2010 Midseason Awards: Top Last Round Picks/Free Agent Pickups

If Carl Landry fell into your lap in the last round, then chances are your team is doing very well.

Our latest Midseason Awards article focuses on the Top 20 Last Round Picks or Free Agent Pickups of the 1st half.

Adding quality free agents is all about timing, opportunity, and potential, and I try to consider all 3 of these elements when making my player pickup suggestions. Hopefully you’ve been able to snag some of these players at the right time and they’ve helped out your fantasy team more often than not.

Up next we’ll examine the Bad and the Ugly…

Top Last Round Picks / Free Agent Pickups

1: Danilo Gallinari

(See the All-Value Teams article)

2: Brandon Jennings

(See the All-Value Teams article)

3: Carl Landry

(See the All-Value Teams article)

4: Jamal Crawford

(See the All-Value Teams article)

5: Brendan Haywood

(See the All-Value Teams article)

6: Kendrick Perkins

12.1 points
8.3 rebounds
1.2 assists
.3 steals
2.1 blocks
0 threes
2.6 to’s
63.8 FG%
60.1 FT%

The Celtics have played 41 games thus far, but Rasheed has missed 3 games, Garnett has missed 11, and Big Baby Davis has missed 28. So the most stable big man for Boston has been Perkins, and he has been ROCK SOLID. Often overlooked on a team full of stars, Perk currently ranks 5th in blocks and 27th in rebounding, despite playing under 30 mpg.

However, Perk has REALLY improved offensively, raising his FG% to a league-leading 64% while bumping his scoring average up from just 8.5 last year and 6.9 the year before, to a deece 12.1 this season. He still ranks below Haywood due to Kendrick’s poor free throw shooting and high turnovers, but KP has been one of the best value centers around.

7: Samuel Dalembert

7.4 points
9.3 rebounds
1.1 assists
.5 steals
2.2 blocks
0 threes
1.6 to’s
52.5 FG%
84.5 FT%

Not only did Dalembert fall hard on draft day, but he may have been dropped completely in your league after averaging just 22.2 minutes, 6.2 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks over his first 9 games. But then Speights got hurt and Sammy D’s minutes started to climb, and over the past month and a half he’s been superb.

In the month of January, Dalembert is averaging a strong 10.5 points, 12.5 boards, 2.5 blocks, and only .9 turnovers on 65% FG and 93% FT shooting! Those are insane numbers that make even Dwight Howard look sorry. The kicker of course is that one of the best months of his career has also come at the most devastating time of his life, as his home city of Port-au-Prince recently got rocked by catastrophic earthquakes. He probably can’t sustain this level of production, but he deserves heaps of props anyway.

8: Jarrett Jack

10.5 points
2.6 rebounds
4.7 assists
.8 steals
.1 blocks
.9 threes
2.1 to’s
47.0 FG%
84.9 FT%

Very few people had Jack on their roster after he averaged a mere 23.4 minutes, 6.4 points, and 2.5 assists over Toronto’s first 10 games. But then his playing time started to rise, and then Jose Calderon got hurt on Dec. 5th. Jack was then inserted into the starting lineup and has been solid ever since, averaging 12.6 points, 5.4 dimes, 1.1 steals, and .9 threes per game on 51% FG and 85% FT shooting as a starter.

The 5th year guard has always stepped up when given the opportunity, whether in Toronto or Indiana or Portland. It’s not easy finding a good dependable point guard off the waiver wire, but Jack has been one of the best pickups of the first half of the season.

9: Chris Douglas-Roberts

13.8 points
4.0 rebounds
1.9 assists
1.2 steals
.4 blocks
.3 threes
1.9 to’s
45.7 FG%
84.5 FT%

Douglas-Roberts got off to a fantastic start, averaging nearly 17 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.4 steals, and .6 blocks in November & December. Since he doesn’t attempt many threes his FG% is respectable for a swingman, and he gives his owners a nice free throw boost as well. After averaging just 1.4 freebie attempts as a rookie, CDR made 55 of 62 free throws over his first 15 games.

His value took a hard hit when Yi Jianlian returned, and Devin Harris has taken a lot of Chris’ shots away as well. However, if either of those players gets hurt again, then CDR will be worth another look.

10: Yi Jianlian

15.1 points
7.0 rebounds
.6 assists
.7 steals
1.0 blocks
.4 threes
1.8 to’s
42.1 FG%
81.1 FT%

Speak of the devil. Things looked good for Yi when he combined for 29 points, 17 boards, and 4 blocks in Jersey’s first 2 games of the season, but he hurt his knee soon after and missed the next 24 games. While Douglas-Roberts picked up the slack and the Nets kept losing, most fantasy owners forgot about Jianlian.

