The latest trade in the NBA featured the rebuilding Hornets moving Scary Terry Rozier to Miami for a 1st round pick and a half season rental of Kyle Lowry and his slightly oversized behind. Apart from the real life and fantasy implications, this trade has sparked some insights into Charlotte’s perceived losing culture, after some very direct quotes from Terry.
Terry Rozier was asked by @WillGuillory about the difference between losing in Charlotte vs losing in Miami.
"It's the total opposite. In Charlotte, you're kinda used to losing. It's in the DNA. Over here, it's the total opposite. Nobody wants to lose. Nobody is fine with it." pic.twitter.com/e724Ze7yAc
— Wes Goldberg (@wcgoldberg) January 30, 2024
That’s some harsh criticism from Rozier, but you can tell he was frustrated by the effort in Charlotte. The Hornets indeed have only a single season with a winning record during the last 8 years and on top of that the player with the highest Win Share in this year’s roster is Nick Richards. Kudos to him, but that also illustrates the lack of help from the supposedly star players in Charlotte, like Lamelo Ball. Speaking of Lamelo, his laid back behavior, to put it politely, when his team was down 25 and his coach was just ejected certainly does not paint a favorable image.
It looks like another lost year for the Hornets, with a few minor bright spots by the play of rookie Brandon Miller standing out in an otherwise miserable season.
Regarding last week’s suggestions, Luke Kennard is battling the injury bug and played only one game last week, but it was a good one and I still believe he should be rostered, unless we hear otherwise from the injury front. On the other hand, and despite providing 5 more triples, Sam Merrill looks like a clear drop now that the Cavaliers are getting healthier and Darius Garland’s imminent return can even push him outside of the rotation completely. Finally, Nicolas Batum had 1 missed and 2 bad games last week but I still like him as an across the board contributor, even as a streamer on lighter days.
Buy
Tyler Herro: Tyler Herro started the season red hot and it was looking like a breakout season from him, until he hurt his ankle and was forced to miss more than a month. His return to action was equally hot but during the last month his shooting is unreliable at a 40.1% clip. The bad shooting coincides with Terry Rozier’s acquisition but I firmly believe Herro’s value is safe. This might not be the opinion of Herro’s owner though, so combined with his cold shooting streak, it is a great opportunity to try and snag him for a reduced price.
Ayo Dosunmu: It took both Zach LaVine and Patrick Williams being sidelined for Ayo Dosunmu to have standard league value this year, but he is currently ranked inside the top70 in per game value for the last week and is also passing the eye test with some solid real life performances. The shooting percentages are great and he is bringing the defense with 0.8 steals and 1.3 blocks in that span, so give him a look for as long as the Bulls are shorthanded (27% owned).
Paul Reed: Joel Embiid’s quest to be MVP eligible (he will not be if he misses 5 more games) led to him playing at less than 100% against the Warriors and is now doubtful for the next game against Utah. He is not looking healthy at the moment and missed 2 games last week, in which Paul Reed stepped up and filled in admirably for him. He followed a massive 30 points, 13 rebounds game against Denver with a solid performance against Portland and I really like him as a streamer this week, as I feel it’s going to be very hard for Embiid to play in the upcoming games (26% owned).
Sell
Isaiah Stewart: In his third season in the league, we can safely say that we know who Stewart is in terms of his fantasy profile and that is not good enough for standard leagues. After an awesome performance 2 weeks ago against Milwaukee, he has returned to his usual top180 self and the fact that he rolled his left ankle in Detroit’s last game should be the push you need to move on from him and stream his spot. You will not miss much as it is not about his playing time. He is getting solid minutes, but due to his playing style it unfortunately seems like it will never work out for Stewart in fantasy terms (58% owned)
