Andrea Bargnani

Acquired from the Raptors ahead of last season, the much maligned former No. 1 overall pick generally disappointed in his first Knicks' campaign. Before an elbow injury ended his season after 42 games, Bargnani averaged 13.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.1 assists, and 1.2 blocks in 30 minutes per game. Furthermore, the seven-foot Italian shot 44 percent from the field, a career-low 28 percent on three-pointers, and 82 percent on only 2.4 free-throw attempts per game. Including last season, Bargnani has missed 137 games over the past three years, evidencing severe injury issues. While he did make 39 starts in his debut season with the Knicks, Bargnani is expected to come off the bench under new coach Derek Fisher. However, with oft-injured teammates Amar'e Stoudemire and Jason Smith expected to share frontcourt duties, Bargnani's involvement could spike here and there depending on who's healthy to play, and his 1.2 blocks per game could help more following Tyson Chandler being traded this offseason. Nonetheless, as a glaringly one-dimensional player, Bargnani's fantasy stock remains rooted in his point production, although his poor shooting percentages leave much to be desired. Fortunately for Bargnani, Fisher's triangle offense should provide ample opportunities to flash an improved outside stroke in what will be his contract year this season.

Bargnani is coming off a frustrating injury-riddled season with the team that drafted him with the No.1 overall pick in 2006. Missing 47 games due to various injuries, Bargnani finished the season with averages of 12.7 points (40 percent from the field, 84 percent from the line), 3.7 rebounds and 1.1 assists, all lower than his previous run in 2011-12. From losing favor with his coach and teammates to becoming a laughingstock on his own home court, the former Raptor looks to rejuvenate his career in New York alongside superstar Carmelo Anthony. Being a player whose effectiveness depends entirely on how many shots attempts he can put up, it's hard to see Bargnani reaching 20-point figures consistently as he had in past seasons. With Anthony, J.R. Smith and other ball-dominant players on his new team, Bargnani will have to find ways to be effective without the ball. From a fantasy perspective, his upside depends on whether or not he will be able to convert three-pointers at a high clip, as the stretch forward was never known for his ability to grab rebounds, steals or blocks. This season may be Bargnani's last chance to prove he was worth the No. 1 overall draft pick. He heads into his eighth year in the NBA at 27 years of age.

Bargnani’s 2011-12 campaign was cut in half due to a calf strain that caused him to miss 35 of 66 games. When he was healthy, though, Bargnani was productive for the most part. He continued to lead the Raptors in scoring, finishing with an average of 19.5 points per game. His efficiency (43.2 FG, 29.6 3Pt) and rebounding (5.5) left a lot to be desired, but Bargnani continued to be one of the better free-throw shooting (87.3) big men in the league. The biggest statistical knock against Bargnani has been his drop in blocks per game over the past two season, falling from 1.4 in 2009-10 to 0.5 last season. As a center who rebounds poorly, Bargnani’s value stemmed from his ability to knock down threes in volume while also blocking over a shot per game. There is a silver lining here, though, as Bargnani could be used more at forward this season. Despite his length (6-11), Bargnani is a much better fit as a stretch four or small forward. With rookie Jonas Valanciunas joining Amir Johnson and Ed Davis in the frontcourt, the Raptors will be able to play Bargnani in a role that better fits his skills. Now over his calf injury, Bargnani will have a great opportunity to bounce back and provide production in unique categories for a big man.

After Chris Bosh left Toronto for South Beach, Bargnani was expected to take over as the face of the franchise. The former No. 1 overall pick was force fed the ball all season, leading to career-highs in field-goal attempts (17.4), free-throw attempts (5.3) and scoring (21.4). Unfortunately the extra usage put a spotlight on Bargnani’s inefficiencies, as he shot just 44.8 from the floor and 34.5 percent from downtown while turning the ball over 2.3 times per contest. All of the extra work on offense also seemed to have a negative impact on Bargnani’s play on defensive side of the ball – his rebounding dropped from 6.2 to 5.2 boards per game, and his blocks dropped from 1.4 to 0.7. The Raptors are mired in a rebuilding phase, and without any other go-to scoring options, the team will likely once again ask Bargnani to shoulder the load offensively. He has always been a better fantasy player than real-life baller, but even with the higher scoring totals, Bargnani will need to prove he can be efficient with a larger workload while also bouncing back on the defensive end of the court.

