Drew Gooden is better than this.

Better than playing on eight teams in eight NBA seasons. Better than being on his fifth team since the Cavs traded him to the Bulls in 2008. Better than being an afterthought in another mega-trade — last week’s three-team deal that brought Antawn Jamison to the Cavaliers.

Better than being available in more than 92 percent of the fantasy leagues on ESPN.com.

In two games since he was dealt to the wasteland that is Donald Sterling’s Clippers (you deserved better than this, too, Blake Griffin), Gooden has 30 points and 22 rebounds in 65 minutes. He is perfect on 10 free-throw attempts in two games, the latter of which was his first start.

Wednesday, Gooden had 20 points, 13 rebounds and four assists in 37 minutes.

With Marcus Camby dealt to Portland in another cost-cutting maneuver and Griffin’s rookie season done before it even started, Gooden should be a starter during his brief tenure in L.A. Our apologies go to the 0.4 percent of you who own Craig Smith and the 0.5 percent who have Clips teammate DeAndre Jordan.

If you’re keeping score at home, Gooden has played for the Bulls, Kings (one game), Spurs, Mavericks and Clippers since he was unloaded by the Cavs in the Ben Wallace, Wally Szczerbiak trade in 2008. In eight NBA seasons, he’s also played for the Magic and Grizzlies.

Gooden’s $4.5 millon salary will expire at the end of this season, which should mean nine teams in nine years by the summer.

Until then, give him a chance.

He is an asset in points, rebounds and the percentages.

He’s a fantasy bargain — Sterling’s type of player, if you will.

More bargain hunting

Marcus Thornton was a second-round pick by Miami who was traded to New Orleans last June for a pair of second-round selections.

The rookie shooting guard from LSU is a fantasy afterthought who is available in more than 85 percent of the ESPN leagues.

The latter number is as confusing as Gooden’s six-teams-in-two-years line.

In his last two games heading into Friday, Thornton had 62 points in 72 minutes. Starting with a 37-point effort against the Cavs on Tuesday, he is 20-for-43 from the field (46.5 percent), 6-for-12 from 3-point range and perfect in 10 free-throw attempts.

Thornton has scored in double figures in eight straight games, and when he gets consistent minutes, he’ll help you in points, 3-pointers, 3-point percentage (if that’s a category in your league) and free-throw percentage.

The bad news: He doesn’t do much else. Even during an outstanding February, in which he’s averaged 18.6 points and made 45 percent of his 3-point tries in eight games, Thornton has norms of only 3.3 rebounds, two assists and 0.9 steals.

If you’re in a daily league, Thornton is a part-time starter if you’re deep in the backcourt and a full-time starter if you’re not.

In weekly leagues, he should start if you’re weak in any of the aforementioned categories at which Thornton excels.

Coming attractions

Next week, we’ll start breaking down the fantasy baseball season with the first of our positional previews. We’ll begin with Lou Marson and the catchers.

You won't be surprised to know Tracy McGrady -- three games into his Knicks tenure -- is suffering from a sore knee.

You might be surprised he hasn't sprained an ankle yet.

The notoriously brittle former superstar has been a popular player on the waiver wire in fantasy leagues. His ESPN.com ownership percent soared 30.6 percent this week to 58.2.

Most of the interest stems from a rousing New York debut Saturday, during which McGrady had 26 points on 10-for-17 shooting and added five assists and four rebounds.

A lot of us rushed to our league's homepage Saturday night or early Sunday in an effort to acquire T-Mac.

Five days later, we're already wondering why.

We knew he would soon complain of some type of soreness. We knew it would limit his effectiveness. But we made the leap anyway, hoping McGrady would somehow play like it was 2007.

In two games since scoring 26 on Saturday, McGrady has gotten progressively worse. He had 15 points on 5-of-14 shooting Monday, then said he banged knees during the game and wasn't sure he would play the following night. Tuesday, he had six points on 3-of-8 shooting in 27 minutes.

