We are back again into this COVID-infested league. What a frustrating week this has been for us fantasy owners. We have seen an extensive sample of these bottom tier players between all of the postponed games and then the blockbuster trade. Thankfully we haven’t had any big injuries. But I will talk about the ones we have had. Next, I’ll spend some time breaking down that big trade that happened. I’ll throw out a handful of waiver wire targets. And finally, at the bottom will be my customized chart to take advantage of.
Let’s start this thing off with a couple of injuries that have happened. We’ll start with Jusuf Nurkic fracturing his wrist. He will be out for a minimum of 2 months. Enes Kanter will be the biggest beneficiary out of this, as he is a great point per minute player. However, there is an excellent chance that he is not available in your leagues. Of course, if he is available, I would be very aggressive with your FAB to ensure you grab him. They have barely played Harry Giles this season after him, but he looks to be next in line for some center minutes. And he should be available in a lot of leagues. Personally, I think they will play Gary Trent and Carmelo Anthony off the bench longer. Remember that Terry Stotts doesn’t like to play Kanter starter minutes very often. So I would focus on acquiring Gary Trent and or Carmelo.
The last big name will be talked about in the next part of this article. But when Caris Levert was traded, he had to take a physical. They ended up finding a small mass on his kidney. This will knock him out indefinitely. So the Pacers will be very short-handed after trading Victor Oladipo. Like the last article, Doug McDermott has been capitalizing on these injuries and needs to be rostered. The new guy coming onto the picture that is worth picking up is Edmond Sumner. He’s gotten a couple of starts and hasn’t looked terrible. He is definitely worth a stash in a wait and see approach.
Now the blockbuster trade! So this is the simplified version of the trade:
- Houston receives >> Victor Oladipo, Dante Exum, Rodions Kurucs, three (3) 1st round picks from the Nets, one (1) 1st round pick originally owned by the Bucks, and four (4) 1st round pick swaps with the Nets.
- Pacers receive >> Caris Levert.
- Cavaliers receive >> Jarrett Allen and Taurean Prince.
Now let’s start with the Rockets. They finally got rid of the player that did not want to be apart of that organization anymore. And they got a decent haul in return. The 1st round picks are obviously a good thing to have for the future. Exum and Kurucs are below average bench guys. But Oladipo will fit in nicely next to John Wall when he finally returns from injury. The Rockets are definitely close to a bottom tier team right now, especially with their health concerns. So it will be fascinating to see who they bring in to the organization over the offseason. They will have a nice core with Oladipo, Wall, and Wood to build around.
Next, the Pacers looked to be in great shape, swapping Oladipo for Levert. Until Levert took his physical and showed a small mass on his kidney, and now he is out indefinitely. Pacers are playing like one of the best teams in basketball right now. And when Levert can return and slot in with Brogdon, Sabonis, and Turner, they will make some noise for sure. And remember, TJ Warren is also out indefinitely with a stress fracture. So when he gets healthy, the Pacers are all of a sudden one of the top teams in the NBA!
And finally, the Cavs acquired more big men in Taurean Prince and Jarrett Allen, which is extremely puzzling to me because Jarrett Allen is a terrific center and has really turned his career to the next level. Unless they plan to play him at power forward and play Larry Nance off the bench, I think they are really wasting Jarrett Allen’s talent. Because Andre Drummond is obviously the better center, and you don’t want to sacrifice his minutes to get Allen on the floor. I think it would be wise to move Drummond and commit to Allen as your franchise center. Allen, Garland, Sexton could turn into a very nice big 3 a few years from now. They need to figure out what their plan is with Andre Drummond.
Waiver Wire Targets
- Jordan Clarkson
- Immanuel Quickley
- Nickeil Alexander-Walker
- Willie Cauley-Stein
- Gary Trent, Jr.
- Lonnie Walker
- Josh Hart
At the bottom of the article is my fantasy basketball chart, which shows how many times a team has given up 6x the player’s value broken down by position.
Thank you for taking time out of your day to read through this! Let’s pray for a healthy week 4. If you like what you read, please follow me on Twitter! Or if you are a DFS guy, message me on Twitter to get my Optimal lineups! I also put out weekly NFL podcasts – Footballday – and would love your input on it.
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