The NBA trade deadline is one week away and with the addition of the playoff play-in tournament, more teams are expected to be buyers than before. This makes the roster spot and fantasy value of many veterans in rebuilding teams quite precarious and I would expect a number of them to be moved to less ideal fantasy situations before the deadline. This could also provide more opportunities for younger guys to generate fantasy value, so it would be wise to stay especially active during the next week in an attempt to try and capitalize quickly on trades, by adding the correct players from the waiver wire. Fantasy goodness is about opportunity after all so all these potential roster changes can shake up the rotation of many teams. Finally, this year we have seen a record number of cases of teams flat out sitting veterans when they don’t fit in their timeline, so that could be interesting to watch in the future, with names like Andre Drummond, LaMarcus Aldridge and Blake Griffin already on that list.
Buy
Kenyon Martin Jr: Houston is currently on a 17-game losing streak and thus the only direction for the franchise is player development. Injuries to the few remaining veterans of the roster have freed up ample playing time for Kenyon Martin Jr, son of former NBA player Kenyon Martin and he has taken advantage of it. During his four starts in the last weeks, he is ranked 59th in per-game value, mainly due to his awesome defensive stats (1.3 steals and 1.8 blocks), rebounding (7.0), and his athleticism is apparent in highlights like this one.
On a side note, I will never understand parents that name their kids exactly like themselves, and then the kid needs to use the “Jr” suffix. What happens if the next kid gets the same name also? “Jr Jr”? “Extra Jr”? “Jr 2”? “Jr2” Those are the thoughts that keep me up at night… (42% owned)
Moses Brown: Player development is the name of the game in Oklahoma City as well and with the trade deadline approaching fast, Al Horford seems like a very likely candidate to be moved to a contender. The main beneficiary would be Moses Brown, who has taken advantage of the increased opportunity in the last four games and is ranked 52nd in that span, behind averages of 12.5/0/10.3/0.3/0.5/2/1 on 60%/80% shooting. He is still available in 90% of Yahoo leagues and is at least worth a stream, but I like his ROS potential, especially in 14 teamers or deeper (10% owned).
Danny Green: I admit Green can be categorized as a boring pickup in fantasy but as usual, the numbers don’t lie. He is a steady top 120 contributor but the reason he is recommended is his ability to influence certain matchups with his triples and defensive numbers. If you are not punting any of those categories he is worth a look and don’t be afraid of his bad shooting percentages, as they come at a very low volume (27% owned).
Sell
Kevin Love: I tried to be patient with him and scooped him up after the All-Star break, but it seems like a lost season for Love. His appeal in punt BLK or punt FG% builds is valid but is also based on last season’s stats and I’m not seeing a way for him to replicate those, especially with the Cavaliers out of the playoff race and even his teammates throwing shade at him. I flat out dropped him after the two games he semi-played before getting injured again but if you are more patient, I would advise trading him at the first good game he will eventually have at some point (67% owned).
Kendrick Nunn: Kendrick Nunn was a fine streaming play when the Heat were missing either or both Jimmy Butler and Goran Dragic, but with both players back in the rotation, Nunn has returned to his supporting role and his fantasy play has suffered as a result. In the last two weeks, he is just outside the top 200 and is also a major anchor in the fg% department, shooting 35.2% on 10.8 attempts per game. As long as the two aforementioned players are healthy, Nunn belongs to the waiver wire (42% owned)
