Baron Davis Traded to Cavaliers for Mo Williams: Fantasy Impact

The Cleveland cavaliers have pulled off quite the trade; for just Mo Williams and Jamario Moon the Cavaliers were able to land Baron Davis and a 1st round pick.

The Clippers motivations for this deal are financially motivated but also have some basketball strategy involved as well. They really like Eric Bledsoe and feel that with Mo Williams to back him up that they are speeding up his development. Jamario Moon will help fill a hole at small forward for the Clippers who have been looking for help at that position all season.

The Cavs on the other hand are the worst team in the NBA, in the standings anyways, and were in desperate need of some star talent. But this deal was not about Baron Davis, is was about the 1st round pick, one that will be a lottery pick in this years draft.

The Cavs clearly won this trade but it can still be viewed as a win-win as both team accomplished their objectives.

Fantasy Impact:

Baron Davis should get free reign in Cleveland and we could see a resurgence in his career. It was not too long ago that baron Davis was an all-star level player with the New Orleans Hornets and Golden State Warriors with averages near a 19 and 8 level. It is very plausible that Baron nets around 18 points and 7 assists for the rest of the season as a member of the Cavaliers. Let us all remember than Baron Davis is being reunited with former New Orleans coach Byron Scott and while B. Diddy will not be happy that he is leaving L.A for Cleveland, he should have better numbers in a familiar system with a coach who trusts him.

Mo Williams is expected to come off the bench behind rookie Eric Bledsoe. He will have minimal fantasy value unless he can manage to push Bledsoe to the bench. The Clippers likely made this trade with the future in mind so that is not a likely proposition.

Eric Bledsoe is expected to be named the starting point guard for Blake Griffin’s Clippers and the two have already showed solid chemistry. Bledsoe should be acquired in all formats and is still available in 91% of Yahoo! leagues.

Jamario Moon though in the last year of his contract will help fill a void at small forward and will be auditioning for a multi-year pact over the rest of the season. The Clips value his athleticism and length and need someone with Moon’s talents while Aminu develops. Ryan Gomes and Rasual Butler’s fantasy values take a hit with this deal, especially Gomes who has been averaging 31 minutes per game over the last 25 contests.

Antawn Jamison, Anderson Varejao, J.J Hickson all get fantasy upgrades as they now have an elite level point guard on the floor with them. Mo Williams was great last year but B. Diddy is a serious upgrade. Expect the shooting percentages of all three bigs to rise with a threat like Davis to help space the floor and cause some havoc in the lanes.

Ramon Sessions was expected to be a big winner in any Mo Williams deal but clearly no one expected the Cavs to land a top flight point guard in return. Sessions’ fantasy arrow is still pointing up as there is some talk they may be employed on the court together, but this is not this must-own situation that we thought it might be when Mo Will finally got dealt. Scott and Davis have a history from their New Orleans day, and we all know B. Diddy will not be happy coming off the bench so expect Sessions to be pushed back into a bench role.