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ESPN is reporting that the Houston Rockets, Indiana Pacers, New Jersey Nets and New Orleans Hornets have agreed to a five-player deal. The names involved aren’t going to turn the heads of casual NBA fans, but for fantasy owners there’s some real treasure here. Here’s the quick-and-dirty breakdown:

• The Pacers get Darren Collison and James Posey: This is pure gold for Collison, who will take the reins of the long-suffering PG spot in Indiana. With word that the Pacers are working to buy out T.J. Ford, Collison’s jump into fantasy stardom seems all but guaranteed. I don’t think it’s too bold to declare him a top-50 fantasy player now. After all, he averaged 18.8/3.5/9.1 along with 1.4 steals and 1.0 threes in 37 starts last season. Granted, he played 40:17 in those games and turned the ball over 4.1 times per outing, but that does little to dampen the happy possibilities for Collison. (The threat of a maddening timeshare with Lance Stephenson and A.J. Price exists, but it’s slim — or it should be.) Those who were banking on Stephenson being a sleeper can probably let that dream go for now. Posey is immaterial here. Also, Chris Paul‘s value has a little more breathing room, though it does little to change his stud status.
• The Nets get Troy Murphy: Murphy is now playing alongside a capable center in Brook Lopez who, unlike Roy Hibbert (who should get a couple more shots per game along with more caroms bouncing his way), knows how to rebound well. This should knock Murphy out of double-double land. Derrick Favors is the big loser here, as he can kiss his starting gig good-bye. Still, don’t be surprised if the rookie and the new-old dog split time on some nights. For the Pacers, things open up a bit for the likes of Paul George, Josh McRoberts and Mike Dunleavy, especially if Danny Granger moves to the PF spot.
• The Hornets get Trevor Ariza: While this trade shifts talent to a vacuous SF spot in N.O., which shores up its starting unit and makes it look miles stronger than last season’s, the impact on Ariza’s value is probably minimal. Will playing with a great floor general like CP3 boost his field-goal percentage? Maybe. Will he do his best Peja Stojakovic impersonation and knock down threes like there’s no tomorrow? Yep. Essentially, Ariza takes his talented third-wheel act to New Orleans, which doesn’t exactly exude excitement. (In a separate deal, the Hornets sent Julian Wright to Toronto for Marco Belinelli.) For the Rockets, the (ahem) budding Chase Budinger becomes an even more intriguing sleeper, while Shane Battier‘s minutes are more secure.
• The Rockets get Courtney Lee: There’s no way Lee plays anywhere near the 33:30 per game he got last season in New Jersey, as he now becomes a backup to Kevin Martin. The big news here is Anthony Morrow, who is now the unquestioned starting SG (and the only viable one at the moment) for the Nets. Visions of 16/4/2 along with around 2.5 threes per game from Morrow are flashing in my head. He should follow Collison up your draft lists and might be worth a spot in the top 70.

A ton has happened so far this summer, which could go down as one of the most active and significant ever. For solid overviews of all that’s happened recently, check out Fantasy Basketball Daily and RotoWorld.

Here’s a quick take on some of the major moves that have taken place in the past few days (using our blog’s trademark color system):

• Al Jefferson dealt to the Utah Jazz: he’ll finally get to play with an elite point guard in Deron Williams, and could move Mehmet Okur to the bench while popping much of the juicy potential Paul Millsap had; Kevin Love now has command over the Timberwolves’ frontcourt
• Josh Childress will make his NBA comeback in Phoenix, which is where Hedo Turkoglu was traded to: this certainly puts a damper on Hakim Warrick’s value heading into the season, Turkoglu immediately becomes an appealing fantasy option again and Leandro Barbosa might be set to bounce back in Toronto (continue reading…)

Wow, last night was busy – and things aren’t even done yet!

Antawn Jamison is in Cleveland, Tracy McGrady is in Sacramento (for now), Kevin Martin is in Houston and Darko Milicic continues his farewell tour in Minnesota.

Head on over to my post at Dimemag.com to see what the fantasy fallout is – and boy, there are a ton of moving pieces and shifting fantasy values.

Let us know what you think of all the action in the comments below, and as always, feel free to ask whatever questions are on your mind grapes.

The dam’s been breached with the first two big deals of the trading season. Dallas and Washington pulled off a big seven-player deal involving Caron Butler, Brendan Haywood and Josh Howard, while the Clippers got two players and some cash for Marcus Camby.

Head on over to Dimemag.com to read the fantasy analysis.

It’s likely that a few more deals will happen before the deadline passes on Thursday, so check back here for more updates and analysis.

Also, here’s a poll question: Where will Amar’e Stoudemire end up? (continue reading…)

Stephen Jackson finally gets his wish as he and Acie Law are being shipped to the Charlotte Bobcats in exchange for Raja Bell and Vladimir Radmanovic, who are now under the terrible reign of Nellie.

Read my post at Dimemag.com to see the fantasy implications.