you could expect in return for one of them. Your best bets would seemingly be Tinsley, and maybe Luke Ridnour. If you could find a guy low on point guards, but carrying one very nice point guard who may be struggling - Mike Bibby comes to mind - you could try and swap your two point guards that I mentioned for him. If you did that, you could go out and add Delonte West as a possible replacement point guard, and be in better shape than you were before.

Most importantly, you have to be patient and wait it out. It’s always extraordinarily irritating to wait for even one injured guy to return, let alone four or five, but it’s also a challenge you have to answer. If you could turn one or two of them into needed talent, and/or ship off multiple lesser, uninjured players for an upgrade, you’d be in better shape than you are now. Good luck finding what you need, and even more, good luck getting your guys back.

Josh Childress is available on waivers, is he worth a pick up? I would be dropping Eddie House for him. Thanks.

-Tzvi Tzvi, it all comes down to what you need. Both Josh Childress and Eddie House contribute in different areas, and therefore have differing values depending on what would help you the most.

Childress has only scored in double figures once in the last nine games, but contributes fairly consistently in rebounds and steals. House scores a good amount of points and hits more than his fair share of threes, but that’s about it. Childress is a better shooter from the field, and House is an equally better shooter from the line. It’s pretty much split down the middle and, as I said before, comes down to your needs.

If you would be using a high waiver position and this move helps you just as much as it hurts you, then I’d stick with House. Otherwise, just make the call depending on what you need the most. Thanks for yet another e-mail, Tzvi.

That does it for this week. If you have any hoops questions that need answering, anything you’d like to bring to my attention, etc., you can reach me at CatesFiles@talentedmrroto.com. Happy New Year, and until next week, The Cates Files are officially closed.

Chris Cates is a fantasy expert for NBA.com. His column The Cates Files runs every Friday as part of the NBA.com Premium Scouting Report. Contact him at CatesFiles@TalentedMrRoto.com.

The views expressed by the TalentedMrRoto.com represent only the views of the writers; they do not represent the views of the NBA or any NBA team.