The 'From Way Downtown' Specialist

Assists are such a tough category to come by, and it's even harder to find a dominant contributor in that category, but even if you do the impact they will have on your team is somewhat muted because on some level, every player gets assists so the marginal contribution is less. The same can not be said for Three Pointers, in fact there are many players who don't even attempt a trey at all during the season. For this reason, a top notch outside shooter can have a big impact on your squad.

I've notcied that many people will come to me with their Sauce and we'll both see that they are down in Three Pointers. I'll look over the roster and see Spencer Hawes or Paul Milsap or Corey Maggette sitting in their UTIL slot. These guys aren't really helping you out in any categories, their basically sitting right on the average. While they might have a good ranking, they aren't helping your team like The Sweet Shooting Peja Stojakovic would.

Born in Belgrade, from the former Yugoslavia, Peja was once considered fantasy gold. His unorthodox shooting style has been a success in the NBA for many years, and his proficiency beyond the arc has helped a great many fantasy baskeball teams. However time and injuries have caught up to Peja's game, slowing him a bit, and what we're left with is our current Three Point Shooting Specialist. Let's take a peak at those numbers:

PEJA STOJAKOVIC
CAT 2009
PTS 12.5
AST 1.3
3's 2.7!!!
REB 3.7
STL 0.5
BLK 0.1
TO 0.6
FG 41.2
FT 86.2

Comparing Peja vs. The Sauce, you'll see that your team will take a slight ding in Dimes, Points, Boards, and Blocks. However the dropoff isn;t a very significant one, particularly if you've got strong boards/blocks and you're replacing one of the guys mentioned above. Or if you have Jarret Jack, or Mike Conley and you're replacing them with Peja.

2.7 treys per game is nothing to shake a stick at. This can easily be the difference between knowing your sauce and being Super Saucy. Take a current team of 10 players averaging .75 treys per game, swap out a guy who doesn't contribute beyond the arc, swap in Our 3 point Specialist, and watch the teams average jump to 1.02! What a difference that will make.

Peja is currently owned in about 70% of the leagues played, and has a current ranking in most standard roto formats of 105. That puts him pretty equal in rnak to someone like Paul Milsap. If I'm sitting with a squad that needs a three point shooter, and have Paul Milsap in my starting lineup, I'm going out to make this trade right now. Chances are Pejas owner isn;t even starting him right now.

Sure, there are other guys out there averaging just as many three point shots per game. Gallinari and Frye come to mind. But those guys are currently ranked in the 30's due to hot streaks that are nearing end. Why not think about dealing one of them to the team with Peja in a 2-2 deal where you can get a stud player in return AND not lose any production in the 3 point department.

Do I think Peja is going to return to his first round fantasy draft pick days? No, not at all. But for a stop and pop three point shooter on a team with the distribution master CP3, you know he's going to get the looks outside each game, and you know he's going to finish the season in the top 10 for 3PTM. Given how little you'd have to give up to get Peja, this deal seems like a No Brainer.