Fantasy Basketball Rookie Report: Post Trade Deadline Winners and Losers

The trade deadline has come and gone. Teams have shifted around, and that comes with significant fantasy differences. This week we will break down the rookie winners and losers of the deadline. There has been plenty to talk about with a dynamic deadline. Rookies, with the exception of the stars of the draft, usually are affected by today with gains or losses in minutes. I am not Nostradamus. There will be unforeseen breakouts or disappearances that can happen with injury or just pure skill. I think it is important to keep in mind each individual depth position on top of talent. This week will not include the standard statistical analysis, but we will have it the following week due to the deadline.

Fantasy Basketball Rookie Report: Post-Deadline Winners and Losers

Winners(!)

Cason Wallace (PG/SG/SF, Oklahoma City Thunder, 20)

• Last Month: 19.4 MPG, 6.4 PPG/2.5 RPG/1.1 APG/1.1 Stocks per game on 48.1 FG%/40 3P%/80 FT%.
• Short Term: Moving Micic has some clear benefits for Wallace. Not much else.
• Long Term: See above.

Marcus Sasser (PG/SG, Detroit Pistons, 23)

• Last Month: 18.0 MPG, 10.1 PPG/1.4 RPG/4.4 APG/0.6 Stocks on 51%/45%/84.6%.
• Short Term:  Definitively the backup point guard now. Worth buying in larger leagues and based on matchup could get big minutes.
• Long Term: Still a backup point guard long term.

Taylor Hendricks (SF/PF, Utah Jazz, 20)

• Last Month: 8.2 MPG/ 3.0 PPG/3.0 RPG/0.7 APG/1.0 Stocks on 37.5%/60%/0%.
• Short Term: Without Olynyk, there is some available time to trickle down.
• Long Term: I am not sure what the Jazz are attempting. They have a lot of depth at very specific positions

Brice Sensabaugh (SF/PF, Utah Jazz, 19)

• Last Month: No statistics.
• Short Term: See Hendricks.
• Long Term: See above.

Leonard Miller (SF/PF, Minnesota Timberwolves, 20)

• Last Month: Negligible last month’s numbers.
• Short Term: Miller has more room to grow in this current system, especially with Troy Brown officially out of the way. All additional Brown minutes would be Miller minutes.
• Long Term: Getting good development time on a good team is good.

Ausar Thompson (UTIL, Detroit Pistons, 20)

• Last Month: 23.2 MPG, 8.3 PPG/6.0 RPG/1.1 APG/1.9 Stocks on 56.8%/16.7%/52%.
• Short Term: With added shooting comes added value to Ausar. His abilities are best suited for the current roster and thus will have more output!
• Long Term: Developing those skills outside of scoring is an immense fantasy future. Pick him up!

Brandon Miller (SG/SF, Charlotte Hornets, 21)

• Last Month: 32.1 MPG, 20.8 PPG/4.2 RPG/2.5 APG/1.7 Stocks on 47.2%/39.4%/82.2%
• Short Term: Miller has been exceptional as of late, and taking Gordon Hayward out of the picture only increases that!
• Long Term: Development comes from usage, usually, and shooters shoot.

Losers(…)

Chet Holmgren (C, Oklahoma City Thunder, 21)

• Last Month: 30.6 MPG, 15.0 PPG/7.9 RPG/2.9 APG/3.5 Stocks on 50%/36.1%/59.5%.
• Short Term: Gordon Hayward needs to have the ball in his hand to be effective.
• Long Term: Chet is still a great fantasy prospect, and the Hayward situation will help long term. This is a short-term loser.

Bilal Coulibaly (SG/SF/PF, Washington Wizards, 19)

• Last Month: 27.2 MPG, 8.3 PPG/3.7 RPG/1.7 APG/1.7 Stocks on 38.5%/32.6%/84.4%.
• Short Term: No trades were made, and because of that will get similar usage. Long term this may be better for fantasy output, but it doesn’t do anything for short-term managers.
• Long Term: Maybe keeping consistency is good for Coulibaly, but his value may be lower than it was a month ago. A potential scoop-up option.

Keyonte George (G, Utah Jazz, 20)

• Last Month: 22.8 MPG, 11.9 PPG/2.3 RPG/3.6 APG on 42.1%/33.3%/87.5%.
• Short Term: Do the Jazz hate Keyonte George? His value has plummeted since adding even more guards.
• Long Term: I just don’t understand the need. They have five-to-six players of similar value playing the same position. That is NOT good for fantasy output.

Derrick Lively (C, Dallas Mavericks, 19)

• Last Month: 29.1 MPG, 11.1 PPG/9.1 RPG/1.4 APG/1.8  Stocks on 79.5%/53.3 FT%.
• Short Term: Adding Daniel Gafford will take away from the load Lively was carrying pre-deadline. That may be good for his health issues, but it is not good for fantasy owners.
• Long Term: Allowing Lively to play with Gafford as a premium backup may help his long-term development, and winning provides young guys with more efficient output. As a king of big man efficiency this early in his career, that may solidify at this point.

