Are you ready to improve your fantasy basketball team? One way to do that could be to buy low on an underachieving fantasy basketball player. Another way would be to sell high on a player overachieving fantasy basketball player. We can make educated guesses for the future based on historical data and deductive reasoning. This week we highlight a couple buy low fantasy basketball options and a couple of fantasy basketball sell high options for 9-category leagues.
Fantasy Basketball Buy Low
Tyrese Maxey
Tyrese Maxey has played five games since returning from injury. For the season, he’s on the cusp of being a top 100 player in fantasy basketball on per-game numbers. Last season Maxey was a top-60 guy. His counting stats don’t look that off, but his percentages are down this season. He is taking more threes this season so replicating the 48.5% field goal percentage may not be in the cards. However, we should see some positive regression in the free throw percentage which is down roughly 10% this season. If he cleans that up, that alone would be enough to make Maxey a top-60 fantasy basketball asset the rest of the way. If you can acquire him by sending out a top-90 fantasy basketball player you absolutely have to do it.
Jonas Valanciunas
How does anyone not love Jonas Valanciunas? With that being said, Lithuanian Lightning has lost some luster this season. He’s currently ranked outside the top 100 in fantasy basketball on per-game stats. If we go back just one season he was a top-50 asset. What happened? Larry Nance has stolen significant playing time from Valanciunas. And then let’s not forget the return of Zion Williamson this season. Guess what? Zion is now injured and Nance seems constantly banged up. Jonas Valanciunas has been a top 80 fantasy basketball producer for the last eight seasons and top 50 over the previous three seasons.
Has JV struggled with foul trouble and had some off nights this season? Sure, but the Pelicans have had the luxury of depth. Valanciunas’ fantasy basketball value is ultimately tied to minutes. He’s under 25 minutes per game this season. With the injuries to his fellow teammates that should increase. Even if Valanciunas doesn’t play the career-high 30 minutes he was getting last season he should be in that 27-28 zone. Plus, with the Zion injury that should open up more touches for JV. Brandon Ingram is due back soon and will absorb plenty of usage. Valanciunas has had success playing beside Ingram so it’s hard to be concerned about that. I’d be willing to give up a fringe top-100 fantasy basketball asset to acquire the talents of Jonas Valanciunas. While Zion is out I think we can reasonably expect JV to put up top-75 value in fantasy basketball.
Fantasy Basketball Sell High
DeMar DeRozan
It’s remarkable DeMar DeRozan is still in his prime with no signs of decline approaching his mid-30s. For the season, DeRozan has been a top-25 fantasy basketball talent. He was ranked 27th last season which was a fantasy basketball best for him. So to improve upon that is certainly impressive. Since arriving in Chicago, DeRozan’s minutes are up to 36 minutes per game and he’s scoring more. He is essentially playing at his fantasy basketball ceiling right now considering he doesn’t take too many threes. It’s possible DeRozan keeps this up if the Bulls are keen on chasing a play-in/playoff spot. There’s also the chance the Bulls pivot or DeRozan just regresses a little and we see more of the top 40 fantasy basketball player we’ve seen over the years. I’m not telling DeMar DeRozan is a must-trade but if you can get top-25 value in return for him I’d recommend it.
O.G. Anunoby
My bold prediction this season was that he would be a top 20 fantasy basketball asset in 9-cat. Guess what? He has been. What I was wrong about is the Raptors. I assumed they would be a lock to be one of those low-tier playoff teams in the East. As much as we all would like to see them get embarrassed in the first round again that might not happen.
There’s a good chance the Raptors will decide to tank as President of Operations, Masai Ujiri, made it clear last season that he’s not interested in the play-in. How does this all impact Anunoby? He may get traded to a less desirable situation for fantasy basketball impact. More likely though the Raptors hang onto him but conserve his minutes. Also, they could just rest O.G. as he doesn’t have the best track record from a health stance. And if the goal is to chase ping-pong balls maybe having him out there 37 minutes a night doesn’t make sense. Furthermore, if the players know that’s what the organization wants to do are they going to give the same effort on the defensive side of the ball? With all that said, it’s probably unlikely O.G. continues averaging a career-high 2.3 steals per game. If you can flip O.G. Anunoby for a top 20 fantasy basketball player it might be time to do so on the grounds of minimizing risk.
Did you make a fantasy basketball trade this season? If so were you able to buy low or sell high?