It has been a rather eventful time around the association as we get closer to the trade deadline with multiple trades already completed and this always spells fantasy opportunity so we will dive into some of them today, despite the fact the dealing should be far from over. Otherwise we can not explain the Bulls collecting guards as if they were infinity stones and the Timberwolves dumping Mike Conley only for salary reasons, so we must stay both patient and vigilant to pounce on the news. That’s why today we will only have Buy suggestions to get you warmed up to stay aggressive on the waiver wire.
Regarding last week’s suggestions, both Bobby Portis and Jonas Valanciunas had productive weeks with the former’s window for contributions being larger than the latter’s, as Nikola Jokic returned from his injury while Giannis did not yet and should miss some more time. On the “Sell” front, Immanuel Quickley predictably came back down to earth with 2 stinkers so his sell high window is not as obvious as it was a week ago.
Buy
Jalen Smith: This is most likely your last chance to add him as he currently sits at 23% ownership and it will only get higher the coming days. Nikola Vucevic is no longer in town to take center minutes and the only other options are playing Patrick Williams out of position and waiting for injured Zack Collins so Smith should get all the minutes he can get. He was already worth a spot in standard leagues during the last month despite playing only 26 minutes so sky is the limit for him and his very fantasy friendly game (23% owned).
Ace Bailey: The Utah Jazz traded for Jaren Jackson Jr in a trade that can be interpreted as anti tanking, however they still owe their 1st rounder if it falls outside the top8. I think the tanking will continue and the Jazz will continue to rest veterans so Bailey is at a prime spot to get as much playing time as he can handle. During the last 2 weeks he has climbed to top75 per game value and although I expect some bumpy performances down the road, I like having young players in tanking teams in preparation of the fantasy playoffs (26% owned).
Ty Jerome: The Memphis seem to move to development mode after the JJJ trade and until I see Ja Morant return to the court, if he survives the trade deadline, Ty Jerome is a must add. He started both of his games after returning from his long term injury and despite having a playing time limit at 20 minutes he produced 19.5 points, 2 triples, 7 assists and a steal. We just can’t leave those kind of stats floating on the waiver wire so he makes a lot of sense as an add until the Ja Morant situation is more clear (31% owned).
GG Jackson – Taylor Hendricks: More of deeper league adds for now as we don’t have yet clarity on the workload they are going to get, but the JJJ trade and the fact that Zach Edey will remain sidelined for a long time have created a huge hole in the center rotation for Memphis. Santi Aldama is the first option to fill it but he is also sidelined with a less serious injury so it will be very interesting to see how many minutes Jackson and Hendricks will get in the first post trade games. For Jackson specifically (11% owned) we have a small sample size of 1 game sans JJJ when he played 28 minutes with good stats, while Taylor Hendricks (3% owned) never got an opportunity after his freak injury last season but his fantasy profile is a very favorable one.
