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Fantasy Basketball Trade Analyzer: Go get Josh Giddey ahead of a potential Zach LaVine move

mike barner
·5-min read

In addition to trying to improve your fantasy basketball team through the waiver wire, a key trade could also help your chances of bringing home a championship. Let's highlight some players to consider buying low on, selling high on or who are worth holding onto at this time.

Adebayo is in a bit of a scoring funk right now. Over his last nine games, he has averaged just 12.6 points. A big reason for his struggles has been his shooting 42.5% from the field and 25.0% from behind the arc during that span. After never shooting lower than 51.2% in a season for his career, Adebayo has shot just 45.5% this season. Contributing to that decline has been him averaging a career-high 2.5 3-point attempts per game and making them at a rate of just 27.2%.

While Adebayo has struggled to score lately, he still averaged 9.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.4 steals over that nine-game span. For the season, he has averaged 9.7 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.4 steals. Fantasy managers who are disappointed with his lack of efficiency this season won't feel any better with how he has played lately. Given that he still helps out in plenty of other areas, now might be the time to try and acquire him at a discount.

The Bulls hoped that they were acquiring their point guard of the future when they traded Alex Caruso to the Thunder for Giddey. Despite the need for a playmaker who can help push the pace, Giddey has averaged just 28 minutes per game this season. That has limited his upside. His production has been even worse lately with him averaging 8.9 points, 8.5 rebounds, 5.9 assists and 1.4 steals over his last 11 games.

Giddey still showed his tantalizing upside against the Clippers on Monday, recording 18 points, 10 rebounds and 9 assists over 40 minutes. Coby White (ankle) did not play in that game and could miss more time with his ailment. Another thing to consider with Giddey is that the Bulls have recently lost games to the Pelicans, Hornets and Trail Blazers. That could further motivate them to trade Zach LaVine. If he gets dealt, Giddey could play significantly more.

Valančiūnas is only averaging 20 minutes per game for the Wizards, but he still has some fantasy value by averaging 11.6 points, 8.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists. As the trade deadline approaches, Valančiūnas has averaged 11.8 points, 9.1 rebounds and 2.1 assists across his last 16 games. He did that while playing more than 23 minutes in just one of those games.

The Wizards are expected to be sellers at the trade deadline, and Valančiūnas will likely be a popular option among contending teams that need a center. If he does get dealt to a better team, his playing time could dip even further. This is the best that he has been all season, so now might be a good time to float him out in trade offers to fantasy managers who are desperate for a center.

This isn't about selling high on Ayton because he has been playing well. Over his last nine games, he has averaged a modest 11.6 points and 10.2 rebounds per game. He has been better over the course of the entire season, providing 13.8 points and 10.2 rebounds per game.

This is a sell-high on Ayton because he is at least playing right now. Donovan Clingan (ankle) is out and Robert Williams III (ankle) has been in and out of the lineup. The Trail Blazers figure to be sellers at the trade deadline, but moving Ayton's contract might be difficult. If he is still on the team after the deadline passes, the Trail Blazers could rest him often down the stretch. Not only would they be looking to improve their draft position by losing more games, but they could also justify resting Ayton by giving more playing time to their center of the future in Clingan.

Porter has averaged only 13.7 points over his last six games. Part of the problem for his decline in scoring is that he only averaged 26 minutes during that span. The Nuggets were involved in plenty of lopsided scores, with all six of those games having been decided by at least 11 points.

Playing time hasn't generally been an issue for Porter since he is averaging 33 minutes per game for the season. He is also shooting 51.7% from the field, which has helped him average 18.2 points and 2.6 3-pointers per game. As the Nuggets start to be involved in more competitive games, we should see Porter's scoring contributions on the rise again. Given the lack of depth on the Nuggets' roster, Porter still has a high floor in fantasy.

Thompson has thrived since being named a starter for the Rockets. Over his last 11 games in that role, he has averaged 15.7 points, 10.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.6 blocks. He also shot 56.6% from the during that span. He averaged 38 minutes across those games, compared to his season average of 30 minutes per game.

Thompson has received a boost in playing time because both Tari Eason and Jabari Smith Jr. (hand) have missed time with injuries. Eason is back now, but Smith could still be a month away from making his return. Given how well he has played and how disappointing Smith has been, Thompson might not relinquish his starting job for the remainder of the season. This might seem like a sell-high opportunity for Thompson, but with his skill set, the correct move might be to hold onto him.