However, I advised my subscribers to swoop him up in early December, citing how the coaching change (Lawrence Frank out, Kiki Vandeweghe & Del Harris in) might help him blossom (Harris was head coach for Yi & Team China in the 2004 Olympics and Kiki is the GM who traded to get him). Well, he returned right before Christmas, and he’s put up strong numbers ever since, averaging 16.7 points, 6.7 rebounds, .9 blocks, .5 treys, and 5.7 free throw attempts on over 80% FT shooting. At the age of 22 Yi has been solid, but he has the potential for a lot more.

11: Ben Wallace

5.3 points
9.4 rebounds
1.7 assists
1.2 steals
1.1 blocks
0 threes
.9 to’s
51.1 FG%
43.6 FT%

Who knew that Big Ben still had this much left in the tank? He thought about retiring over the summer, but has returned for year #14 and is putting up strong numbers in the paint for Detroit. Wallace combined for just 10.1 points + rebounds + assists per game last season for the Cavs, but this year he’s dropping 16.4 pts + reb + ast.

Wallace’s blocks have actually declined this season, but he’s ramped up his steals to 1.2 per game, which trails only Nene and Camby among centers. His value shines when you consider that he’s the ONLY player in the league pulling down more than 9 boards per game while commiting fewer than 1 turnover. Not bad for a 35-year old who went undrafted in most leagues.

12: Beno Udrih

12.7 points
2.5 rebounds
4.0 assists
.8 steals
.2 blocks
1.1 threes
1.7 to’s
49.5 FG%
85.0 FT%

When Kevin Martin got hurt early on, it made sense to pick Udrih up as he was bound to get more minutes. Still, even the owners who jumped on Beno right away didn’t expect him to play THIS well. Udrih averaged nearly 15 points, 4+ assists, 1 steal, 1.3 treys, and only 1.7 turnovers in November & December, while shooting over 51% from the field and over 83% from the line.

The recent return of Kev-Mart has limited Beno’s production, but if the Kings can get solid value in return, they won’t be shy in trading Martin away. If that happens, Udrih should have decent value once again, so he could be a solid 2nd half pickup as well.

13: Erick Dampier

7.7 points
8.7 rebounds
.4 assists
.2 steals
1.6 blocks
0 threes
1.3 to’s
66.0 FG%
58.5 FT%

Injuries have limited Dampier somewhat this season and he’s no longer reliable, but if you picked him up and started him at the right times, you have to be pleased with the results. If you were desperate for center help, Damp may have caught your eye after his first double-double of the season on Oct. 31st. In the 4 games that followed, he dropped 39 points, 52 boards, and 13 blocks.

Erick missed most of November, but if you throw out his New Years Eve game vs. Houston, Dampier averaged an impressive 9.5 points, 10.6 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks on 50-70 shooting (71.4%) in December. Not bad for a guy who most fantasy owners have ignored the past 4 years.

14: Randy Foye

10.1 points
1.8 rebounds
2.5 assists
.5 steals
.2 blocks
.8 threes
1.2 to’s
43.7 FG%
93.3 FT%

One man’s loss is another man’s gain. In this case, Gilbert Arenas suffered a big-time loss after playing with guns, and Randy Foye received a big-time gain in minutes as a result. After barely playing in November & December, Foye has been getting 36+ minutes since the Arenas suspension.

Over his last 10 games, Foye is averaging a cool 18.8 points, 5.7 assists, 1.3 treys, .9 steals, and 4.2 free throw attempts on 48% FG and 93% FT shooting. Those are Top 50 type numbers, which is superior value when you consider that he could have been swooped up by just about anyone before January 1st.

15: Martell Webster

11.0 points
4.1 rebounds
.7 assists
.6 steals
.6 blocks
1.9 threes
.8 to’s
40.5 FG%
77.1 FT%

Over Portland’s first 14 games, Webster averaged just 19.4 minutes and 6.4 points per. At the time, the mere THOUGHT of owning him seemed laughable. But then Blazer players started dropping like flies: Travis Outlaw, Greg Oden, Rudy Fernandez, Joel Przybilla, Steve Blake, Brandon Roy. Out of neccessity, Webster has had to play lots of minutes, even sliding over to power forward at times. And I give him credit, because he’s stepped up to the plate and bounced back in a big way.

In the month of January, Webster is averaging a whopping 18.1 points and 3.3 treys on 45% FG shooting, in addition to pulling down 5.7 boards and blocking .7 shots per game. He hasn’t been draining threes like Gallinari or Frye per se, but 74 made treys since Nov. 21st (2.4 per game) is pretty impressive, and the solid rejections and low turnovers are merely icing on the cake.

