Last Updated on February 18, 2026 12:31 pm by Keston Paul | Published: February 18, 2026

The trade deadline is behind us, which means it’s time to make decisions based on rejiggered rosters and…teams that are tanking? Ask any manager who has played fantasy over the last few seasons, and they are well-versed with the silly-season hero and the once-reliable fantasy player fading down the stretch as DNPs litter the stat page.

I’m here to identify some trade opportunities within the trade deadline and tanking fog. Some of these players may benefit with new faces in town, some may be hindered, or some players may clearly already be in off-season mode that you should look to move ASAP.

In addition to names related to trading and tanking, this week’s edition of Buy Low, Sell High features some names who are due for positive or negative regression. If you can find the outlier stats in small windows during the thick of the marathon that is the NBA season, you can find your way into some good value. That’s the dirty work that makes the season a grind, but it’s also what leads to a lot of championships.

For the uninitiated, buying low refers to the act of acquiring a player at a discount because their recent performances — which are below their standards/expectations — have changed their perceived value for the player’s current manager. Essentially, it’s trying to trade for a player that you know is going to be a lot better than he has been lately, and capitalizing on his current manager’s anxieties to do so at a lower cost than you would normally anticipate.

On the flip side, selling high is the opposite; trading away a player at the height of their perceived value thanks to a recent run of good fortune. That could be the result of several things, but at the end of the day you’re trying to get off at the top and extract more value than you would normally anticipate from your trade partner. It’s a simple concept but hard to do, especially if you’re playing with seasoned competition who know the tricks of the trade.

Please note that the stats and values here are accurate as of February 17th and per Basketball Reference unless otherwise stated. All rankings are on a per-game basis unless otherwise stated.

Buy Low

Reed Sheppard

PG, Houston Rockets

Current Rank: 118/104 8/9-cat

As a Rockets fan, watching our offense toil lately has NOT been fun. Part of those recent struggles is Reed Sheppard slowing down. Since January 20th, he is shooting a ghastly 37.9% from the field, including 32.2% from deep. That just won’t get it done for managers, as there have been plenty of questions to drop or hold him in standard leagues.

Let’s get to the positives. In that same stretch Sheppard is still playing 24.2 minutes a game. With the Rockets making zero moves at the trade deadline, Sheppard should see a similar load. The steals and blocks have been there at 1.5 and 0.7 a game; the assists are something at 2.5 a game. As long as the shooting bounces back with some time to recuperate after the All-Star break, Sheppard can easily play at a top-100 level or more, providing triples and steals for fantasy managers.

Evan Mobley

PF, Cleveland Cavaliers

Current Rank: 42/36 in 8/9-cat

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• About the Author
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Mark C

After years of playing redraft fantasy basketball leagues with my friends, I branched out to dynasty leagues. As my hunger for competitive leagues grew, I found myself having lengthy conversations in various forums and developing my own thoughts on rookies and veteran players alike. Among the dynasty community, I found a gap in understanding on-court play and valuing transactions properly and thought to myself “I have a lot to say that could help dynasty managers!” I eventually came onto Sports Ethos as the Dynasty Lead, producing Dynasty Fantasy Basketball content such as rankings, rookie profiles, and other sorts of articles to enable managers to make informed decisions on their own squads. I pride myself in marrying on-court NBA and fantasy basketball analysis, giving readers and listeners of my content a holistic knowledge base of not only dynasty basketball projects but also the NBA itself.

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