Thanks to this excellent NBA trade deadline primer by Shams Charania, we have a better idea of which teams are going to be more active in trade discussions over the next few weeks, and which players are most likely to be moved. So let’s piggyback on that column, and discuss the potential fantasy implications of those teams and players that were mentioned.
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We’ll start with the man who will perpetually be involved in trade rumors until he finally moves on from the Atlanta Hawks. Forward John Collins has failed to elevate his game this season, shooting just 23% from deep and averaging just 13.1 points per game, his lowest scoring average since his rookie season. Surely he’s capable of much more than this, but for some reason his career has gotten off track in recent years. A change of scenery would do him some good, so let’s hope that the Hawks finally move him. If a team trades for Collins and is able to maximize his talents, his fantasy value could skyrocket, making him a solid trade target for fantasy teams hoping to get a late season boost.
The Hawks would likely want a quality forward in return for Collins (such as Jarred Vanderbilt from the Utah Jazz, as suggested by Shams), but if that’s not the case, both A.J. Griffin and Jalen Johnson would receive bumps in playing time. When Collins missed a stretch of eight games in early December, Griffin was able to average 14.0 points, 2.1 threes and 1.1 steals in 29.3 minutes per game, while Johnson posted 6.6 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.0 blocks in 24.1 minutes per game over the same stretch.
After nearly a month-long absence, Clint Capela finally returned to the court on Monday, but he came off the bench and I wouldn’t say he’s fully in the clear from his calf injury. When you factor in Capela’s health issues and the Collins’ trade rumors, I wouldn’t dare think about dropping Onyeka Okongwu at this time. After a sluggish start he’s come on strong over the past month, and he should be in line for a nice second half to the season.
According to Shams, the San Antonio Spurs are going to be quite active until the trade deadline passes, and Jakob Poeltl “has gained significant trade interest from teams such as the Toronto Raptors and Boston Celtics.” If you have Poeltl, Robert Williams or Al Horford on your fantasy team, you don’t like the sound of Poeltl potentially being traded to Boston, as it would limit the values of all three players. If Poeltl were traded to Toronto, he would be coming full circle, as he was drafted by the Raptors and played for them his first two seasons in the league. He would give Toronto a bona fide starting center, but at what cost?
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Would the Raptors be willing to trade away O.G. Anunoby for Poeltl, if the Spurs were willing to include a first-round pick plus another helpful veteran, such as Josh Richardson or Doug McDermott? Or perhaps the Raptors are more inclined to trade Anunoby for a top guard in order to improve their backcourt depth, which would open up more minutes for guys like Chris Boucher and Precious Achiuwa, who have shown spurts of relevant fantasy production in the past.
Going back to the Spurs, I highly suggest hanging onto Jeremy Sochan and Zach Collins in deeper leagues. Sochan continues to be up-and-down like a 19-year-old rookie is prone to be, but his usage rate is likely to climb once the Spurs make a trade or two. And Collins could be on the verge of starting again if Poeltl indeed gets traded. As a reminder, Collins averaged a rock solid 10.4 points, 7.6 boards and 3.7 assists in seven spot starts in early December. At the swingman spots, Romeo Langford, Malaki Branham and Blake Wesley are all worth watching, although none of them appear ready to play major minutes.
Not surprising given their current win-loss record, the Charlotte Hornets have also emerged as a top seller, even listening to offers for Terry Rozier. The problem with moving Rozier is that Charlotte’s top shooting guard prospect who would be in line for a bump in playing time, James Bouknight, has done absolutely nothing to prove that he’s an NBA player. So I’m going to assume that the Hornets hang on to Rozier for now, and focus on dealing Mason Plumlee and/or Kelly Oubre Jr. instead.
As a center who often went undrafted in leagues, or who was foolishly dropped by people like me in the first week of the season due to him playing 22 minutes or less in each of Charlotte’s first two games, Plumlee has quietly been rock solid and quite valuable ever since. Early in the season it looked like Nick Richards was ready to overtake Plumlee, but now it looks like rookie center Mark Williams would get the job if Plumlee gets traded, so be ready to pounce on him if that happens. A couple of young forwards who Charlotte has yet to turn into productive NBA players are Kai Jones and JT Thor. Both players possess excellent physical tools but are far from polished, making the second half of this season a great time to just throw them into the fire and see what they can do.
Lastly, a couple of veteran forwards mentioned by Shams were Bojan Bogdanovic of the Detroit Pistons and Jae Crowder of the Phoenix Suns. Bogdanovic has been one of the lone bright spots for Detroit this season, while Crowder has yet to play for the Suns. The Milwaukee Bucks have been connected to Crowder, and he makes a lot of sense for them given Khris Middleton’s injury issues. It would be interesting to see who Phoenix could get from Milwaukee, as they’re dealing with injury issues of their own at the moment, and a newcomer could step right into their rotation.
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As for a potential Bogdanovic trade, it would be a blessing for fantasy managers with Saddiq Bey on their team. It’s been a disastrous season for Bey, but he’s averaged 24.0 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.3 triples over his past three games, and he could be ready to turn his season around and reward those of you who’ve been patient with him, or who were savvy enough to recently add him off the waiver wire.
Only some of the players mentioned above will end up getting moved, but with the NBA trade deadline nearing, now is the time for fantasy managers to be locked in. Hopefully this column helped you become more well-prepared, and when the flurry of trades start to go down, we’ll be here to help you analyze them.
(Top photo: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports)