The NBA trade deadline is upon us! There are already some deals that have been finalized and more are sure to be done by tomorrow, so this week’s article will be structured in a different format than usual. Instead of looking at Buy/Sell players individually, we will review each trade for fantasy winners and losers, in chronological order. But first, as per usual, let’s take a quick look at last week’s suggestions.
Patrick Beverley has been a steady contributor for the short-handed Clippers and only stands to benefit without Tobias Harris (more on this trade later). Another trade influenced Trey Burke’s value but unfortunately, he takes a huge hit in Dallas and is an easy cut candidate. Shabazz Napier and Jerryd Bayless had good performances this past week and will continue to produce until their respective teams get healthier. Finally, I still maintain that D’Angelo Russell is a prime sell candidate and his shooting this past week only reinforced this belief.
Trades
Dallas Mavericks receive: Kristaps Porzingis, Trey Burke, Tim Hardaway Jr., and Courtney Lee
New York Knicks receive: Dennis Smith Jr., Wesley Matthews, DeAndre Jordan, and picks
Fantasy Winners: Dennis Smith Jr. will have a longer leash and the ball will be more in his hands without Luka Doncic around. His flaws are well known but a volume increase in his stats is to be expected. Maxi Kleber and Dwight Powell will be tasked to fill the void left by DeAndre at the center spot. If I had to chose one, I would go with Kleber due to his multi-position versatility, but this is a situation to monitor moving forward.
Fantasy Losers: Trey Burke is demoted to being strictly a back-up. Wesley Matthews will no longer average 30 minutes per game and will most likely be bought out. Emmanuel Mudiay had a good season before his injury, but his minutes and usage will take a hit with DSJ in town. Finally, DeAndre is starting for New York but is a candidate to be moved again, so his owners should remain patient for now.
Chicago Bulls receive: Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot
Oklahoma City Thunder receive: nothing
Fantasy Winners: Chicago Bulls bench celebrations
Fantasy Losers: Oklahoma City Thunder bench celebrations
Portland Trailblazers receive: Rodney Hood
Cleveland Cavaliers receive: Nik Stauskas, Wade Baldwin IV, and picks
Fantasy Winners: Baldwin may provide some very deep league value as the Cavaliers continue tanking. Rodney Hood may also see some increased opportunity to lead the second unit, especially if Evan Turner is dealt before the deadline. Alec Burks has one less competitor for minutes on the wings.
Fantasy Losers: Jake Layman has proven that he can get hot in a hurry (25 points yesterday) but will lose minutes to Hood.
LA Lakers receive: Reggie Bullock
Detroit Pistons receive: Thon Maker, Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk, and pick
Milwaukee Bucks receive: Stanley Johnson
Fantasy Winners: Luke Kennard will definitely get more minutes and might start for the Pistons and Mykhailiuk will play more than he did with the Lakers. I really like him in the limited amount I saw him, so he is on my watchlist for deeper leagues.
Fantasy Losers: Bullock is not going to average 30 minutes and his fantasy value will take a hit, unless Lebron…ahem, I mean the Lakers clear the roster in a potential trade for Anthony Davis. I highly doubt this will happen before this coming summer, though.
Philadelphia 76ers receive: Tobias Harris, Boban Marjanovic, and Mike Scott
LA Clippers receive: Landry Shamet, Wilson Chandler, Mike Muscala, and too many picks
Fantasy Winners: The remaining Clippers will see a bump in usage sans Harris, but they will most likely fall out of the playoff race and this spells trouble for their veterans down the stretch. Landry Shamet can provide some deep league triples.
Fantasy Losers: Tobias Harris moves from being the undeniable number one option on offense to playing mostly off-ball with more spot-up shooting, thus his value will take a hit. Top 25 production seems a stretch, but a finish inside the top 50-60 is still possible.
Bonus: Mark Gasol is heavily involved in trade talks and is very likely to be moved before the deadline. He was held out of last night’s game which resulted in Ivan Rabb getting the start and making 8/10 shots with 11 rebounds. Rabb is a name to watch and will be a hot pickup if/when Gasol is traded.
