It’s my first buy/sell piece, so apologies if I steamroll over any of Chris’ darlings or any of that jazz. But none of these players are gonna be on the Jazz. Sorry Paul Millsap. You’re OK as is.
Let’s get right into my picks as I put the daily recap in it’s own article just to make it feel special. I’ll probably combine these like Chris did in the following weeks as Thursday Night’s slate of games are usually thinner than Tehol’s angel hair. I’ll let you decide what that references:
BUY
Thomas Robinson - As I wrote in the breakdown of the NBA Trade Deadline, Thomas Robinson is now one of my favorite picks to help you down the stretch. Still available in 86.3% of ESPN leagues, he’s eying you from the wire like the hot chick from Munich at the bar. Yea I may want to kill you, but damn if I’m gonna make it worth it. Word on the street is Houston is going to start Carlos Delfino tonight. Say whaaaaaa? You get yet another exciting player and you’re gonna start Carlos Delfino???? This is only temporary. Plus I could see my boyfriend T-Rob getting more minutes tonight anyway. A pair of forwards of Delfino and Parsons doesn’t exactly scream physical. I think Robinson could have some great games down the stretch if you have room to pick him up. But I wouldn’t drop anyone great for him.
Bradley Beal - The Wizards rookie has been an on-again, off-again kind of fantasy contributor in his first season, but look for him to help carry you down the stretch. Not that Jordan Crawford was getting much run anyway, but he’s out of the mix, giving Beal plenty of time on the court. He’s put up 25+ Pts in two of the last three while logging 30+ minutes in all of those games, making him a great addition if he’s still on your wire or a cheap trade target. Not to mention a FG% improvement month-to-month. He’s currently day-to-day singing “All I want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth” after chipping them in a collision with Cartier Martin in practice, but it shouldn’t be any cause for concern.
Anthony Davis - The Killer Unibrow hasn’t been the most consistent of fantasy centers, but I like him to wrap up the season hot. He’s put up 28+ minutes in the last three games and the Hornets (soon to be Pelicans) are going to push him to get him experience for next season. Robin Lopez is worse than Sideshow Bob and while Ryan Anderson can hit threes all day, he’s not exactly a defensive powerhouse at the 5. Look for Davis to average 2 Blks 15 Pts and 10 Rebs down the stretch without blinking an eyebrow. Or both eyebrows.
Rudy Gay – Rudy Gay might be the second coolest Rudy behind Razzball’s own Rudy Gamble. Putting up those rainbow lines I love oh so much, he’s been dynamite for the Raptors, which has probably been tracked by Gay owners. His FG% and 3FG% aren’t quite what they could be, keeping his value not as high as LIberace would want. If they have been slow to recognize his huge uptick in various stat categories, he’s a great trade target if anyone is unconvinced.
SELL
Manu Ginobili - As mentioned in this morning’s Recap, Ginobili hasn’t topped 20 minutes since returning to action, and with the Spurs seemingly winning no matter who they put on the floor, I don’t see Gregg Popovich expanding those minutes much. He’s more a big name than anything else, so I would shop him around to see what I could get in the market. Or as Ginobili would say, “el mercado”.
Eric Bledsoe - Another guy I talked about in today’s recap was Eric Bledsoe and his failure to be productive fantasy wise off the bench with CP3 returning to the lineup. He was an absolute beast with Paul out with knee issues, and had some nice rainbow lines off the bench beforehand, but he’s pretty droppable now. Unless I had Paul and had at least 5-6 bench spots, he’s not worth holding onto.
Deron Williams - News has just come out that D-Will’s ankles are D-League. AKA – not NBA ready. He’s still going to play through it, but with that first-round draft value attached, I would take $0.70 on the dollar. See what you can get out of him, and take the money and run!
Kevin Love and Derrick Rose are both on the wire because the 2 team stashing them needed all their players to be active to try to get into the playoffs. I have the number 1 wire. and in 2nd place by a good margin. 12 team h2h. Should i pick up Rose or Love? Which of the two is most likely to return before fantasy playoffs?
@Jeff: I think I like Rose. I have a feeling he indeed comes back and is more effective than Love will be.
I dropped Bargnani for Robinson, do you think that’s a reasonable drop?
@Jay: Considering I absolutely love T-Rob’s prospects in his new home, I don’t think so at all. Plus A Bar isn’t doing almost anything. I like the move. Thanks for stopping by!
Should I drop Gerald Henderson for Thomas robinson..I have a monster of a team..with Durant, Irving, Batum, Lee, george, reddick, Ibake, Klay Thompson, Dragic, Chandler and it’s a 12 team league. 9 cat.
I also Have Rose and Love on IR so they aren’t taking up a spot. I am guaranted a bye week in the playoffs which start in 3 weeks. What do you think?
