If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my fantasy basketball travels, it’s that fantasy basketball owners hate hate hate owning guys who are dealing with a prolonged injury. HATE. And why shouldn’t they, it sucks owning guys who are out with an injury! It’s annoying as hell, especially if you’re languishing in the standings from it. But patience is a virtue, and because so many people playing fantasy hoops are either not patient or aren’t incentivized to be patient, the opportunity presents itself for a savvy fantasy manager to take advantage of someone else’s injury plight and acquire a great player for a nice discount.
And who better to try to acquire at a reduced cost right now than Trae Young?
Young was drafted around or in the first round of fantasy leagues this season a year after leading the league in assists per game. But Young has done next to nothing for his owners this year; through five games he was averaging a disappointing 17.8 points and 7.8 assists per game on putrid 37% shooting, and then sprained his knee and has been out for almost a month. Meanwhile, Jalen Johnson has ascended as the spiritual face of the Atlanta Hawks and the team has responded by becoming noticeably better in Young’s absence than they were when he was actually playing with them, and the combination of these factors has caused Young’s fantasy ranking to take a noticeable tumble.
But that doesn’t change the fact that Young, when healthy, is still an elite fantasy presence – and because he has yet to demonstrate that this season and because of the uncertainty regarding his hierarchy with the Hawks, now is the perfect time to try to get him at a discount, given that his fantasy owners are probably unbelievably frustrated with him right now and that Young could potentially only be out another two weeks anyway. I wouldn’t hesitate to put in a buy-low offer for Young while you can, because even if your offer gets rebuffed, whoever owns him in your league probably isn’t married to him at this point and is probably going to consider your offer even if they reject it.
Other notes:
Derik Queen put up 20-9-3-2-1 on Saturday and is averaging 23.3 points, 8.3 rebounds, 6 assists, 1.7 steals and a block per game over his last three games. It might be unrealistic to expect this type of production from him going forward, but so what! Queen – after totaling just one assist over his first six games – has rapidly morphed into a play-making beast and there’s every reason to believe he’s going to be a fantasy superstar in the coming years. Still available in 56% of Yahoo leagues, Queen not only needs to be rostered but should be rostered for the rest of the season even in the event that he goes through a rough patch at some point. This type of talent is worth investing in completely.
Tyler Herro is set to make his season debut on Monday. This potentially spells the end of Davion Mitchell’s fantasy relevance (Mitchell had 8-8-12 on Sunday by the way), but Mitchell has quietly been terrific this season and is going to be worth owning in the event that he either makes it back to the starting lineup down the line or manages to keep his spot.
Trendon Watford went for 19-8-7-1-1 versus the Heat. His sporadic good games have been ridiculously good this year but he’s been woefully inconsistent in between them. He’s not worth owning now that he’s been kicked to the bench, but I’m not giving up on him being a reliable fantasy presence some day.
Andre Drummond exploded for 14 points and 24 rebounds on Sunday. Given the perma-nebulous status of Joel Embiid, Drummond simply has to be rostered right now.
Kon Knueppel had 28 points on 7 three’s against Atlanta. It’s so weird that he’s still available in 51% of Yahoo leagues as of this writing. He’s extremely good and the return of Brandon Miller shouldn’t reduce his ability to put up performances like this much at all.
Anthony Black got a spot start and put up 14-5-3 in 28 minutes. He’s been like a second Jalen Suggs this season and has quickly emerged as someone to keep an eye on.
Jordan Goodwin filled in for Ryan Dunn and was splendid, going for 15-10-3-2. The Suns have been the gift that keeps on giving when it comes to waiver wire finds this season. Goodwin can be played so long as he’s in the starting five.
Zach Edey produced 12 points, 15 rebounds and 4 blocks on Saturday. He has a chance to be a fantasy monster the rest of the way and is still available in 56% of Yahoo leagues.
Vince Williams Jr. went for 10-10-6 against the Mavs. He’s been pretty fantastic in his career when he gets a chance to have a bigger role with Memphis. The return of Ja Morant will kill his production down the line, but Williams is an immediate play so long as he’s getting an opportunity like this.
Brandon Williams had 18-4-3 versus Memphis. Don’t expect monster nights from him, but he should be useful until Kyrie Irving returns.
Keegan Murray scored 19 on Saturday. He’s way, way, waaaaay under-rostered (only 38% in Yahoo) given that he’s going to get a ton of minutes the rest of the way and that the Kings appear to be on the verge of a tear-down, which will only increase his presence on the team. Now is the time to add him if you still can.
Peyton Watson had 15-and-7 with three 3’s in his last game. He’s played 34 minutes in five consecutive games and while his production during that time isn’t spectacular, his ability to help in blocks, three’s and rebounds makes him a serviceable stream until Christian Braun returns.
How high do you see Kon Knueppel rising in your ranks this year? Been offered Anthony Davis for Kon straight up, I’m a little light at the center position and my team makes a lot of 3 pointers outside of Kon.
Worried about Davis’s health or team (if he’s not traded due to tanking) but I feel this is a trade I have to make, even though Kon has been on an unbelievable tear.