Buy/Sell: No Pizza For Ben

If you are a loyal reader of this column you will remember that the first article of the season was about Ben Simmons and his path to redemption that we read about every single summer. The initial omens were not particularly encouraging and after 13 games it is safe to say Simmons is not wowing anyone averaging 5.3/0/5.6/6.5/0.9/0.6/2.8 on 4.5 attempts per game. Yes you read that correctly. I was not going to discuss again this but then this happened.

Am I being unnecessarily mean? Maybe. Does Ben Simmons have a psychological issue when confronted with the possibility of scoring? Probably. Would a middle school child put more effort into the finish if the parents rewarded it with pizza for dinner if the shot goes in? Definitely.

Regarding last week’s suggestions, my streak of ending seasons and career unfortunately extended, as after the De’Anthony Melton suggestion Grant Williams also got injured and will miss the whole year. On the other hand Dalton Knecht has also followed the Lakers mediocrity and is also not starting anymore with Rui Hachimura returning. I would give him a few more games to see how the rotations settle but if you need to cut him it makes sense. Finally, Kyle Kuzma improved his shooting so his buy low window is not as open as before, but is still not wowing with his efficiency so there might still be opportunity to get him for cheap.

Buy

Alexandre Sarr: After a relative slow start to the season the Wizards are leaning more and more to their rookie big man and his minutes are steadily on the rise. His rebounding and blocking is already at a very good spot, with at least one block recorder in all but one of his appearances and if he can stay on the floor longer, then his fantasy value will only increase. He is already ranked 128th in per game value so he makes sense as a standard league pickup with room to further grow and I’m sure his ownership will not drop again under 50% for the remainder of the season. (50% owned)

Ty Jerome: I have been monitoring Ty Jerome’s season and was reluctant to suggest him as his great games coincided with either or both Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell missing those games. However, his last game were he shined with both of the aforementioned guys playing pushed him over the edge for me, as he is averaging 17.3 points, 3 triples and 4.3 assists during the last 2 weeks, good for 61st overall in per game value for that span. I am sure the 60% shooting will not hold but you can’t leave him on the wire with the games he is having and with Cleveland rolling. Today’s game will be a good test to see if he can sustain his production. (25% owned).

Moussa Diabate: The year is 2024 and Taj Gibson is starting for the Charlotte Hornets. This is a picture of Gibson’s first season in the league.

DO I NEED TO ADD ANYTHING TO THIS? Joking aside, with Grant Williams missing the season with injury and Taj Gibson being 50 years old, Moussa Diabate has shouldered a lot of the load at center and will continue to do so. He has shown an excellent touch for stealing the block along with traditional big man stats and if you can overlook his complete inability to put the ball in the basket he can help your fantasy team as a specialist, at least until Nick Richards return to action. And no, Mark Williams does not exist apparently, we have gone over this before. (20% owned)

Sell

Donte DiVincenzo: Not even the injury to Mike Conley seems able to get Donte DiVinzenzo going this season, as his fantasy output is still lacking despite starting the last 2 games. He is just not the same player as last year with significant drops to his playing time, triples and fg% so I would not bother holding him as a steady part of a fantasy team, until he proves us otherwise (64% owned).