Believe it or not, we’re already a quarter of the way through the NBA season. We pretty much know who’s who in this league by now. The Pistons are bad. The Bucks are good. You know the deal. But it’s not that broad knowledge that will bring you a fantasy basketball championship, it’s predicting things before they happen, so you can reap the benefits.
My favorite difference between the NBA and the NFL is that there is a game every single night. You have a rough night in fantasy basketball? Ok, that’s fine. Get over it! Tonight is a new night! That said, it can be tough to stay up to date on the entire league’s dealings, injuries, role changes, and performances.
That’s where our NBA Fantasy Basketball Hype Report comes in! Every week, we’ll give you two players you should be buying low on (either via trade or waiver wire), and two players you should be selling high on (dropping, trading, or benching). When it comes to fantasy sports, FantraxHQ will always have your back! Let’s get into NBA Week 9’s Hype Report.
Fantasy Basketball Buy Low, Sell High
Buy Low
Jaden Ivey, Detroit Pistons, PG/SG
Remember Jaden Ivey? The 5th pick in the draft last year, who managed to average 16/4/5 while averaging 31 minutes per game…that, Jaden Ivey. Well, he’s been coming off the bench for Monty Williams in his 1st year as the Pistons head coach, averaging 11/3/3. Ivey shot 42% from the field and 34% from the three-point line his rookie year. Do those numbers leave something to be desired? Of course, but rookies aren’t finished products. Through the season’s first quarter, Mr. Williams had opted to start Killian Hayes over Ivey. With Hayes out with an illness for the past few games, Ivey has been starting and putting up numbers closer to that of his rookie season. The Pistons haven’t won a game in literally over a month, and pretty soon Monty Williams will be required to make changes to continue being the highest-paid coach in the league. One easy move will be to start Jaden Ivey. He’s only 31% owned at the moment, and if he becomes a full-time starter, you can expect his minutes to jump from 24 per game, back to the 30+ that he averaged last year. This is an easy bet to make, but act quickly.
Trayce Jackson-Davis, Golden State Warriors, PF
I will admit that I might be taking a big leap here, and I’m partially blinded by watching him frequently in college, but I think that Jackson-Davis is on the precipice of carving out a rotational role out of thin air. The rookie has only eclipsed 15+ minutes twice this year, and they’ve both come this week. Draymond Green being out (indefinitely) has obviously helped, but if this suspension lasts even a couple more weeks, that will be enough for TJD to claim a rotational spot even after Green returns. In his two games with real minutes, he dropped 14/8/3/2/1 in 18 minutes. In 29 minutes, he gave us 10/13/1/0/3. Looney has been playing terribly and is no longer eclipsing 25 minutes nightly. Wiggins has been benched occasionally. Who knows when Draymond will be back, and if he’ll be back consistently. Saric is the only other forward getting real minutes. TJD doesn’t have a lot to compete with. If he keeps performing like this, we may be witnessing the budding of a great career.
Sell High
Darius Garland, Cleveland Cavaliers, PG
He’s 90% owned, and it’s going to stay that way. He’s a certified bucket. However, this bucket is going to be out a few weeks with a fractured jaw. And after hearing his name in trade rumors (offers that the Cavs reportedly declined to accept), I think it’s possible the 15-12 Cavs decided that they aren’t close enough to competing in the East, and are willing to sell their best players for assets. Garland is a great young player, but his scoring is slightly down from his last few years, and his three-point percentage is the lowest of his career. This is his 5th year in the league and he’s averaged 30+ minutes for each one of those five years. It’s quite possible we’ve seen Garland’s ceiling. Unless he goes to a team devoid of his caliber of talent and gets to take 20+ shots per game. I doubt that will happen if Garland gets traded. He’d be shipped to a contender. If you sell high here, you wouldn’t have to worry about missing out on a ceiling performance for the year if he stays with the Cavs. Also, if shipped, his usage rate will decline. You’d get a respectable return for Garland, so you might as well pull the plug.
Anthony Edwards, Minnesota Timberwolves, SG/SF
Look…I think he’s got too much going on right now. You can research what I’m talking about on your own if you’re not familiar. FantraxHQ has no desire to turn into TMZ. But it’s our job to help you with fantasy sports, and it’s one thing to have problems in private, but it’s another to have private problems turn public. Edwards is human. And I’m sure he’s distracted. You won’t have to trade Edwards at a discounted price, and there are plenty of other holes you could plug in your lineup, after trading a star of his caliber. I know it hurts, but I think Edwards is more likely to regress to his career numbers than continue improving on what is undoubtedly the best season of his career.