Just a few days into the season, the waiver wire has seen plenty of action in our league as teams try to fine tune their rosters.  My draft didn’t quite go as I would have liked, so I’ve made a few adjustments.

In general, I agree with what Mr. Flambo was saying in his most recent post: sometimes it’s folly to be rash in the beginning of the season. Some players just start slow, while others start smoking hot. These things usually balance out over the course of the season, so don’t be disappointed with a bad game here or there (like Ray Allen).

Here are the adjustments I’ve made to my team in Week 1:

Drops
Jason Terry - I didn’t really want to pick him in the draft, so he was the first to go. Mr. Flambo disagreed with my drop here, and promptly used his #2 waiver wire priority to pick him up. Maybe this was a little bit rash, but it is still a question if Terry can produce quality numbers now that Jason Kidd is running the show in Dallas.

Stephon Marbury - This gamble clearly didn’t work out. I cut my losses quickly here, but will still keep an eye on him in case he ends up on another team. I think if he gets playing time somewhere in the league, he will put up good numbers, and I think you gotta gamble with late round picks on some players that could end up playing like a mid-rounder. If he busts, then it’s usually not that hard to pick someone up who gets numbers similar to most other 11th- to 13th-round picks.

Andrea Bargnani - I didn’t really want him on my team, but took him in the last round as another big man (C) who could give me some 3s. At this point, it doesn’t look like I have a chance in 3s, so there’s no point in having Bargnani on the squad.

Adds
Andres Nocioni - Not much to say here. Picked him up because he was playing the next night and wanted to use that game to evaluate him. Will probably be the next to go.

Quentin Richardson - Dropped one Knick for another. I figure he could be a good source for 3s and STEALS in D’Antoni’s system. I figure he could possibly have some upside. Don’t know if he’s a good fit for the team overall, though. We’ll see.

Marc Gasol - I like this pickup. I’m not a big fan of rookies, but this guy has a lot of overseas experience. He’s a big body and a banger, and cold be a good source for BLKS and REBS. Also, he looks to get the bulk of minutes for the Grizz at C and had a double-double in his first game. Not bad. Definitely some upside here.

Moving forward, I’m bummed to see Baron Davis already struggling with injury. I didn’t particularly want him for that reason, but felt that I had to get him as the best available with my second pick. Hopefully it’s nothing that will persist throughout the season. I’m definitely keeping my eye on a few sleeper candidates, but can’t throw out any names now.

One lesson that fantasy hoops owners learn, or should learn, as the years of experience accumulate, is that rash or hasty judgments should not be made at the start of the season. Some players will stumble out of the blocks, and it is often unwise to give up on them prematurely.

Some players will be jettisoned prematurely after a bad outing or two. But as predictably as the setting sun, we can count on Lights Out do so something even more shocking- kicking Jason Terry to the curb before he has played a single game. Make no mistake, Terry is no fantasy superstar, his 15p, 4a 1-three debut attests to this. But his stellar percentages, combined with his workmanlike production in other areas, make him a bankable commodity on the back end of one’s roster. Why does Ray repeatedly make rash moves like this?

To be fair, I will briefly analyze the players I have jettisoned thus far:

Joakim Noah- the unveiling of the new season (and new starting lineup) made clear that Noah will be coming off the bench for now. If he tallied 30-35 minutes a game, he would likely be a serviceable, but not great, fantasy center. That does not appear to be in the cards at present. I am sure Noah will make future appearances on rosters in this league, perhaps mine included, but won’t stick around long anywhere until he gets a starting gig under Coach Del Negro.

Rafer Alston- his numbers have been serviceable in the past, but mostly when there have been injuries on the Rockets squad. His fg% is usually atrocious. Now the Rockets are healthy and have added another star who needs his touches. Alston’s numbers have been sub-par. If, or more probably when, Houston gets hit by injury, Alston’s numbers should jump and he may find a semi-permanent home. Nevertheless, I hesitated in making this selection, and jumped at the chance to trade Mr. Alston for Ray’s castoff.

I will briefly mention that Ray also dropped his boy Marbury. I might have done the same; although Ray knew there was uncertainty in drafting Marbury (minutes from D’Antoni?, a trade?), and maybe should have waited a little longer to see how this would play out.