If you were among the half-full types who picked up McGrady, all is not lost.

He's not healthy enough to play 36 to 40 minutes a night, but the Knicks are so thin he will be forced to play at least 25. There will be nights he shows flashes, and there will be nights he is what he is -- a 30-year-old former All-Star dragging around a bad leg who hasn't shot better than 43.1 percent from the field since he was with the Magic in 2002-03.

How's that for a pick-me-up?

If you're in a deeper daily league, McGrady is a part-time starter at best. In smaller weekly leagues, he should remain on the waiver wire -- another reminder of the steady decline of an enigmatic player who rapidly broke down before the age of 30 as if he was an NFL running back.

-- You've got to see this Wizard: The trade deadline helped the Cavaliers' championship chances, the Rockets' future and further irritated NBA fans (outside of Cleveland) at the ridiculous possibility of a player being traded and returning to his original team five weeks later. It also helped any owner -- all 15 of you -- who actually held on to Wizards power forward Andray Blatche.

Blatche is now a must-start in any format after averaging 24.8 points, 9.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.4 steals and one block in five games since the Wizards cleaned house. He is 51-for-88 from the field (58 percent) and 22-for-26 from the free-throw line (84.6 percent) in that span.

Earlier this season, Blatche was suspended by the Wizards for conduct detrimental to the team and openly criticized for his work ethic and attitude. Now he's playing like an All-Star, which makes about as much sense as expiring contracts being more coveted trade commodities than players who can actually, well, play.

Blatche's ESPN ownership percentage has jumped 39.4 percent to 51.3 this week. If he's somehow available in your league, you don't need me to tell you what to do.

And you shouldn't need me to tell you not to be shocked when Blatche's numbers go the way of McGrady.

After months of non-stop football, we'll take a quick break for some hoops (please hold your applause until the end).

As always, these are players who are available in more than half of the leagues on ESPN.com and can be started in deeper formats. Today's trio all are owned in fewer than 24 percent of the ESPN leagues.

-- Carlos Delfino, SG/SF, Bucks (owned in 23.3 percent of the ESPN leagues): You might remember him as a bench player for the Pistons. Fantasy players should recall Delfino's last seven games, during which he has averaged 17.4 points, 7.4 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.6 steals. In that span, he's made 22 3-pointers, shot 48.9 percent from three and is 45-for-86 from the field (52.3 percent). During his career, Delfino has struggled mightily from the field (40.3 percent), and he's not much better for the season (41.4). This month, however, he's playing major minutes and, with Michael Redd out for the season, might be the Bucks' No. 3 scoring option behind rookie Brandon Jennings and Andrew "You Might Want To Trade Me Before I Get Hurt Again" Bogut. In deeper category leagues, Delfino is an asset in scoring, 3-pointers and steals, and he's a 78-percent free-throw shooter.

-- Corey Brewer, SG, Timberwolves (21.6 percent): Has the 2008 lottery pick finally turned the corner? Or are the T-Wolves just that bad? Brewer has averaged 20 points, four rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.6 steals and 0.8 blocks in his last five games. In that span, he's made 12 treys and is shooting 54.3 percent from the field, 85.7 percent from the free-throw line and 52.2 percent from 3-point range. Brewer is averaging 13.3 points per game for the season, but he's not much of a help in rebounds (3.9) or assists (2.0). He is an asset, however, in scoring, 3-pointers and steals.

-- Brandon Rush, SG, Pacers (2.4 percent): I decided to dig deep for the third player on this list, and Rush has been productive of late. The second-year guard has averaged 15.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and one block in his last four games. He has made 12 3s and is shooting 47.9 percent from the field in that stretch. Prior to this recent run of four solid games, Rush had scored in double digits only nine times since Nov. 27. But he's playing big minutes now and can help you in points and 3-pointers.

Others to watch: Martell Webster, SF, Trail Blazers; Luke Ridnour, PG, Bucks