I was chillin the other night watching Sportscentre (yeah that’s right the Canadian version!). I wasn’t quite sure if I liked the new sets with burgundy being the main colour of choice (ESPN influence no doubt). Leaf’s signing, Baseball, CFL, Tour de France and some basketball, pinteresting how Canadian’s prioritize their sport’s news?

It is strange seeing Tour de France highlights without Lance Armstrong. What about the Tour de France drug scandal before the race started this year? I digress. Look there Andrea Bargnani playing in Summer League basketball. Hmm, not bad. He is going to struggle the 1st half of the season but he may be a fantasy bench player to look at for the 2nd half. He’ll probably average 10 points, 5 rebs with a three and a block a game. Huh? Fantasy Basketball talk in July? Don’t they say that the 1st step to coming to grips with your addiction is admitting to it? Ok, no problem I can do this. I am a Fantasy Basketball Junkie! I feel better now.

My mind was racing and I went over to my computer to fulfill my addiction. Basketball box scores, I need Basketball box scores! I wonder which rookie will have the most fantasy impact this year? Who will be this year’s Chris Paul in the fantasy realm?

I looked at the rookies’ play during summer camp and the potential for PT time in the NBA and I have narrowed the field to the top three fantasy worthy rookies.

1. Adam Morrison – Morrison with John Holmes’ hair and moustache got “lucky” when Charlotte picked him with the 3rd overall pick. In Charlotte, he will be the starting small forward and with the lack of scorers on the team he will get his shots. Morrison is averaging 24.6 points in summer league play. In the NBA, 16-18 points/game with a 3-5 boards are not unreasonable. He should average close to 1.5 threes and 6 trips to the line. He may be lacking in the hustle categories, as he is learning to guard quicker 3’s in the NBA.  Don’t sleep on him when round 7 or 8 in your fantasy draft rolls around.
2. Brandon Roy- Roy was touted before the draft as being the most NBA ready player. If summer league play is a small indicator, Roy can ball. During summer league, Roy was playing mostly the PG spot and did a decent job averaging 19 points and 3.6 assists per game. He was shooting a phenomenal 64.7% from the field! With competition of Martell Webster and Voshon Lenard at the 2 spot in Portland, it’s safe to say that Roy will get his share of PT. You can bet the youth movement in Portland is not done with Miles rumored to be next one out. Roy will get his share of shots, 12-14 points and 3 assists with 45% + FG% per game are realistic. Use a late round pick on Roy but don’t pick him to early. 
3. Randy Foye- The Vegas Summer League MVP was a force during league play. He was averaging 24.8 points 4 rebs, 2.2 steals and 7.6 trips to the line in 5 summer league games. With the season ending injury to Rashad McCants, the SG spot is Foye’s to lose. Foye may not get as many shots as the other rookies mentioned earlier, he will be 4th in the pecking order. KG, Ricky Davis, the self-promoting, pass-first PG (wink, wink) Mike James are ahead of Foye for shot distribution. Foye will be ahead of Eddie “Spanky” Griffin for shots with the Wolves. 10-12 points with 4 rebs and 1.5 steals would be solid for Foye.

The Rookie of the Year will be Adam Morrison’s award to lose. He has the most opportunities to make an immediate impact with Charlotte.

Random Thoughts:

The Bobcats will be a fun team to watch this year with a potential starting line-up of Raymond Felton, Gerald Wallace, Adam Morrison, Emeka Okafor and Primoz Brezec.

What is up with John Salmons? John Salmons has backed out of the trade to the Raptors because he was concerned about his role on the team. He walked away from $23 million because he is afraid of a little competition?  What the heck did he want? Does he want a starting role gift wrapped to him? Grow some kahonas and earn your spot. Salmons just screwed himself because Phoenix has signed Marcus Banks and the Sixers have not offered him a contract for next year, so his opportunities are limited. Karma is a bitch.

Checking out NBA TV Broadband clips on NBA.com and stumbled onto a clip with Lebron and Wade. A Team USA teammate referring to James as “the King” and Wade as “the Ring”. How cool is Wade’s new nickname “the Ring”. Lebron’s nickname better be “The King with a Ring” before his extended contract is up or else he may be a free agent.