Fantasy Spin: Kev-Martin, Ty Thomas Out

Consider the Kevin Martin injury the official start of the fantasy basketball season. It's easy enough to draft players based on projections, but it's not until a top-5 player goes down with a serious injury do we really start to put in the hard work. Remember last season it was Gilbert Arenas who first broke the hearts of fantasy owners, followed by Carlos Boozer, then Elton Brand and Al Jefferson.

You can say that savvy Carlos Boozer owners were really the only ones who possibly came out of last year's major injuries unscathed -- thanks to Paul Millsap. The Kevin Martin injury is closer to the Gilbert Arenas injury in terms of fantasy impact. Beno Udrih is not going to replace Martin's production, and if you're lucky enough to be able to pick up Tyreke Evans you're still falling short of being able to breathe a sigh of relief. Evans is not Martin, though he's probably the best option available at this point -- if he's even available.

I'll give you the best insight I can on Martin's injury, as well as a few words on the injury to Tyrus Thomas.

As Tom Ziller pointed out Friday, the Kings have a few options going forward. Udrih is going to slot into the starting point guard position, moving Tyreke Evans over to the two-guard position. Udrih is worth an instant look, since he has an opportunity to play -- which is golden in fantasy basketball -- and has shown in the past to be a nice option at the point. He can give you 12-14 points, 5.5 assists, plus at least one steal and one trey per game. That's what you should expect from Udrih, though he could surprise us and give you a tad bit more across the board. Of course he won't replace Martin, but he's worth an add in most standard leagues.

Evans is more than likely gone in your league, so look at Omri Casspi in deeper leagues for now. Casspi has been much better than expected. His per-36 numbers are bit inflated -- 16.7 points, 4.0 rebounds, 1.1 blocks, 1.5 steals and 1.5 treys -- but given the opportunity I can see him being an instant fantasy impact player. I wouldn't jump on him in standard leagues just yet until we know what his role will be going forward, but follow him as the rotation starts to solidify.

Ime Udoka was added to the Kings, but has little to no value in fantasy basketball. I wouldn't consider him an add at this point.

One final note on Martin: don't drop him. Really, I wouldn't let him go unless I absolutely have to. I actually just picked him up this morning in one of my leagues. In a weekly league where you don't have to set up your lineup day-to-day, you can live with Martin on your bench. Come late-January, adding a scorer like Martin to your team could give you a huge boost. If you can, hang on to him.

Tyrus Thomas Out for 4-to-6 Weeks

This one is a bit easier to swallow than the Kevin Martin injury. Thomas was a seventh- or eighth-round selection, which makes it a little easier to live with. I've been high on Thomas for the past three seasons and was hoping that this would be the season that he puts it all together. I suppose we'll have to wait another 4-to-6 weeks to find out.

In his absence, Taj Gibson becomes an instant add. He started the past two games at power forward, posting eight points, 6.5 rebounds, one block and one steal per game. He played much better in the preseason, so I expect he'll get going and add more than just eight and six per. Gibson is an obvious fill-in for Thomas. And unlike with Martin, it's much safer to drop Ty Thomas. No one is going to jump on him until there are signs that he'll return to action. Even then, things weren't going well between Thomas and the Bulls' front office. Gibson could make it tougher for Thomas to come back in and pick up his starting role after he's healed.

Burn me once, shame on you. Burn me twice, shame on me. Burn me a third time, when will I learn?