@Fahed: Hmmm, that’s a really close one. I definitely see Henderson as the safer pick, so I might take a shot on the upside of Robinson. Especially since you probably have scoring locked up, T-Rob can do better in Stls and Blks. I’d go for it. Good luck bringing in the hardware!
I had my Bargnani and Nick Young trade for Anthony Davis trade vetoed a while back, so I was thinking of offering Clark and Young. I picked up Hayward to sort of cover Nick young’s production, so you think it’s a good idea? Thanks!
@Jay: Yea for sure. I love Davis’ stretch run prospects and think Earl Clark was playing a little over his head for that little while and what we’re seeing now is more him. Agree with Fahed below that that trade should not have been vetoed. Bargnani was a huge fantasy player not long ago and Davis is a rookie. I’d berate your league or commish for vetoing that.
@JB Gilpin:
I had Davis when I first started traded him along with Milsap, for Ibaka…if I can get that that trade should have been good.
That first trade was a overall good trade and should not have been vetoed.
PG – Lowry SG – DeRozan G – Conley
SF – Mullens PF – Millsap F – Melo
C – Monroe C – Asik
UTIL – O’Neal Util – Kirilenko
BN – Jordan BN – Igudola BN – Aminu
I can’t get category specific in needs as even Thursday night’s 2 game schedule saw a 1.5 point swing for me.Meaning lots of categories are close either way with TO/FT% being the lowest by far..
From a needs perspective these are the two teams that stick out the most as possible matches.However, can’t really figure out a price to get something done.Anything stick out that i’m not seeing from a fresh eye perspective?
Nelson Jack Dragic
Henderson West J.Green
Gortat McGee
Lin Tristan
BN – Gallinari Matthews Okafor
Vasquez Klay Mayo
Parsons J.Thompson Durant
Hickson B.Lopez
Rubio Noah
BN – Ersan N.Young Rose
@Jay: It’s tough navigating trades bc other owners might be a big fan of a team or another, but I think both Hickson and Okafor are a little underrated and maybe nab either Jarrett Jack from team A or Vasquez from Team B for Iguodala and someone. Kyle Lowry is also a guy to think about moving because of big injury risk. Hope that helps!
@JB Gilpin:
Had Vasquez but had to trade him to try and make up any ground in TO. Still 12th there.Know Klay is on the trade block however.
Tried Iggy/Jordan for Lin/Jack but it got an instant no.
That owner had originally offered me Jack/Gortat/Matthews for Melo/Mullens
I’m currently in first in my 10-team head to head league, we have only 3 bench spots and no IR spots. I’m pretty happy with my team at the moment and my 3 bench players currently are Nate Robinson, Derrick Williams and Gordon Hayward. I am wondering which of those you like the most the rest of the way and if you think it’d be wise to drop one or two for an injured player that may return in march (Rose, Love, Drummond and Gasol are all currently available on the waiver wire). Thanks
@Ian: My team right now is: Teague, Wade, Durant, Nowitzki, Sanders, Ellis, Parsons, Felton, Bogut, Jack
@Ian: I’d try and wait it out with Robinson until Hinrich returns, then he’d be the one I’d cut for one of those injured guys with Rose 1 and Love 2. Since both are available, I’d give Robinson a few more starts.
@JB Gilpin:
ok great, that’s what i was thinking too cuz robinson was going nuts for awhile and hinrich is a wimp and who knows when d-rose may make his glorious return. thank you sir!
@Ian: Hinrich is indeed a wimp! You are welcome sir!
Hey dude whats up!!! Hey You know when u have the player or 2 where u allways swith on the wire.. Well I had Speights for a little bit and he did good but do u think I should keep him?? I was gonna grab Danny Green for him and someone e lse just grabbed him.. What should I do??
@Frank Lynch: Hey man! Good to see ya I remember you from the football side pretty sure… Nah, I was in a similar quandry and I like Mo Speights go. Mo Speights, Mo Problems. Ugh you def shoulda gotten Green if you coulda. Well I def like Thomas Robinson if he’s out there. If there’s guys as good as Green, I’d go for a few of the other top options as well.
Hey sorry about all the messages but I just want you to get allthe info so you can maybe help me. I really need help right now so can u work with me??
Hey dude whats up!!! Hey You know when u have the player or 2 where u allways swith on the wire.. Well I had Speights for a little bit and he did good but do u think I should keep him?? I was gonna grab Danny Green for him and someone e lse just grabbed him.. What should I do?? If u think I should drop him then do u have a couple names in mind?
sorry about the 2 almost same messages but i dsidn’t think the first went through
Hey buddy, yeahI think we did talk on football… I’m gonna give you my line-up and situation if i could
What about Jameer Nelson? He’s only hurt for a game or 2 right?
