That was certainly a trade deadline for the ages, 19 teams participated in at least one trade, comprising two-thirds of the league! Of course, there were blockbusters like Kyrie, and KD being shipped to warmer climates, but there were plenty of smaller deals that will surely shake up rotations.
The list below is comprised almost entirely of players who stand to benefit the most after the trade deadline, in most cases, they’ve gone from a bench role to the starting lineup.
Fantasy Basketball Weekend Streamers
NBA Fantasy Streamers is a weekly article put out by Fantrax to help Fantasy NBA managers chase down statistics in weekly league formats. All the players listed below play 2 games in three nights between Friday and Sunday, giving you the best opportunity to maximize their statistical output.
Teams With Two Games
BOS, CHA, CLE, DAL, DET, IND, MEM, MIA, NYK, PHI, SAC, SAN, TOR, UTA
Zach Collins, F/C – San Antonio Spurs | 56% rostered
Best Stats: REB, PTS, BLK
Fresh off the departure of starting center Jakob Poeltl, Zach Collins is primed to slide into the starting center role. Even if Collins doesn’t immediately earn the starting position, his minutes and usage will see a steep uptick. The former Trailblazer hasn’t been overly impressive this season averaging 9.5 points and 5.7 rebounds, but if there was ever a chance for fantasy managers to buy low. and bet on potential, now is the time. If Collins manages to play around 30 minutes he could be a 15 and 8 guy. with an upside on defensive stats.
Mark Williams, C – Charlotte Hornets | 68% rostered
Best Stats: BLK, REB, FG%
Essentially, copy/paste what I said above. Starting center Mason Plumlee was traded to the Clippers for Reggie Jackson, who to my knowledge can’t play center. That means Mark Williams is now the starter in Charlotte.
Williams isn’t the passer Plumlee is but should be similar on the boards, with a much higher upside in blocking shots, already averaging 1 per game in just under 14 minutes of action.
Malik Monk, G/F – Sacramento Kings | 71% rostered
Best Stats: 3PM, PTS
Monk again finds himself on this list on the heels of a hot shooting week where he dropped 17.6 points and 2.3 threes per game over his last three outings. Picking up Monk always comes with a certain level of risk because he almost never sees more than 23 minutes a night. Monk relies on getting his shots up in limited usage so he’s certainly liable to drop a clunker. But his ability to score is hard to match amongst available options.
Dwight Powell, C – Dallas Mavericks | 25% rostered
Best Stats: REB, FG%, BLK
In acquiring Kyrie Irving the Mavs had to offload one of their frontcourt rocks in Dorian Finney-Smith, and with that comes opportunity. That opportunity is likely to fall into the hands of Dwight Powell. Powell, up to this point has underperformed on fantasy expectations, even if the baseline was low. But in the last two games since the trade, he’s averaged 11 points, 11 rebounds, and shot over 70% from the field on 13 attempts.
Collin Sexton, G – Utah Jazz | 91% rostered
Best stats: PTS, 3PM
Yes, he is rostered in the majority of leagues, but if he isn’t in your standard league it is time to change that. The Utah Jazz will likely waive Russell Westbrook before he ever plays a game in Utah, this means with the departure of Mike Conley that Sexton should start at PG. With the increase in minutes, it should only be a matter of time before he is averaging 20+ points a game.
If Sexton isn’t available, Talen Horton-Tucker is also a solid option for assists and scoring, now the first guard off the bench for the Jazz.