Today’s theme is all about injured stars on the mend that should be returning to the court soon. Let’s call this the “Dash to Stash.” Injuries play a huge role in the outcome of a fantasy league. Not just negatively either. If owner A doesn’t want to wait for player X to return or doesn’t have enough spots to keep him, then owner B can reap the rewards when they add a player that usually would have no business being on a waiver wire. That’s exactly where we are this season. There are several top-100 caliber fantasy assets nearing returns. The window to add them or buy-low will soon be closing.
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Players to Buy
Zach LaVine (PG/SG – CHI)
The two-time slam dunk champion has yet to set foot on the court for his new team in 2017-18. After tearing his ACL last February, LaVine has been rehabbing with hopes of making it back to the court in some capacity this season. After 11 months, his return is appearing very imminent. The Bulls recently assigned him to their G-League affiliate to get some practices in and all reports say that everything went smoothly and that LaVine feels great.
Last season was LaVine’s coming out party in fantasy. He finished the season as a top-60 player averaging 18.9 points, 3.4 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 2.6 three-pointers on 45.9% shooting and 83.6% from the line. Basically, he was a poor man’s Klay Thompson. That’s exactly the player he can be again this season once he gets back into the flow of things. LaVine will get eased back into action, but once the training wheels are off, he should be the No. 1 scoring option on this rebuilding Bulls team. With his return likely within the next two weeks, now is the time to stash him if you can afford to do so.
Markelle Fultz (PG/SG – PHI)
He might have gotten off to a difficult start to his career, but there are many reasons why Markelle Fultz was the top pack last June. The main reason is that he’s really good. Unfortunately, Fultz got hit by the dreaded 76ers rookie injury curse that caused Ben Simmons (2016), Joel Embiid (2014) and Nerlens Noel (2013) to miss their rookie seasons. Four games. That’s all Fultz got in before a shoulder injury forced him to the sidelines. Granted, those four games were less than noteworthy, but owners still didn’t want to see a high-upside rookie go down for almost three months.
Predicting how much value Fultz is going to provide once he returns is tough. All we have are those four lackluster games, where he combined for 24 points on 9-of-27 shooting, and some untapped talent to go off of. Chances are he’s worth owning in fantasy, but his true impact won’t come until the 2018-19 season. There’s currently no timetable for his return, but it sounds like that should be within the next couple of weeks or so. He’s worth a stash, but LaVine is the better add out of the two guards.
Jabari Parker (SF/PF – MIL)
This one is a little more difficult. Parker is further away than LaVine and Fultz but also has the highest upside of the three. He’s slowly inching toward a return in roughly a month’s time, so if you can stash him, it’s time to start thinking about doing so. Before suffering his second torn ACL in three seasons, Parker was a 20-point scorer and top-50 fantasy asset last season.
There are going to be heavy restrictions when Parker returns for the first month or so, but Milwaukee could really use a scoring punch to compliment Giannis Antetokounmpo. This Bucks team has a chance to win a round or two in the playoffs but will need Parker’s help to do so. Eventually, he’s going to be a valuable fantasy asset. It’s just going to take some time. See how I said this one was more difficult? Parker has the highest upside, so if you have the spot, he’s your man.
Players to Sell
Rudy Gobert (C – UTA)
Listen, I’m obviously not going to tell you to drop Rudy Gobert or anything crazy like that. That’d be absurd. What I am going to suggest is trading him for every ounce of value you can squeeze out of the 7-foot-2 Frenchman. Why? Because seven-footers and lower body injuries are a terrible match. They’re like that couple you hang out with that always fight in public and you whisper quietly to others, “They’re no good for each other.”
Gobert has now missed time twice this season with knees issues. This last knee sprain has kept him out of action since December 15th and likely will keep him out another few weeks. Whenever he’s on the court, Gobert is a beast, a stud, and whatever other superlatives you want to throw on him. But again, that knee injury worries me, especially on a mammoth like Gobert. Don’t make any quick moves, but it wouldn’t hurt to dangle Gobert out there in trade talks and see what you could possibly get in return for him.
Danilo Gallinari (SF/PF – LAC)
Once Gallinari’s playing career is over, he should have plenty of healthcare companies lining up to have him in their commercials and advertisements. I can see the slogan now. Do you get injured as much as this man? If so, come in and see us. The man is a walking injury. Just look at his games played totals throughout his career. Staring with his rookie season in 2008-09, he’s played 28, 81, 62, 43, 71, 0, 59, 53, 63, and only 11 this season.
He’s got talent, sure. But do we really expect him to stay on the court when and if he makes it back from his current injury absence? I know I sure don’t. Gallinari is still owned in about half of fantasy leagues and that’s simply too high. If you can’t trade him, which you likely won’t be able to, cutting him is perfectly acceptable at this point.
Eric Cross is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Eric, check out his archive and follow him @EricCross04.
