After his lone season in Charlotte, Maggette was traded to the Pistons in exchange for Ben Gordon this offseason. Maggette’s season in Charlotte was an injury-plagued year in which he appeared in just 32 games while battling various ailments (Achilles, back, hamstring). When healthy, Maggette was his normal productive self, averaging 15.0 points and 3.9 rebounds while shooting 85.6 percent from the free-throw line. At 33, Maggette is on the downside of his career and he remains one of the bigger injury concerns in the league. He could help out in scoring and free-throw percentage when on the court, but his overall value will be limited unless he stays healthy for the majority of the season, which is asking a lot for a player at this point of his career who has an injury track record like Maggette’s.
Maggette was traded to the Bobcats as part of the draft-day deal that sent Stephen Jackson to the Bucks. He’s been anointed the Bobcats’ primary small forward, and they don’t anyone else currently on the roster to challenge his role as the starter. Given that the Bobcats also lack a dominant scorer, it wouldn’t be out of the question for Maggette to approach the 20-point per game level he managed with the Clippers. Maggette’s excellent at getting to the line and knocking down his free throws, so he’s a big help in free-throw percentage if he gets the minutes. He’s also highly injury prone, so if you draft him, expect some missed time.
Maggette was traded by Golden State to Milwaukee this offseason. That's enough to raise some concerns about the forward's fantasy value. Last season, the Warriors led the NBA in possessions per 48 minutes by a sizable margin. Consider: while the average NBA team used about 93 possessions during a regulation game, and the second-fastest Pacers used 97.1 possessions, Golden State used a full 100.4 possessions per game. That's a lot. The Scott Skiles-led Bucks, meanwhile, were considerably slower, finishing 20th out of 30 teams at 91.7 possessions. That placed them right between the Spurs and Celtics – i.e. two teams noted for their deliberate paces of play. Beyond a change in environment, there are also possible questions about what role Maggette might play for the Bucks. Although he's certainly a talented scorer, averaging just shy of 20 points even while playing with the Clippers, he's frequently been deployed as a sixth man, starting about 40 percent of his career games on the bench. Considering, however, that the Bucks specifically traded for Maggette, it's reasonable to project him for something north of 30 minutes. In terms of value, Maggette is a capable scorer, as mentioned, but offers even more value in the free throw department. He has a career 82.1 free throw percentage that's magnified considerably by the number of attempts he's able to accrue. Despite missing 12 games, Maggette took the ninth-most free throws in the NBA. Finally, a thing to remember: Maggette is about two rounds more valuable in 8-cat, as opposed to 9-cat, leagues, owing to the number of turnovers to which he's prone.
Maggette is one of the few sixth men in the NBA capable of averaging 20 points per game, and his peripheral contributions keep him in fantasy starting lineups despite coming off the bench in real life. Maggette mixes an ever-improving jumper with an uncanny knack for getting to the rim without the benefit of great ball-handling skills, and as one of the strongest swingmen in the NBA Maggette is able to either finish in traffic or draw the foul at a very high clip. Maggette is generally among the league leaders in free throws taken/made while shooting well over 80 percent, making him a must-have free throw percentage booster for roto teams that employ the Dwight Howards and Shaquille O’Neals of the world. Maggette’s strength and leaping ability also allow him to help out on the glass (seven straight seasons of at least 5.0 rpg). One area where Maggette has room for improvement is from behind the arc, where he made 1.1 treys on 38.4 percent shooting two seasons ago but fell off to 0.5 treys on 25.3 percent shooting last season. The other area of concern with Maggette is health, as he has missed double-figure games due to injury in eight of his ten NBA seasons. If Maggette rediscovers a consistent trey and can remain healthy he could produce at the level of an early-mid-round player, but those concerns likely force him to slide a bit down draft boards.
The departure of Baron Davis left Golden State as one of the only teams with sufficient cap room to satisfy Maggette's contract demands -- and leaves the Warriors with a roster full of scoring wing players that may represent one of the biggest challenges of Don Nelson�s long and illustrious coaching career. The only thing we're really certain of about Nelson's rotation is that Andris Biedrins won't log any minutes at the two. On the other hand, the rest of the Warriors' best players � Monta Ellis, Maggette and Stephen Jackson � are probably best suited for that spot. In theory, Ellis will shift to the point, leaving Maggette at the two and Jackson at the three, but with Nelson calling the shots that alignment could change on a nightly basis, and Ellis� mysterious ankle injury casts further doubt on his position switch. Assuming he lands a regular spot in the starting rotation, Maggette has the potential for big numbers in a high-powered Nellie-ball attack. A scoring average near 20 points, along with good rebounding numbers and excellent free-throw percentage seem reasonable to expect.
For a good portion of last season, Maggette was an afterthought, consigned to the bench behind the likes of Quinton Ross and involved in just about every trade rumor in the book. When he finally worked his way back into the starting lineup, he was his usual productive self, averaging 22.8 points, 7.6 boards and four dimes in April. This season, the rift between Maggette and Clipper coach Mike Dunleavy has reportedly been resolved. Maggette is expected to start again, and with Elton Brand on the shelf, the Clippers will need his offense badly.
Maggette suffered though an injury-plagued season in 2006, playing only 32 games due to a strained left foot. He should be 100 percent for the start of training camp this year and will be a guy that can help in multiple categories. A fearless penetrator, Maggette gets to the basket at will and can single handedly help carry your team in FT% when healthy. In 2005, he played 66 games and went to the line an average of 10 times a game, making 82.8% of his free throws. To put that in perspective, perennial mass free throw shooters like Kobe Bryant and Allen Iverson averaged 10.5 attempts and 10.1 attempts, respectively in 2005. Maggette’s value goes beyond his free throw shooing as he can also score (17.8 points last year) and rebound (5.3 rbg last year). Look for Maggette to have a bounce-back year and establish himself as the Clips No. 2 guy behind Elton Brand.
If Maggette ever played 80 games, he'd be a stud. In six years, he's played more than 69 games just twice. Still, the athletic, solidly fundamental Duke product does satisfy for those games he plays, scoring awfully well, chipping in a solid number of rebounds and assists and canning free throws with his eyes closed. With Sam Cassell and Cuttino Mobley replacing Bobby Simmons and Marko Jaric, the Clips just got a whole lot more selfish, so Maggette might not be the second option behind Elton Brand this year. If they were smart, he would, but since when has the Clips’ front office been smart?
Maggette capitalized on his first season as a starter in the NBA last season, scoring over 20 points per game and excelling from the line in quantity and quality. Not much has changed in Clipper land except for the exodus of Quentin Richardson and arrival of veteran Kerry Kittles. With Richardson no longer there to compete with him for shots, Maggette figures to improve on his points total and provide solid rebounding numbers as well. Maggette isn’t much of a rebounder or passer, but should still be a solid fantasy option in the middle rounds of your draft.
As the No. 2 scoring option in Little L.A., Maggette will blow past 16.8 points per game. Plays defense with an attitude and is versatile. A pure athlete. A player that will be undervalued heavily in most leagues.