@Frank Lynch: He’s got a strained patella tendon in his knee that shouldn’t keep him out for too long. HOWEVER, Orlando is in full rebuilding mode and won’t need to push him back for any reason. Or if there’s a new injury same deal.
Hey I’ve only lost one week out of this whole season and ever since the allstar break I lost bad that half a week before the break and I’m getting spanked this week.. I’m stil in 2nd by 13 games but with this week getting killed and next week I play the number 1 guy I’m in danger.. I dropped splitter n picked up Earl Clark. Was that anygood??
Ty Lawson
evan turner
jj reddick
george hill
kevin martin
Derrick rose inj. of course
kevin durant
blake griffen
roy hibbert
earl clark
danilo gallinari
tyson chandler
emeka okafor
marreese speights
@Frank Lynch: Yessir!I think Clark has more upside with Gasol out for a long time. Although you may want to go back to Splitter come playoff time as the Spurs will be benching Duncan, giving him a few more minutes. Looking at you team, I might drop Speights and pick Splitter back up.
12-team standard 9-cat, non-keeper
Talking to a team about a trade for Wade…Hate asking these types of questions, but:
1) What PG/Martin combo would you offer for Wade? I could pick up Mo Williams, Shved, Jordan Crawford.
2) What PG/Martin combo would you offer for Wade and Deng, Hayward, Pekovic, Kirilenko, or McGee?
PGs- Lillard, Lowry, Vasquez, Issiah Thomas
PG- Lillard
SG- Vasquez
G- Klay Thompson
SF- Batum
PF- DMC
F- Ilyasova
C- Gortat
UTILx2- Josh Smith, Leonard
BN- Lowry, Issiah Thomas, Kevin Martin, Harkless, Hawes, Valanciunas
@WorldsFirstAnalrapists: No prob, it’s a good question! To be honest, I don’t think Wade’s owner would do #1 unless it was for Lillard and Martin. If you could do any of the other 3 with Martin, it’d be a great deal. My guess is Vasquez would be most desirable behind Lillard. I think Thomas is going to have a great rest of season and his value isnt huge so I would try to hold onto him. If you could move Lillard/Lowry/Martin for Wade and Pekovic that’d be a slam dunk. Lowry is always an injury risk. Don’t know if that helps any, but good luck in the market!
@JB Gilpin: Thanks for the quick response and great stuff so far, very excited to read more of your articles.
Do you mean Lillard, Lowry and Martin or Lillard or Lowry and Martin?
@WorldsFirstAnalrapists: Thanks man! I was thinking it would take all 3. If you could do it with any of those two, then all the better, but it will probably take all 3. Pekovic has been quite an under-the-radar monster.
@JB Gilpin: I am obviously giving up a boat load of 3s and Assists in that deal…I might try adding Hayward…If I do the trade, who would you pick up, Mo Williams, Shved, Jordan Crawford or C.J. Watson?
Btw, he offered Kirilenko, Wade, and Bargnani for Lillard, KMart, and Klay…what do you think? I am not big on Bargnani, but replace him with Pekovic and I think that deal looks great, but kills my 3s.
Hey buddy!! We were talking about if i should drop Speights and u said try to get someone like Green.. What about Carlos Delfino??
I was originally planning on offering Batum + Green for Vasquez + Kirilenko, but I had my doubts. After Green’s monster game and Batum’s semi-breakout, this trade was offered to me:
Give: Batum, Green, Zbo
Get: Vasquez, Kirilenko, Horford
The playoff schedules are roughly the same – Gives me 1 extra game in Week 2, and 1 Less game in Week 3 of the playoffs.
However, this could go well with my punting 3s, TOs strat (PGs: Westbrook, Wall) but after picking up Delfino, I’m not sure if I do need to punt 3s. This trade would make me a lock in ASTs though (Westbrook, Wall, Kemba, LBJ, Iggy, M.Gasol + Vasquez) while still doing well in FG%, FT%, PTS, REBS, STLS/BLKS.
Thoughts? Thanks for the advice!
@BigMan: Man that’s a close one, I’ve never been a huge Horford guy or else it’d probably be one most would jump at. Plus with Josh Smith not getting traded, he’s still what he is (which is pretty good). I’m not big on Kirilenko either, but at the same time Jeff Green isn’t going to get lines like he did last night probably for the rest of the year. If your team has been needing more pts/asts I do it, but if you’re not crushing rebounds every week, you might miss Zbo. I’m a waffle on this one!
@JB Gilpin:
Haha yeah it’s a toughie. I’ve actually never been a huge Horford fan either, and have never owned him in previous leagues, but he’s been very solid this year. Green is definitely not going to get those lines again – that was probably a top 5 9-cat line of the year so far, but anything respectable would be decent. AK would mainly cover the steals/blocks from Batum, but his injury risk is something I’m worried about. So torn!