Bargnani isn't a bad NBA player (though it's pretty hard to argue he's lived up to being a No. 1 pick), but he has the type of game that translates far better in fantasy terms. Few centers offer such versatility of three-point shooting (1.5 3pt each of the past two seasons), strong free throw ability (81.5% throughout his career) while limiting turnovers (1.5 tpg last year) and also blocking shots (1.4 bpg last season). With Chris Bosh gone, Bargnani should also improve upon last year's career-best 17.2 ppg, as he's suddenly become the focal point of a team bereft of offensive options. In fact, newcomer Leandro Barbosa is the only other player on Toronto's roster ever to average more than 13.1 points in a season. Even rookie Ed Davis from North Carolina is quite raw. This is Bargnani's team, make no mistake. His inability to rebound keeps him from the elite, but he's on the upswing and should only continue to improve moving forward.

During his third season in the league, Bargnani finally put together the skills that made him the No. 1 overall selection in 2006, setting career highs in points (15.4), rebounds (5.3), field-goal percentage (45.0), three-pointers made (119) and blocks (1.2) while chipping in a solid 83.1 free-throw percentage. His offensive game blossomed after Toronto replaced Sam Mitchell with interim coach Jay Triano in December. Shortly after the promotion of Triano, who installed a fast-paced offense, Bargnani was permanently inserted into the starting lineup and went on to average 17.7 points, six boards, 1.3 blocks and 1.8 treys in 59 starts. Toronto rewarded Bargnani with a five-year extension following his breakout campaign, cementing his status as a cornerstone for the franchise. The Raptors also signed free agent Hedo Turkoglu during the offseason, but he shouldn’t have a negative impact on Bargnani’s status. If anything, Turkoglu’s ability to create open shots for his teammates should benefit Bargnani, as the seven-foot Italian will assume the role of light-rebounding, three-point shooting big man that Turkoglu’s teammate Rashard Lewis played in Orlando. While Bargnani will never be mistaken as a good rebounder for someone his size, his ability to hit three-pointers and swat over one shot per contest put him in rare company with the likes of Rasheed Wallace, LeBron James and Dwayne Wade.

The No. 1 pick in the 2006 NBA Draft, Bargnani actually regressed during his second year as a pro, shooting just 38.6 percent from the floor while playing limited minutes. He also saw his points, rebounds, blocks and steals all drop from his rookie campaign. It’s too soon to call Bargnani a complete bust at this point, but he’ll need to improve dramatically for that not to be the case in the future. For someone 6-10, 250, he’s not much of a rebounder and is most comfortable playing away from the basket. He could be a sneaky source for threes, but expecting anything more than that would probably be a mistake.

Last year’s first overall pick was expected to be something of a project as a rookie, an intriguing player with length and a nice outside shot, but also a skinny kid who would struggle to adapt his game to the NBA. Those expectations were met in the first half of the season, but Bargnani found another gear once he got his feet wet, averaging 14.5 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.2 three-pointers over 21 games in the season’s final three months. Appendicitis cut short his regular season, however, and although he made it back on the court for the playoffs he was clearly not back at full strength. Despite his seven-foot frame Bargnani is primarily a perimeter player, and he will likely never put up the rebounding totals you’d expect from a player his size, but his three point shooting ability will more than make up the lost value. Assuming he stays healthy this time look for Bargnani to at least match his second half totals from ’06-’07 over a full season, but his potential ceiling is much higher.

The first overall pick won’t be expected to have a big impact this season, but his combination of size, shooting range and European background have drawn inevitable comparisons to Dirk Nowitzki. He may not have quite that much upside and there are concerns regarding his rebounding ability, but once he fills out and adjusts to the more physical NBA style of play he should be a very intriguing fantasy asset.