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Fantasy Basketball Trade Tips: Players to target, deal and hold ahead of NBA trade deadline

mike barner
·5-min read

The NBA trade deadline is just over a week away. We could see players have a significant change in fantasy value depending on what deals are made. As we keep the trade deadline in mind, here are some players to consider as fantasy buy lows, sell highs or who are worth holding onto at this time.

Porter doesn't provide much outside of scoring and rebounds. While he is averaging a career-high in assists this season, it's still just 2.2 of them per game. He is also averaging just 0.7 steals and 0.4 blocks. Given his lack of production in other areas, his averages of 14.6 points and 5.4 rebounds over his last nine games have been especially troublesome for fantasy managers.

Part of the reason why Porter hasn't been as productive lately is that he averaged just 28 minutes per game during that span. Of those nine games, seven of them were decided by at least 11 points. For the season, Porter is averaging 18.1 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.6 3-pointers over 33 minutes per game. Blowouts can be fluky, so as the Nuggets play in more close games, Porter should see his points and rebounding numbers revert to normal.

White has missed the last four games for the Bulls with an ankle injury. He is listed as questionable Wednesday against the Celtics, so his return might not be too far away. Bulls head coach Billy Donovan said Monday that the team hopes to get White back at some point during their road trip that ends Sunday.

The Bulls could look vastly different after the trade deadline. Nikola Vučević, Zach LaVine and Lonzo Ball have all been rumored as potentially being dealt. If LaVine is traded, White would likely see a boost in usage rate. Even if Ball is the one who is dealt, it would help thin out a Bulls depth chart that is guard-heavy. With White nearing a return from injury and a potentially larger role on the horizon for him, now is the time to try and acquire him at a discount.

Leonard has played in three straight games for the Clippers. During that span, he averaged 16.7 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.3 3-pointers. The most encouraging stat was that he logged 28 minutes against the Suns on Monday. Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue said before that game that Leonard was ready for a slight increase in playing time, and the 28 minutes are the most that he has played in a game this season.

The news that Leonard is going to play more minutes moving forward should provide a boost to his fantasy value. However, there is still a lot to be worried about with him. He is not likely to play both games of a back-to-back set for the remainder of the season. Any nagging injury, and the Clippers will likely take a cautious approach with him. There's too much risk that comes with rostering Leonard, so the recent positive news with him might be a unique sell-high opportunity in fantasy.

After a disappointing first season with the Wizards, Poole has bounced back to average 21.2 points, 3.1 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 1.6 steals and 3.7 three-pointers per game this season. His biggest improvement has come from behind the arc. He shot 32.6% on his 3-point attempts last season. This season, he has shot 40.1%.

The Wizards are likely to be sellers at the trade deadline. Poole has a leading role with the team, so if he is moved to a contender, he would likely see his usage rate decline. If he stays on the Wizards, he could see plenty of rest days down the stretch as they look to improve their draft position. Either way, Poole's fantasy value might be near its peak right now.

The Heat have suspended Butler again. The reasoning behind the most recent suspension is "a continued pattern of disregard of team rules, engaging in conduct detrimental to the team and intentionally withholding services." Reports have indicated that the team intended to move Butler to the bench, and when informed of that, he left shootaround.

The marriage between the Heat and Butler has ended. He's doing everything he can to get off the team, and the Heat are in active discussions to move him. It would be extremely surprising if Butler isn't dealt at the deadline. Wherever he ends up, he should see an increase in production with him being more motivated. Don't panic and drop Butler or trade him at a steep discount right now. Hold onto him until the deadline to see how this situation plays out.

The Mavericks entered the season with a two-headed monster at center consisting of Dereck Lively II and Gafford. While that's great for the team, it wasn't for fantasy because both players ate into each other's minutes. Now that Lively is out with an ankle injury, Gafford has seen a significant increase in playing time. He has taken full advantage of his new role, averaging 18.4 points, 10.4 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 3.3 blocks over the last seven games.

Lively isn't going to be back anytime soon. Initial reports indicated that he could be out for up to three months. To complicate matters for the Mavericks, backup big man Maxi Kleber broke his foot and will be out for an extended period of time. This might seem like a sell-high opportunity with Gafford, but with a clear path to a huge role, the best move might be to hold onto him and reap the rewards.