To make it clearer, my roster is:
10-Team, 9 Cat with TOs
PGs: Westbrook, Wall, Kemba
SG/SFs: Batum, Gay, Iguodala, Delfino, J. Green
PF/Cs: LBJ, M. Gasol, Z. Randolph, T. Chandler, Vucevic
So I could probably take the hit in rebounds with Gasol, Chandler and Vuc there to cover it up.
@BigMan: Yea Vuc has been a huge beast. If you don’t mind missing Zbo’s boards I think I pull the trigger on that one. Horford is what he is and you know the Hornets will keep feeding Vasquez minutes to give him the experience for next year. I think I’d pull the trigger!
Or maybe Luke Ridnour.. Im just throwing out some names of guy with the highest numbers
Or maybe Jameer Nelson..
@Frank Lynch: I like Nelson the best of those three. Ridnour isn’t that exciting and Delfino got big minutes last night because newly acquired Thomas Robinson didn’t join the team yet. Although did you see Jeff Green’s line last night with KG out? Sheesh! Check out the latest article from Blairtch breaking it down, he might be your guy.
Yeah he’s a waiver for 1 more day so hopefully nobody else gets him… Jeff Green is taken.. Any othernames come to mind that might be on the wire?? Tehol actually told me to ride him out. IDK. LOL
Man I need Rose back bad… I need him by the fantasy playoffs not there playoffs.. I’m so close to dropping him. He keeps f’n with peoples mind with his comeback date… Idk what to do
I just read his page… E twan Moore and Antawn jamison are available… Do youlike any of those guys???
Hey sorry with all the questions I know your probly busy.. I got 2 n a half year old twins so I feel you. You look like a family man too. They’re napping now so thats why I’m asking so much now but If I should trade Rose should I ask for jeff green and Maurice Harkless?
@Frank Lynch: Hah I’m not a family man yet. I think that’d be a good tade with Rose’s uncertainty and Harkless going to get some good run with the Magic letting so many players go. Not too high on E’Twan Moore or Jamison, would go on upside of Moore getting a few extra minutes over Jamison.
Hey I just offerd someone Rose and I think he’s interested but he wants a center with him and I asked for a top guard.. he has Calderon, Affalo, Westbrook, Josh Smith, R. Felton, Joe Johnson, Henderson and Crawford.. And My centers are Hibbert, B Griffen PF C, Okafor n T Chandler. What would be a good offer with Rose. I would like Smith or Johnson or any top guard to replace Rose?? What u think
@Frank Lynch: Yea if you can swing that I’d do it, who knows if Rose is actually going to play AND be effective. Smith is playing for a contract and Johnson is always good. If you can package Okafor and Rose for either of those guys and get lucky it’d be nice.
Goodmorning bro… Well a lil early to you’ll on the westcoast. Anyway I was thinking, It sounds like Rose is coming back mid-March so I’m def in playoffs but without him I have a feeling I’m gonna get beat up next week by the number 1 guy cause he wins huge every week all season but I got Earl Clark and Antawn Jamison n there both on the Lakers and only play 3 games next week. They play tomorrow so I can get one game from them cause I was thinking I should pick up Jameer Nelson. He should be out for A week and He’ll be back and I’ll have him through the playoffs.. What u think?? If u agree then which one should I drop? Can you let me know as soon as u can cause everyone has been killing the wire .. Thank dude!!
Sorry I hope I’m not annoying but unlike football I don’t know squat about Basketball except for the players on Sportscenter.. So all these questions are guys that I never heard of thats why I need so much help. I do the waiver by reading your guys blog and off stats… LOL
@Frank Lynch: No worries man, it’s what we’re here for! I’m actually on the East Coast (NC) but bounce around. I definitely drop Jamison for Nelson. Jamison is a huge “meh” for me. That said, I’m not too huge on Nelson getting huge minutes, especially coming off an injury on a rebuilding team. No need to churn through your only real veteran when you’re getting your young guy minutes. He’ll still contribute more than Jamison though. Thanks for reading and we’ll help as best we can!
Hey buddy thanks.. I picked up Nelson but what you said about him gets me nervous.. If he’s not gonna be producing much cause of the rookies do you think he’s worth wating for concidering I got Rose on the bench too? If you think it’s wise then I’ll keep him? If he’s gonna produce points,3′s and assists through the playoffs I will but if not what about Luke Ridnour?
@Frank Lynch: Since you’re looking ahead to the playoffs, I think it’s fine to hold onto both. Agree he will produce those stats you need in the postseason. I am a notorious Luke Ridnour hater. That said, he gets minutes and a handful of points/asts/3′s a night. I like Nelson for upside, if you want the safe stats, Ridnour.