Kristaps Porzingis is making you a handsome profit in fantasy basketball. It’s time to cash out. Also, consider trading away Ja Morant. Both have elevated injury risk. On the flip side, I’d suggest you buy low on Jrue Holiday and Brandon Ingram. This is your sell high and buy low column for Week 18 of the fantasy basketball season (9-category leagues).
Fantasy Basketball Sell High
Kristaps Porzingis
Kristaps Porzingis has been phenomenal this season for fantasy basketball. We know he’s a walking injury risk. Over the last week, “The Unicorn” has been the best player in fantasy. You will never get a better sell-high moment than this. Porzingis is a positive producer in numerous categories including points, threes made, rebounds, blocks, and free throw percentage. This should make him tantalizing for opposing managers in your league.
Historically, Kristaps Porzingis’ best season in fantasy basketball was in 2019-20 where he finished 15th on a per-game basis. This season he’s sniffing pretty close to that and may even surpass it. So why sell high if we could be getting a career year out of Porzingis in fantasy basketball? He managed to bounce back from one injury this season. He may not from a second one. Based on Porzingis’ track record health doesn’t tend to be on his side. If you can get a top 10-15 reliable fantasy basketball player for Kristaps Porzingis you have to do it to minimize risk going forward.
Ja Morant
Ja Morant plays with reckless abandon. We love watching him play fearless basketball. When it comes to fantasy basketball it’s just statistics. Morant driving into contact so often isn’t great for his health or the health of our fantasy basketball squad. Over the last two weeks, he’s been money from the field. We know he’s a walking bucket. It may be time to sell high.
Morant’s two major plus categories are points and assists. He’s been kind of soul-crushing in blocks, field goal percentage, free throw percentage, and turnovers. For that reason, Ja Morant isn’t ideal for 9-cat fantasy basketball leagues. Last season he was a top-50 player (Morant’s best fantasy season). And that’s what I would try to flip him for if you can.
Fantasy Basketball Buy Low
Jrue Holiday
I cannot explain why Jrue Holiday is an all-star. However, I will explain why Jrue Holiday is a prime buy-low candidate in fantasy basketball. Over the last two weeks, Jrue has been outside the top 75. Historically, Holiday has four seasons where he finished in the top 25. Plenty more where he was top 50 including last season where he was the 32nd-ranked player.
Jrue Holiday gives you gold in points, threes, assists, steals, and free throw percentage for fantasy basketball. Turnovers are high this season, but typically that is something you have to deal with from point guards anyway. If you can acquire Jrue Holiday for a top 50 fantasy basketball asset I’d recommend it as the Bucks make their playoff push.
Brandon Ingram
This might be the last opportunity to buy low on Brandon Ingram as he’s returning to form. Ingram is a plus in points, assists, and free throw percentage. He’s a nice player to have because he doesn’t particularly kill you in any one category outside of turnovers. Historically, his best fantasy basketball season came in 2019-20 where he finished 35th on a per-game basis. The following year Ingram was just outside the top 50. These last two seasons haven’t been quite as good. The primary reason for this is Ingram is attempting fewer threes. Threes made is no longer a plus for him in fantasy basketball terms despite Ingram shooting a good percentage from three.
If Ingram can stay healthy his current fantasy basketball rank of 75 is probably is his floor. If you want to acquire Brandon Ingram’s services try offering a top 80 talent. With Zion Williamson out for a lengthy period of time Ingram could see his value increase. Furthermore, it’s tough to find players that provide in the category of points on the waiver wire. In my opinion, that makes Brandon Ingram an even better fantasy basketball option than his rank would suggest.
How many trades have you made this season?