When exploring trades in fantasy basketball you should be looking to sell high and buy low. We can make educated guesses based on historical data to determine who some of these targets may be. It may be tough to sell high on a fantasy basketball asset because they could be the reason your fantasy team is succeeding. It’s best to ask yourself as a manager what are the possible outcomes for a particular fantasy basketball player and what the most likely outcome is. In this column, we will be looking at four sell-high candidates for 9 category leagues.
Fantasy Basketball Sell High Targets
Tobias Harris
Tobias Harris has been a top-35 fantasy basketball asset on a per-game basis this season. Last season he was 60th. Historically Tobias’ best finish was in 2020-21 when he averaged 19.5 PPG and shot over 50% from the field. This season Tobias is averaging 16.8 PPG and shooting 48% from the field. What’s also notable is that he’s taking and making more threes. In the prior four seasons, he shot under 40% from three and made under 2 threes per game. Currently, Tobias is shooting 41% from three and making 2.2 threes per game. The last time he did that he was a Clipper. Since he’s done it before it’s within the realm of possibility and it could be happening now because of James Harden. What probably isn’t sustainable is his steal rate. Tobias is averaging 1.3 SPG, but for his career, he’s at 0.8 SPG. That’s a significant jump. What interesting most to me is Tobias’ stats with James Harden because his fantasy value tanked after the trade last season. In 33 games with Harden, Tobias has averaged 14.7 PPG, 5.7 RPG, and 2.7 APG. James Harden recently returned from injury and I believe Tyrese Maxey is due back soon. You’ve had a nice run, but it could be time to cash out on your Tobias Harris fantasy basketball stock.
Jaren Jackson Jr.
Jaren Jackson has been godly in his 10 appearances this season. He’s currently averaging career highs in PPG, RPG, and BPG. The blocks are driving particularly driving his first-round fantasy value. He leads the league at 3.6BPG which is ridiculous. Brook Lopez is a distant second at 2.9BPG. Moreover, last season nobody averaged 3BPG let alone 3.6. Jaren is scoring more this season despite attempting fewer shots. However, we are dealing with a small sample of games this season as he started the season injured. Last season Jaren was the 38th-ranked player on a per-game basis. It’s possible he’s made a leap and has improved but I have my doubts that he’ll continue to be a top-10 guy the rest of the way in fantasy basketball. On top of that, Jaren has dealt with injuries in four of his five seasons. I’m not saying he’s going to get injured again this season, but I will say he’s probably more likely to get injured than the average player. Jaren Jackson is a good NBA and fantasy basketball player, but I’d recommend flipping him for a safer second-round fantasy basketball player if you can.
Brook Lopez
The Brook Lopez resurgence has been sensational. As of writing this article he’s the 15th-ranked player on a per-game basis in fantasy basketball. Whatever his average draft position was he blew that out of the water. Historically, his best per-game fantasy basketball season was 2013-14 with the Nets where he ranked 12th. However, he only played 17 games that season. A more relevant season would be 2015-16 when he finished 23rd in fantasy basketball (73 games played). Back then he was taking enough shots to average 20 PPG but wasn’t making threes yet. Lopez has rejuvenized his career by becoming a defensive player first and three-point threat second. Much like Jaren Jackson’s block rate I would consider it unlikely for Lopez’s to maintain as well. Lopez’s previous career high in blocks per game was 2.4 back in 2019-20. However, this is the first season he’s played 30+ minutes a night since 2015-16, something he’s never done with the Bucks. Brook Lopez is 34 years old and you’d have to think the Bucks will try to conserve or reduce his minutes in an attempt to keep him spry for a title run. Lopez has been amazing in 9-cat, but it’s hard to think this level of production will continue. Hopefully, you can still sell high after as he’s only scored 11 points over his last two games.
Kelly Olynyk
Kelly Olynyk has been a top-60 player in fantasy basketball on per-game stats this season. His best finish was 63rd per game back in 2020-21. Other than that, Olynyk hasn’t been a top 100 fantasy basketball player for the rest of his career. The only thing that doesn’t seem sustainable this season for Olynyk is his three-point percentage (45.5%). His steals may be a tad high at 1.2 per game. It’s safe to say we aren’t witnessing his absurd 19PPG 27-game run with the Rockets. At 13.2PPG this season it feels plausible. My concern with Olynyk is that I don’t think he’ll remain in this plum situation on the Jazz. It’s no secret that the Jazz aren’t intending to be contenders this season and if they decide to go the tank path, Olynyk will likely be on a playoff team post-trade deadline. This would be a worse situation for fantasy basketball purposes. If Kelly Olynyk is on your fantasy basketball team he probably was a great waiver add, but it might be time to see what you can trade him in for.
Have you sold high on one or more of your fantasy basketball players?