NBA Trade Deadline Fantasy Basketball Winners and Losers
A few of the massive trades that were rumored never went through, but there was still a lot of movement in the fantasy basketball world at the NBA trade deadline. Let's take a look at the biggest deals and break down the winners and losers for fantasy purposes:
DET receives: Tobias Harris
ORL receives: Brandon Jennings and Ersan Ilyasova
Winners: Harris, Jennings, Aaron Gordon
Losers: Elfrid Payton
I broke down this trade a little earlier in the week here, but it's worth revisiting since it will likely have the biggest fantasy impact of any deal that went down at the deadline. Tobias Harris was off to a difficult start this year, but he's a great buy-low candidate now that he's in a real offense with spacing, three-point shooting and a deadly pick-and-roll attack that should free him up for plenty of looks. Harris will start his tenure in Detroit coming off the bench, but it's only a matter of time before he solidifies himself as Detroit's third-best offensive option.
The trade hurts Marcus Morris and Stanley Johnson just a bit since Harris will likely garner more touches than Ilyasova, but their minutes should remain nearly identical to where they were before this deal.
The Orlando side is interesting as well. With Harris and Channing Frye out of the picture, Aaron Gordon will finally get the full 36 minutes a night we've been waiting for. It's a little unfortunate that he had such a breakout performance in the dunk contest, as people rushed to the wire to get him based on that alone. Basically, no one had a better All-Star break than Gordon. His fantasy stock is rising, and with more minutes and touches, he'll be a double-double threat with defensive earning potential as well.
Don't rush out to get him, but keep an eye on Brandon Jennings. Scott Skiles coached him in Milwaukee, so there's a trust factor there. He may start to steal substantial minutes away from Elfrid Payton, who is the clear loser in this deal.
LAC receives: Jeff Green
MEM receives: Lance Stephenson
Winners: Stephenson, Matt Barnes
Losers: Green
Normally you'd be excited about a player being lifted from one of the league's worst offenses, but Jeff Green's usage percentage is almost certain to go down as he moved from Memphis to Los Angeles. He'll benefit from the improved spacing and playing next to one of the best passing guards in league history in Chris Paul, but Green was going to get a lot of shots with Marc Gasol out for the season in Memphis. Instead of being a top offensive option, Green is now a sidekick who won't be asked to create for himself or others. His percentages should improve, but his counting stats are trending down.
Lance Stephenson is at least on the radar again, as his minutes should be a little more consistent now that he's away from Doc Rivers. The Grizzlies simply don't have the scorers not to give Stephenson a fair shake, but it's hard to believe he'll do a whole lot with it. Let's see how the first few games go before wasting a roster spot.
I'm fine with picking up Matt Barnes right away, however. He's the most likely candidate to see more time with Green and Lee out of the picture, and he's one of the few decent three-point shooters Memphis has left. He won't hurt you in any category.
HOU receives: Joel Anthony
DET receives: Marcus Thornton and Donatas Motiejunas
Winners: Motiejunas
Losers: None
This is a good real life trade for the Pistons, who had one of the weakest bench units in all of basketball. Thornton can really score (but that's it) and Motiejunas has flirted with fantasy relevance in the past, but it's unlikely either will receive enough playing time to be worth rostering, especially with Motiejunas still dealing with a back injury that's kept him out most of the season. Still, at least there's a path to playing time for him now. That wasn't the case in Houston.
Thornton put up some big games when Houston turned him loose in smallball lineups, but Kenatvious Caldwell-Pope is Detroit's best defender and will get the majority of minutes on the wing. Thornton can be left on your wire, barring injuries to a few others.
Thornton's minutes will likely be spread out to the other bench members based on matchups. No one stands to gain much from his departure. Same goes for Motiejunas, as Terrence Jones will still have to battle with Clint Capela and Josh Smith for time.
MEM receives: P.J. Hairston, Chris Andersen
CHA receives: Courtney Lee
Winners: None
Losers: Jeremy Lin and Jeremy Lamb
Lee was given plenty of minutes in Memphis, but he's just not a dynamic enough fantasy threat to warrant consideration. He can add threes, but that's about it. Aim higher.
Unfortunately, he'll steal away minutes from Jeremy Lin and Jeremy Lamb as the wing is now a little more crowded in Charlotte. It's a shame, mainly because we've seen what Lin is capable of when he gets big minutes. All three can be dropped for someone with more upside, but I'd be most inclined to hang on to Lin. If something happens to Kemba Walker, he'll step into a valuable fantasy spot.
CLE receives: Channing Frye
POR receives: Anderson Varejao
ORL receives: Jared Cunningham
Winners: Frye, Aaron Gordon
Losers: Timofey Mozgov
Here's another trade that will have a bigger impact in real life than it will in fantasy. Frye's minutes will likely stay in the 15-20 range, which will make him tough to roster. If you're desperate for threes, though, you could probably do worse. He's going to shoot a lot of them.
Timofey Mozgov was already getting squeezed out of the rotation, and it's hard to see a path for him to come back. Tristan Thompson, Kevin Love and Frye should dominate the minutes at the 4 and 5.
The Blazers waived Varejao immediately, who won't be a fantasy factor no matter where he ends up.
WAS receives: Markieff Morris
PHX receives: DeJuan Blair, Kris Humphries
Winners: Alex Len
Losers: Morris
Quietly, this may have been the second most important trade from a fantasy perspective. Markieff Morris upgraded in a big way to go from the sinking Suns to a potential playoff team in the Washington Wizards, but his fantasy stock won't be joining him for the ride. Morris was a legitimate top offensive option in his last few games in Phoenix, but in Washington he'll take a backseat to John Wall, Bradley Beal and even Marcin Gortat.
Morris is worth hanging on to, but the giant usage percentage in Phoenix was why he was such a popular waiver wire addition. Like Green in Los Angeles, his percentages could improve, but his counting stats will likely take a hit.
So who benefits in Phoenix? Jon Leuer and Mirza Teletovic will be popular pickups because of their three-point shooting ability, but I'm leaning heavily towards Alex Len getting some extended run in Morris's absence. Although Len is a true 7-footer and not really a power forward, the Suns have experimented a lot with the Twin Towers look with Tyson Chandler over the last few weeks, and Len has performed well in a small sample size when Morris sits.
The only problem with rostering Len? He's always hurt. Whether or not he can take advantage of the opportunity in front of him will largely depend on his health, and he's already questionable for the first game out of the All-Star break. In deep leagues, go get him, but don't feel obligated to pick him up if you have no obvious drop candidates.