16: Luke Ridnour

11.8 points
1.9 rebounds
4.0 assists
.8 steals
.1 blocks
1.0 threes
1.4 to’s
49.9 FG%
91.3 FT%

Things did NOT look good for Ridnour out of the gates, because he averaged a mere 7.3 points and 2 assists in 15.3 minutes over Milwaukee’s first 6 games. But the he started to heat up, and Cool Hand Luke hasn’t cooled down much at all. In 36 games since then, Ridnour has scored 13+ points 19 times, which is pretty impressive when you consider that he hasn’t started a single game.

In the month of January, Ridnour is dropping 13.3 points, 4.7 dimes to just 1.6 turnovers, and 1.2 treys per game. His 50% FG accuracy has been remarkable because this is a guy who’s shot UNDER 42% FG in 5 of his 6 years in the NBA! There were definite question marks before the season started surrounding both Jennings & Ridnour, but BOTH PG’s have proven to have strong value in deep leagues.

17: Corey Brewer

12.9 points
4.0 rebounds
2.1 assists
1.5 steals
.6 blocks
.6 threes
2.2 to’s
42.7 FG%
65.7 FT%

Brewer turned heads early by scoring in double figures in 9 of his first 11 games, and racking up 25 steals in the process. When Love was out, Corey was also a decent source of rebounds, and he gets his hands on plenty of blocks. However, after shooting just 38% from the field and 64% from the line in October & November, many owners dropped Brewer because his awful shooting was too much to stomach.

Well guess what? Since Dec. 11th, Corey has actually made 133 of 285 shots from the field, for a respectable 46.7% FG. More surprisingly, he’s also found his groove from outside, making 18 of 40 threes in January. He’s not the most consistent player around, but the lanky swingman has certainly helped out fantasy owners who got him for next to nothing.

18: Omri Casspi

12.5 points
4.9 rebounds
1.4 assists
.7 steals
.3 blocks
1.3 threes
1.4 to’s
48.0 FG%
63.6 FT%

Udrih wasn’t the only one who benefitted from Kev-Mart’s absence. The rookie Casspi has proven to be more than worthy of banging elbows with the best of the best. In 16 starts, Omri averaged 14.6 points, 5.9 rebounds, 1.6 threes, .7 steals, .4 blocks, and 3.4 free throw attempts on 78% FT shooting. For the season, he ranks 16th in 3P%, but is also in the Top 50 in 2P%, showing that he can score efficiently from all over the floor.

Casspi is also a long and active defender, and it wouldn’t surprise me if he gets his hands on more steals and blocks down the road. At the age of 21 he has a very bright future, and if the Kings are smart they’ll find a way to give him more minutes. He has fans wherever he goes, and if you’ve owned him you’re probably a fan as well.

19: Ersan Ilyasova

10.7 points
6.8 rebounds
1.2 assists
.8 steals
.3 blocks
1.3 threes
1.1 to’s
41.5 FG%
72.7 FT%

Ilyasova has really struggled in January (just 7.9 points on 35% FG shooting), but he proved to be quite valuable in November & December. In those months he averaged around 12 points, 7.2 rebounds, 1.5 treys, .9 steals, and just 1.4 turnovers per game on a more respectable 44% FG shooting. He’s also proven to be a serious double-double threat when given enough PT.

Of course, I named Ilyasova as one of my Young Breakout Stars before the season started, citing my lack of confidence in Hakim Warrick and Ersan’s improved play overseas as reasons why you should use a last round pick on him. Even if you didn’t draft him, hopefully those words motivated you to swoop him up before any of your opponents did, because Ilyasova had a nice run already and another one may be coming in the 2nd half.

20: Anderson Varejao

8.3 points
8.0 rebounds
1.0 assists
1.0 steals
1.0 blocks
0 threes
.9 to’s
51.8 FG%
65.5 FT%

In my opinion, Varejao is the epitome of the guy you hate facing but love to have on your team: he has endless energy, he loves to mix it up and get physical, he puts winning first and foremost, and he gets under his opponents’ skin. He’s been that way ever since he came into the league, but he didn’t become a RELIABLE fantasy option until this season.

If you want 8 points, 8 boards, 1 steal, 1 block, and 1 turnover every game, then Varejao is about as close as you get to a lock. As predicted by yours truly, he’s leading the Cavs in rebounding, and playing more minutes than both Shaq and Big Z. If you drafted him in the last round, you’ve gotten a rock solid backup big to plug-in whenever you need someone dependable. If Shaq starts missing games to rest up for the playoffs, then Varejao’s stats could even improve in the 2nd half.

Related posts:

1. 2010 Midseason Awards: All-Fantasy Teams LeBron is the 1st half MVP, but has Kobe played well enough to...
2. 2010 Midseason Awards: All-Value Teams Zach Randolph has been fantastic this season, and is one of several Grizzlies...
3. Breaking Down the 2009 Free Agent Class: Centers The Birdman and Gortat are two of the top available free agent centers...