Nick Smith Jr. (PG/SG, Charlotte Hornets, 19)

• Last Month: 18.3 MPG, 6.4 PPG/1.8 RPG/1.6 APG/0.2 Stocks on 34.9%/39.7%/81.8%
• Short Term: I thought trading Rozier would provide better minutes output, but that has not surfaced. Not worth a pickup.
• Long Term: The Charlotte Hornets have not been good at developing non-premium players. No need to invest long-term.

Scoot Henderson (PG/SG, Portland Trailblazers, 20)

• Last Month: 24.5 MPG, 14.0 PPG/3.3 RPG/3.9 APG/0.7 Stocks on 37.7%32.7%/85.3%
• Short Term: They didn’t trade Malcolm Brogdon, and that may be good for Scoot long term, but not good for fantasy managers short-term.
• Long Term: Still worth the pickup, but know he isn’t going to provide output similar to others in his class until next season.

Toumani Camara (SF/PF, Portland Trailblazers, 23)

• Last Month: 21.3 MPG, 6.3 PPG/4.4 RPG/0.9 APG/2.0 Stocks on 46.7%/26.1%/81.8%.
• Short Term: Similar to Scoot, they didn’t trade Jerami Grant. Not trading key vets is not a big deal but it certainly does not give short-term gains to their rookie performers.
• Long Term: Maybe it is a good time to scoop Camara since his short-term value is down, but he’s shown flashes of adding defensive metrics to his game and having highly efficient streaky weeks.

Anthony Black (G/F, Orlando Magic, 20)

• Last Month: 13.9 MPG, 4.8 PPG/1.5 RPG/1.1 APG/0.5 Stocks on 51.4%/50%/69.2%.
• Short Term: The Magic did no favors to Black for keeping him around or moving anyone in his position group. He is a short-term risk with streaky upside.
• Long Term: The development of the Arkansas guard may be better for long-term owners with quality guards to learn from in a winning environment. But it may be worth the pickup if not competing or low cost.

Kris Murray (PF, Portland Trailblazers, 23)

• Last Month: 16.4 MPG, 4.6 PPG/1.8 RPG/0.8 APG/1.2 Stocks on 46.7%/31.8%/50%.
• Short Term: Kris Murray showed some promise in some expanded minutes, but I doubt he sees that unless major injuries accrue this season.
• Long Term: Similar to Camara, this is a buy low spot for fantasy managers until further notice. He’s a prospect to an extent, but one that is apparently going to have to fight hard for time.

Olivier-Maxence Prosper (SF/PF, Dallas Mavericks, 21)

• Last Month: No statistics.
• Short Term: Adding PJ Washington takes OMax Prosper essentially out of the rotation. He has not had productive minutes either, nor efficient minutes.
• Long Term: I am not big on OMax’s abilities to stick in the NBA as a non-shooting forward. He does get rebounds though, for categories based-leagues.

Ben Sheppard (SG/SF, Indiana Pacers, 22)

• Last Month: 15.2 MPG, 3.5 PPG/1.9 RPG/1.0 APG on 32.7%/24.3%/88.9%.
• Short Term: He has not been good this season, and adding win now vets will keep him from playing time.
• Long Term: I am a bit skeptical, but the Pacers have done a good job at developing young talent.

Brandin Podziemski (PG/SG/SF, Golden State Warriors, 20)

• Last Month: 31.0 MPG, 10.2 PPG/6.6 RPG/4.5 APG/0.9 Stocks on 45.6%/16.7%/68.4%.
• Short Term: The Podz-father has not been good recently. In deeper leagues, he is a great streaky addition. Definitely keep an eye out when he has a good game.
• Long Term: The Polish phenom has been playing steady minutes and getting valuable development. Pick him up at his lowest point when others are considering moving on or dropping him.

GG Jackson (SG/SF/PF/C, Memphis Grizzlies, 19)

• Last Month: 23.1 MPG, 12.6 PPG/4.5 RPG/1.1 APG/1.3 Stocks on 44.4%/38.7%/70.8%
• Short Term: Bursting onto the scene recently, Jackson can shoot and rebound well from the forward position. Given his versatility, may be worth the deep league pickup.
• Long Term: Yes. The Grizzlies have had good success with development. Take a chance.

Noah Clowney (PF/C, Brooklyn Nets, 19)

• Last month: 10.2 MPG, 4.0 PPG/2.3 RPG/0.7 APG/0.3 Stocks on 50%/100 FT%.
• Short Term: He has been good in an expanded role and getting some run. Not worth the short term investment unless something happens to the current starters.
• Long Term: I liked Clowney coming out of the draft, and the Nets have been able to plug and play different draft big men every