A Lack of Follow Through
The lockout took the NBA off the fantasy grid in several ways. News outlets failed to follow up on several lingering stories from last season, and we're still waiting to hear how some players have recovered from injuries they suffered last season.

Here's some information and a few thoughts on situations from last season that that might affect the fantasy landscape this season.

Marvin Williams: (Back) Williams underwent a procedure on his back in June that helped to relieve persistent issues. He's been playing in a lot of pickup games, and it's believed he may be healthier now than he's been in a long time.

Steve Nash: (Hamstring/Pelvis/Groin) Nash was so hampered by injuries in the second half of last season that he averaged just 10 points and shot 40 percent from the field after the All-Star break. Is he going to stay healthy this season, or is the two-time MVP wearing down?

Amare Stoudemire: (Back) Stoudemire told the NY Post back in September that he was healthy enough for training camp, but he recently dropped out of playing in Drew Gooden's charity game at the last minute. It's rumored his absence was due to concerns about his back. We're anxious to see where he'll be at when camp opens, because we're a little concerned right now.

Stephen Curry: (Ankle) Curry underwent surgery on his right ankle this offseason. It gave him a lot of problems last season. He's supposed to be at 100 percent now and was participating in exhibition games in the past month, so we're convinced he's more than ready for the season.

Gerald Henderson: (Hip) Henderson underwent hip surgery this offseason. The lockout gave him the time he needed to get healthy, and a story came out today detailing how great the guard is feeling. He's projected to start at shooting guard for the Bobcats.

Today's News
Bismack Biyombo is still waiting for his buyout to get finalized, but he and his agent continue to say that everything will be done by the time training camp opens Friday.

Jonas Valanciunas might be joining the Raptors this season. His contract with Lietuvos in Lithuania doesn't include an opt-out clause until after this season, but the Raptors recently reached out to Valanciunas' agent to prod him to engage Lietuvos to consider allowing Valanciunas to buyout his contract this season. If he does get out of his contract, which is very unlikely right now, Valanciunas would likely be used in a bench role to start the season. He has tremendous upside and is projected to be the Raptors' starting center of the future.

Let Them Eat Cake
Starting on Monday, NBA coaches will be allowed to talk with their players again. The NBA opened practice facilities to the players last Thursday, but that move was met with contention by many in the NBA because coaches still weren't allowed to talk to their players. Coaches won't be allowed to provide any instruction or direction, but at least there will be some interaction.

For fantasy's sake, this could open the door to us getting more information from coaches and players regarding expectations, roles, and updates on injuries a few days earlier than we would have. The opening of practice facilities last Thursday already gave us a couple of surprising and pointed news items.

Chris Bosh has put on 10 pounds of muscle. He said he's willing to play center this season and admitted to being disappointed with his play from last season. Bosh declared that he will average over 10 rebounds per game this season.

Mike Miller underwent hernia surgery last Tuesday and is expected to be sidelined for eight weeks.

Josh Smith lost 30 pounds this summer and is said to have looked noticeably leaner. He's a power forward, so I'm not sure how important it was for Smith to drop much weight. Where Smith's issues with production have been is his commitment to play his game and not go outside of the things he does well. While he remains a great source of blocks in fantasy, he averaged just 1.6 blocks last season. We want to see him get back to the player that averaged over 2.5 blocks for a three-season stretch. Maybe the loss in weight will give him the ability to approach those numbers again.

Evan Turner was praised by coach Doug Collins for displaying a high level of confidence this offseason and coming into the impending season. While Jodie Meeks won the starting shooting guard job last season, there's a significant chance that Turner will be taking that role to start this season. He struggled to play within the Sixers' system last season, but a year adapting to playing Jrue Holiday and Andre Iguodala should have the former second-overall pick ready to contribute at a much more consistent and fantasy-relevant level this season.

Three Weeks Until Opening Day
There's only three weeks until the start of the season, and players and coaches aren't going to be allowed to practice together until Friday Dec. 9. We're preaching patience to do league drafts right now, but it's important to get out and start doing mock drafts. Mock Draft Central has drafts running constantly. Go there, and get your head wrapped around where you'll be need to targeting players this year.

We'll be breaking down a series of mock drafts in the coming weeks, but it's important to get yourself into the draft room. There's a rhythm to drafting depending on what draft slot you land. Doing drafts from several different slots is the best way to help figure out who is going where and what positions you need to target early in anticipation of what players are available late.

One player I don't want people to sleep on this season is Carmelo Anthony. He typically wasn't drafted until the third round of most drafts last season, and he's still only getting drafted in the later parts of the second round of drafts right now. After being traded to the Knicks, the stats Anthony put up were comparable to Kevin Durant's. Durant is going first overall in most drafts this year. If you're picking at the end of the first round and you're hemming and hawing over who to pick, Anthony is a safe pick. Don't be surprised if Anthony finds his way into the MVP discussion this season, and there's a very real chance he could run away with the scoring title.