Well, that was an interesting NBA Trade Deadline. Trades happened that not many expected: Bojan Bogdanovic to the Knicks, Gordon Hayward to the Thunder,= and Patrick Beverley to the Bucks, just to name a few. Then, and even more surprisingly, some players weren’t dealt that everyone expected to be: Dejounte Murray, Tyus Jones and Andre Drummond all stayed put.
After changes to the NBA landscape, there’s plenty to unpack from a fantasy basketball perspective. Let’s dive in.
Check out the latest fantasy basketball expert consensus rankings
Fantasy Basketball Trade Advice (Week 16)
Trade For
De’Anthony Melton (PG, SG – PHI)
There seems to be a chance that De’Anthony Melton will return to the Sixers’ lineup as early as next week after missing about a month with a back injury. The good news for his potential fantasy production is that Philly just shed a ton of other guards and forwards at Thursday’s deadline. Beverley, Danuel House Jr., Furkan Korkmaz, Marcus Morris Sr. and Jaden Springer are all out the door, while just Buddy Hield and Cameron Payne are inbound.
Look for Melton to improve on his 11.8 points, four rebounds and 3.2 assists per game when he shakes off the rust.
Players to Trade For Him Who Are Ranked Higher: Caris LeVert, Ben Simmons
Trade Away
Donte DiVincenzo (SF, SG – NYK)
The classic sell-high candidate, Donte DiVincenzo, is on an absolute tear right now. The Knicks’ guard is averaging an unreal 27.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.8 steals per game in 39.8 minutes during his last five outings. Though, of course, there’s good reason for this outside of the fact that he’s playing great ball. Jalen Brunson missed New York’s game against Dallas on Thursday, and OG Anunoby and Julius Randle have missed multiple games of late. Also, consider that the newly acquired Bogdanovic and Alec Burks, both offensive-minded guards, are coming into the fold. Trading DiVincenzo while his price is this high is paramount.
Players to Trade Him For Who Are Ranked Lower: Jalen Johnson
Trade For
John Collins has quietly been pretty solid in his last 20 games for Utah. He’s putting up 15.7 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game over that time with just five games over the 30-minutes played mark.
At the deadline, the Jazz shipped off fellow forwards Simone Fontecchio and Kelly Olynyk to the Pistons and Raptors. These moves have opened up 43.6 minutes per game in the rotation. While this likely means more for the 6-foot-9 rookie Taylor Hendricks, it also frees up more time for Collins.
Players to Trade For Him Who Are Ranked Higher: Jabari Smith Jr., Bobby Portis Jr., P.J. Washington Jr.
Trade Away
Spencer Dinwiddie (PG, SG – FA)
A recent report suggests that the recently waived Spencer Dinwiddie will choose between the Mavericks and Lakers for his next team. In the event he does land on either of those squads, you can’t expect the guard to improve much, if at all, on his current 12.6 points, 3.3 rebounds and six assists per game line.
Dinwiddie would compete with Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving, and Tim Hardaway Jr. for shots in Dallas. In LA, the vet would share looks with Austin Reaves and D’Angelo Russell. Perhaps Dinwiddie would take over for the injured Gabe Vincent off the bench, but no one can be sure.
Players to Trade Him For Who Are Ranked Lower: RJ Barrett, Tobias Harris
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | RadioPublic | Breaker | Castbox | Pocket Casts