A handful of NBA teams are more in flux than the rest of the league, and they’re a good place to look for new fantasy hoops opportunities.
Below, I’ll focus on five teams experiencing changes (present and future) and which players you should add or monitor as a result.
We’ll start with the Jimmy Butler saga …
Miami Heat
The latest update from Shams Charania is that Butler hasn’t budged from his request to be traded. He’s eligible to return from his seven-game suspension on Thursday, but Butler has done his best to make things as uncomfortable as possible. He could return to his regular playing role, but it wouldn’t be surprising if the Heat decide not to play Butler at all while they try to finalize a trade (easier said than done).
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In the meantime, Jaime Jaquez Jr. (38% rostered in Yahoo leagues) has taken over Butler’s starting role, and he’s averaged a well-rounded 14.7 points, 5.5 boards, 4.8 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.0 treys in the six games since Butler was suspended.
He’s been coming off the bench lately, but Nikola Jovic (36% rostered) has also elevated his game since the suspension, posting 14.3 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.0 steals, 1.0 blocks and 2.0 3s over his past six games. Given the uncertainty surrounding Butler, both Jaquez and Jovic should be rostered in more leagues.
Meanwhile, Terry Rozier is rostered in 64% of leagues despite being ice cold from 3-point range (13-for-72 over his past 14 games). Given his fantasy game isn’t as well-rounded as theirs, I like Jaquez and Jovic more.
And Kel’el Ware (7% rostered) deserves a mention here, especially after dropping a 19-point, 13-rebound double-double on Monday, thanks to Bam Adebayo’s absence. Perhaps Ware can give Rozier some shooting tips because the rookie big man has made 12-of-26 threes this season. He’s also blocking 2.4 shots per 36 minutes, and he would become a must-add player if Adebayo were forced out for any length of time.
Brooklyn Nets
The losses are starting to pile up in Brooklyn (just one win over their past nine games), with numerous key players out with injuries. Cam Thomas is still out with a hamstring injury, and Cameron Johnson (ankle) and D’Angelo Russell (shin) are questionable for Tuesday’s game.
With those three leading scorers out, the Nets’ offensive attack has been led by Keon Johnson (17% rostered), Noah Clowney (18% rostered) and Ziaire Williams (14% rostered). That trio combined to score a whopping 720 total points last season (to put that in perspective, pass-first T.J. McConnell scored 727 points).
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As an undersized shooting guard with marks of just 36 FG% and 30 3P% this season, I wouldn’t get too excited about Johnson. Even if he continues to get high usage, he’s likely to severely damage your team’s FG%. The same could be said about Clowney, given he’s shooting sub-39 FG% this year and had an 0-for-10 stinker on Monday. But Clowney brings more to the table defensively, and I still like his fantasy potential.
Now in his fourth NBA season, Williams has shown some consistency lately, scoring 12.8 points with 5.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.0 steals and 2.3 triples over his past six games. Sure, that’s a small sample size, but it’s a taste of what he might do the rest of the way if the Nets decide to trade away Cameron Johnson.
Golden State Warriors
After starting the season with a 12-3 record, the Warriors have dropped 17 of their past 24 games. Losing Jonathan Kuminga was a major blow to their offense (he averaged 21.1 ppg on 47.5% FG over his previous 13 games before his ankle injury), and Brandin Podziemski isn’t close to returning from his abdomen injury.
As a result, Buddy Hield (37% rostered) has seen his role increase lately. Over his past four games, he has averaged 30.8 minutes, 13.8 points, 4.0 assists, and 3.0 made 3s. However, those stats could be much higher because he made less than 29% of his treys in those games.
Meanwhile, Dennis Schroder (55% rostered) continues to struggle with his new team (just 10.1 points, 4.6 assists, 1.3 threes and 34 FG%, compared to 18.4 points, 6.6 assists, 2.5 threes and 45 FG% with the Nets). But he’s still playing steady minutes and is just a hot streak away from being a valuable fantasy asset again.
New Orleans Pelicans
It’s been a disastrous season for the Pelicans, and now that Herb Jones is likely out for the year (torn labrum in his right shoulder), their season will get even uglier. With the trade deadline just three weeks away, it’s time for New Orleans to blow up its roster, which means getting as much value as possible for Brandon Ingram and CJ McCollum (although the Pels might wait until the offseason to deal away McCollum), and dealing away veteran big man Daniel Theis as well.
