Let’s take a look at some trade candidates and some noteworthy trends in season-long ESPN points leagues as well as some DFS insight for Thursday night.
Trade For
Desmond Bane – We’ve been writing about Bane all season and his latest toe injury could again present a buy-low window for the shooting guard. Bane is No. 27 in my top 300 end-of-season rankings—even accounting for the 2-to-3 weeks Bane is expected to miss.
James Harden – The initial timeline for Harden’s return was a month and two weeks into it, the guard told reporters that he feels he’s right on track with that timeline. If you’re in a position where you can afford to proceed without the added production over the next couple of weeks, trading for Harden now may be less costly than he’ll be at any point this season. Harden is the No. 14 player on my top 300 end-of-season rankings.
Trade Away
LeBron James – We touched on James in last weeks’ Fantasy Hoops and LBJ hasn’t played since. Domantas Sabonis, James Harden, and Pascal Siakam are all players I would swap James for in a one-for-one trade.
Deandre Ayton – The Suns’ big man is not delivering on his ADP, mainly due to consistency, and it’s hard to see him turning that around. Ayton got his second contract in the NBA this past offseason, which is something he spoke about as a major goal leading up to the 2018 draft. Ayton achieved his goal and we’re seeing a major difference between the center’s performance this season and his contract year consistency last season.
Thursday DFS
Charles Bassey is thriving in a part-time role with the Spurs, averaging 1.8 blocks and eight rebounds per game over his last five (18.0 minutes per game). While his future looks bright in San Antonio and he may be a popular pick, note that the Kings are top 5 in limited fantasy points to the center position (via Hashtag Basketball).
