Every Dynasty owner has to constantly juggle the actual vs potential value of a player. Trade offers for rookies almost always center around the latter. Once a player goes a year or two without mega production, they become damaged goods (even if they are still solid contributors). Draft picks are even worse to try to deal with since the rate of hitting on those is even lower. In this week’s article, I’m going to throw out a few names who I think might have more helium to them than actual value. If you can get a slightly older, but proven piece that still makes sense for your Dynasty team, you should strongly consider it.
See How Much You Can Get
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander – Don’t get me wrong, I love SGA. I’ve tried and succeeded in acquiring him in a couple leagues, albeit at a good price. He has a ton of hype right now, and for all the owners out there who think good rookie = great second year player = SUPERSTAR FOR TEN YEARS, he will be a hot commodity. He will be good. He might be very good and a top 5-6 PG, but that isn’t as likely. If you can get a slightly older, but proven piece that still makes sense in a Dynasty, you have a good chance of coming out ahead.
Kevin Knox – There is likely a Knicks fan in your league and, they either hate all the players in New York or they’ve been hounding you with Knox offers since he got back. Knox was good this past week, but there are still a lot of questions. If someone were to dangle a top 40 player, you shouldn’t dismiss it out of hand.
Collin Sexton – Another guy who has been playing well once he got minutes. What is the ceiling, though, with his skill set? I’d send out some feelers to owners you know who like the rookie types, to see how much value you can extract here.
Marvin Bagley III – Currently injured, so maybe don’t trade him until he is back. With that said, his tremendous upside far outweighs his current production right now, and a team that has decided to pack it in for the season might be willing to break the bank.
Send Me a TOP 12 Guy or Leave Me Alone
Jaren Jackson Jr., Trae Young, Luka Doncic, Deandre Ayton – I don’t think all of these guys are locks for stardom, but their current production plus future potential makes them immensely valuable. These are the kind of players where you trade one, and then kick yourself for it, even if you got good value. I traded JJJ and Trae in one league for AD and I still kind of regret it, even though AD is insane! The superstar potential rookies are just fun to own.
Quick Notes
Moritz Wagner – Wagner got some minutes for the first time this season and showed he can do exactly as advertised – rebound and hit 3’s. Likely available in most leagues, he is a Lakers injury or trade away from a lot of open looks.
Mikal Bridges – Trevor Ariza is gone, so Mikal should see his spot in the rotation get upgraded. All he’s been doing is hitting 3’s and getting good counting stats on defense.
Kevin Huerter – Back-to-back 19 points games with 4 3PM and 5 3PM respectively. He also added some steals and a block, so he’s apparently not just a shooter. Could be a sneaky add for your playoff run if he is available.
Jalen Brunson – If Dennis Smith Jr. keeps getting hurt every other game, Brunson will be a valuable add in most leagues. Even when DSJ is back he should still maintain a bit of a rotation spot.
