Whenever people talk about buy-low’s or sell-high’s in fantasy basketball, they do so with the expectation that things are eventually going to even out. The random nobody putting up great stats isn’t going to do that forever because they’re still just a random nobody, and the great player putting up lame numbers is going to play great again soon because they’re still a great player. That sort of thing. But sometimes, it’s important to recognize that just because a player with a great resume isn’t having a good season, that doesn’t mean that’s going to change any time soon. Sometimes, it’s good to hit the eject button on a player while there’s still time to get something of equal or better value in return for them, and to illustrate this, there are a pair of struggling big men in the NBA right now who I think should be traded in fantasy leagues if you can get anything resembling what their draft status was coming into the season.
The first is Joel Embiid, who under no circumstances is worth the headache to me. It’s not just that his averages (18.2 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3 assists, 0.8 steals, 1.3 blocks) are virtually half of what he was putting up in his glory days, it’s that he misses almost every other game nowadays and is an obvious injury risk moving forward. This means that even if you can get good lines from him (emphasis on the “good” because his minutes cap moving forward limits his ability to be great anymore), the fact that he’ll conceivably be missing a game or two every week when it gets to the fantasy basketball playoffs means he’s going to be an absolute nightmare to own.
Then there’s Jaren Jackson Jr. For years, Jackson Jr.’s calling card was blocking shot, and even when the rest of his numbers were lacking (particularly in rebounding), you could at least depend on him to get you two or three swats a game. But that’s just not the case anymore. In 2025-26, Jackson Jr. is averaging a measly one block per game, and prior to blocking 2 shots against Portland over the weekend, he had only a single block in his previous seven games combined. Not only is that not a small sample size, the emergence of Zach Edey makes it believable that Jackson Jr. simply isn’t going to be much of a shot-blocker from here on out, which stinks because he’s a lousy rebounder too. And while the scoring is serviceable (17 per game), it’s merely nice; he was averaging almost 23 a game for consecutive years not that long ago and now can’t even take advantage of Ja Morant being out.
Both Jackson Jr. and Embiid are worth rostering, obviously, and things could get better with them, buy you’re simply not getting your bang for your buck with them and the season is young enough that there’s still a chance you could parlay their pedigree into an even better player in a trade, which is what I’d advise attempting. Jackson Jr. and Embiid both have enormous name power; these are players people want to believe in. And because of that, you don’t even need to sell them just to sell them. Rather you can just see what’s out there for them. But if you could get anything approaching what their value was prior to the season, I’d trade them with little hesitation, because you’re simply not getting elite production from either of them these days.
Other notes:
Anthony Black totaled 14-11-4 on Sunday. The scoring might be inconsistent with him at times, but his ability to produce in every category has been awfully encouraging, especially in the rebounding department. Black has 35 rebounds in his last four games, which is nuts for a point guard coming off the bench. So long as he’s getting around 30 minutes a night, he’s worthy of being rostered.
Neemias Queta has 11-11-4-1-2 against the Raptors. Queta’s numbers might not be that explosive, but he’s under-owned in fantasy leagues right now when you consider that he’s putting up slightly better numbers than Jakob Poeltl this season.
Cedric Coward collected 11 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists versus Portland. His numbers have tumbled lately but the playing time should be there all season long. I would try to hold on to him unless there’s someone on the waiver wire who wows you.
Pat Spencer put up 12 points, 6 assists and 5 rebounds in Steph Curry’s absence against Chicago. He’s an okay streamer so long as Curry is out.
Matas Buzelis produced 16-3-1-3-1 against Golden State. Buzelis has had a pretty disappointing season, but he’s averaging 17.5 points over his last four games and the blocks have been a constant for him all season long. So long as you’re not expecting him to be the 20-point scorer some people expected him to be, he’s a worthy player to make a buy-low bid on.
Danny Wolf had 7 points and 4 rebounds against New Orleans, which is of course totally awful. HOWEVER, Wolf was playing rather well leading into that game – not you-should-add-him well but he’s-worthy-of-our-attention well. The complete lack of defensive numbers means he’s going to be a tricky own even when his time comes, but there’s a decent chance he’ll be fantasy relevant by the end of the year.
Ryan Nembhard had 11 points and 7 assists against the Rockets. His production could evaporate the moment Kyrie Irving comes back, but Nembhard has been pretty damn good since moving into the Mavs’ starting five and is not a bad investment at all if you need help in assists. (Especially since it’s not a total guarantee Irving plays this season.)
Egor Demin has 8-7-4 against the Pels. The playing time has been there but he’s honestly been rather lame in the early part of the season. He’s probably not worth owning at the moment, even if you’re desperate for assists.
Jaylon Tyson put up 11 points and 11 rebounds on Saturday. His numbers have been helped by a bunch of injuries, but he’s been extremely efficient as a starter in Cleveland and is worth rostering so long as he’s still getting consistent playing time like this.
Kyle Kuzma had 15 points and 4 rebounds on Saturday. Even Giannis Antetokounmpo being out isn’t going to change what an inconsistent player Kuzma has become over the years. He’s capable of giving you some great nights out of nowhere, but if you’re under the illusion he can return to being the 20-point scorer that he was in Washington, those dreams need to be shattered.
Maxime Raynaud had 12 points, 10 rebounds and 2 blocks against the Heat and looks like a solid streamer until Domantas Sabonis comes back.
With Tyler Herro out, Kel’el Ware got a start in Miami but up only 5 points and 6 rebounds. Ware’s rebounding is the anchor that keeps him worth rostering, but his scoring will be hard to depend on when the Heat are healthy. He’s not a bad player to sell high on if you’re already good in blocks and rebounds.