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Ingram hasn’t played in over a month due to a sprained ankle, but he would welcome a change of scenery and give his fantasy managers a big boost once he comes back (hopefully with a new team). McCollum has been lighting it up lately (26.8 points, 4.3 triples and 50 FG% over his past nine games), making it the perfect time to sell high on him (even if CJ doesn’t get traded at the deadline, he’s a prime early shutdown candidate).
Trey Murphy has been putting up elite fantasy stats lately, and his value will climb even further if Ingram and McCollum are moved. If he can stay on the court, Zion Williamson could have a strong second half, but New Orleans will be cautious about overextending his minutes. And, of course, if the Pelicans can land a talented young player via trade, they would likely showcase that player for the rest of the season.
Assuming they make a trade or two and also start to limit the minutes of Dejounte Murray (who is having a terribly inefficient year at 39 FG% and 29 3P%), I’d pay attention to the trio of Jose Alvarado (8% rostered), Brandon Boston Jr. (7% rostered), and Jordan Hawkins (3% rostered). Alvarado is a proven producer whenever he gets minutes; Boston had some nice moments earlier this season; and Hawkins is one of the Pelicans top prospects (22 years old, with proven 3-point range).
Utah Jazz
In their matchup with Brooklyn last Sunday, the Jazz started just one of their regulars (Collin Sexton) alongside two rookies (Isaiah Collier and Cody Williams) and two unheralded big men (Drew Eubanks and Micah Potter). This lineup is not a recipe for winning basketball, but that was kind of the plan (which backfired — they won in overtime).
John Collins (hip injury) and Keyonte George (heel injury) haven’t played in 10-plus days, and Lauri Markkanen (back spasms) seems liable to be scratched on any given night. Point blank: Utah can’t be trusted these days, and it’ll be looking to flip Collins for the best possible offer in the coming weeks.
There are numerous young Jazz players to consider adding here, whether now or further down the road. It starts with Brice Sensabaugh (9% rostered), who fell back to earth on Sunday by scoring just 16 points after exploding for 27 points and 34 points in his previous two games. Sensabaugh doesn’t do much besides score the rock, but his shooting percentages are rock solid this season at 48 FG%, 42 3P% and 93 FT%.
Next up, Collier (5% rostered) exploded for 23 points, 7 boards and 7 assists in 37 minutes last Sunday. He’s been dropping lots of dimes as George’s replacement at point guard (7.5 assists per game over his past six games), but the scoring outburst came out of nowhere (just 4.1 ppg and 35 FG% for the season). Obviously, Collier’s fantasy value moving forward will be highly dependent on Keyonte George’s availability.
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In the frontcourt, Williams (0% rostered) started and played a season-high 37 minutes vs. Brooklyn. He still did a terrible job of filling the stat sheet (5 points on 2-of-10 shooting, plus 2 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal), but Utah will probably force-feed Williams minutes to help speed up his development (and pile up the losses), so he’s worth watching. And despite Eubanks and Potter starting over him last game, Kyle Filipowski (2% rostered) is more intriguing for fantasy purposes.
More ultra-deep pickups
The rookie trio of Ighodaro, George and Carter are readily available in most fantasy leagues. As Mason Plumlee’s backup, Ighodaro has been bringing a level of energy and athleticism that neither Plumlee nor Jusuf Nurkic are capable of at this point in their careers. Over his past three games, he’s totaled 23 points on 9-for-13 shooting, to go with 13 boards, 3 steals and 4 blocks.
George has been one of the most inefficient players in the league this season — 33 FG% and 25 3P% — but he’s still playing steady minutes off the bench, and his role will expand if the Wizards trade away Kyle Kuzma and/or Corey Kispert. Lastly, Doug Christie, taking over as the Kings’ head coach, has been credited for Sacramento’s recent winning streak, but the streak also coincides with Carter finally being healthy and playing solid minutes off the bench. The lottery pick has a sweet shooting touch and a nose for getting rebounds, and he could definitely make some fantasy noise later in the season.
(Top photo of Jimmy Butler, Brandon Ingram: Mark Brown / Getty Images)
