Just when you get to familiarize yourself with the fantasy landscape as it exists, everything changes in the summer time and it’s where shrewd and knowledgeable GMs can take advantage ahead of the upcoming draft season. In this article, we will be keeping everyone up to date on all of the important free agent signings and trades that happen across the NBA and how those moves will impact the fantasy landscape.

July 10

Danilo Gallinari

PF, Boston Celtics

Gallinari cleared waivers and, as expected, is bound for Boston. He’ll give the Cs a nice offensive boost in their second unit, giving the team the kind of self-creation that they just won’t get out of Grant Williams. The rotation is looking quite deep but unfortunately for Gallo, there’s plenty of forwards in town that will all command more playing time, and even Williams and his defense might take priority. Fantasy managers can look to Gallinari should one of the big dogs get hurt, but otherwise he’s going to be a deep-league plodder who generates a good chunk of his value by knocking down free throws at a good clip.

Want to find out about the rest of the free agency moves that went down on the weekend? To get more in-depth analysis on all the moves from today, you’ll need to have a FANTASYPASS membership. Click here to learn more and sign up! 

Taj Gibson

C, Washington Wizards

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July 7

Frank Kaminsky

C, Atlanta Hawks

Kaminsky missed most of last season with knee troubles and will give the Hawks a bit of a spacing element in the frontcourt, though it’s highly unlikely that he plays regularly given the state of the roster. He’s not a bad situational option but fantasy managers will only need to consider him in the event of injuries to others.

Want to find out about the rest of the free agency moves that have been going down? To get more in-depth analysis on all the moves from today, you’ll need to have a FANTASYPASS membership. Click here to learn more and sign up! 

DJ Wilson

PF, Toronto Raptors

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July 6

Kessler Edwards

SF, Brooklyn Nets

Edwards proved his weight after starting his rookie season on a two-way contract. The second-round pick has now locked in with the Nets on a two-year contract that includes a team option in the second season. He should continue to play a role for this squad, but will have limited value as a low-usage player who doesn’t excel in the non-usage related stats. He’s only worth monitoring in extremely deep redraft formats while he’s worth rostering in deeper dynasty formats at 21-years-old.

Want to find out about the rest of the free agency moves that went down on Wednesday? To get more in-depth analysis on all the moves from today, you’ll need to have a FANTASYPASS membership. Click here to learn more and sign up! 

Caleb Martin

SG/SF, Miami Heat

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July 4/5

Serge Ibaka

PF, Milwaukee Bucks

Ibaka will return to the Bucks after joining them in the middle of last season. His career has taken a turn for the worse because of injuries, and he figures to play a minimal role off the bench for the Bucks as they will be in more need of the veteran big man once the playoffs begin. Both Brook Lopez and Bobby Portis are clearly ahead of him on the depth chart, not to mention the two-time MVP.

The Bucks will likely approach Ibaka with kid gloves in a similar fashion to other aging players like Andre Iguodala as the Bucks don’t need him to earn a high seed in the regular season. If that narrative holds true, Ibaka’s fantasy appeal will be limited to extremely deep leagues, and even that is a bit of a question mark.

Want to find out about the rest of the free agency moves that went down on Sunday/Monday? To get more in-depth analysis on all the moves from today, you’ll need to have a FANTASYPASS membership. Click here to learn more and sign up! 

T.J. Warren

SF, Brooklyn Nets

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July 3

Goran Dragic

PG, Chicago Bulls

The Bulls decided to add another backcourt option to the mix, perhaps a reaction to Lonzo Ball’s interminable rehab after knee surgery. While his run in Brooklyn showed that The Dragon wasn’t quite washed up yet, it’s hard to imagine him hitting 23.7 mpg with Chicago. Even if Ball is not healthy to start the season, Dragic will be scrapping for time with Alex Caruso and Ayo Dosunmu, who should both take priority in the pecking order. The Bulls have the personnel to trot out small-ball, multi-guard lineups with regularity but Dragic is the least interesting fantasy name of the bunch. The more pressing matter is exactly how many minutes he takes from Caruso and Dosunmu.

Want to find out about the rest of the free agency moves that went down on Sunday? To get more in-depth analysis on all the moves from today, you’ll need to have a FANTASYPASS membership. Click here to learn more and sign up! 

Jock Landale

C, Phoenix Suns

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July 2

Cody Martin

SF, Charlotte Hornets

Martin has decided to re-up with the Hornets on a four-year deal worth $32 million. He became an integral part of the rotation last season — anyone who is backing up Gordon Hayward needs to be ready — and even hit the radar with some must-start runs in fantasy, carried largely by his 1.2 steals per game. Beyond that, Martin can chip in a few points without hurting your efficiency and is capable of grabbing some rebounds, assists and blocks along the way as well. He has a nice stat set for fantasy and could step into a bigger role than his 26.3 mpg from last season given Hayward’s health issues and Miles Bridges’ disgraceful behavior putting his NBA future in limbo. Martin should easily meet value on this contract and has decent odds of delivering for fantasy GMs too.

Want to find out about the rest of the free agency madness that went down on Saturday? To get more in-depth analysis on all the moves from today, you’ll need to have a FANTASYPASS membership. Click here to learn more and sign up! 

Bismack Biyombo

C, Phoenix Suns

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July 1

Ricky Rubio

PG, Cleveland Cavaliers

Rubio and the Cavs had long been rumored to want a reunion after the Spaniard was traded away after tearing his ACL in December of 2021. The Cavs were in desperate need of offensive creation when Rubio and Collin Sexton were out of the lineup with Darius Garland and to a certain extent Caris LeVert the only true offensive creators on the squad. While Rubio is great from a reality perspective, he may not be fully healthy to start the season and the fantasy production he had last campaign came in large part when Sexton was sidelined with his meniscus injury.

An ACL injury timeline for a professional athlete is typically somewhere between 9-12 months so the best case scenario would have Rubio available to start the year while the longer timeline would put his return closer to January of 2023. With his advanced age and the fact that this is the second ACL tear to his left knee, my bet is that he won’t be returning to the court until late December/early January range and that makes him a difficult player to draft in shallow formats given that he would be on the low-end of 12-team leagues if Sexton returns to the team.

All of this is to say that his recovery timeline from the ACL as well as what the Cavs do with Sexton will be the two biggest things to watch heading into draft season when evaluating Rubio.

Want to find out about the rest of the free agency madness that went down on Friday? To get more in-depth analysis on all the moves from today, you’ll need to have a FANTASYPASS membership. Click here to learn more and sign up! 

Rudy Gobert

C, Minnesota Timberwolves

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June 30

Malik Monk

SG, Sacramento Kings

Monk joins a Kings team that is looking to end the longest playoff drought in NBA history. He appears set up to be the third guard and will likely be the team’s go-to scorer off the bench behind De’Aaron Fox and Davion Mitchell. Fox and Monk actually played together in college so the familiarity that they have is likely part of the reason why the Kings were interested in acquiring the microwave scorer. A move away from the disappointment that was the Lakers in 2021-22 is good for Monk from a reality perspective, but it might not increase his fantasy value if he doesn’t end up with the starting unit. My best guess on the initial transaction from a fantasy perspective is that Monk sustains the value he had in LA or we see a decline in his production.

Terence Davis loses out with the arrival of Monk as he slots well behind him on the depth chart and the two have somewhat overlapping skill sets with Monk the better player based on what we saw a season ago.

Want to find out about the rest of the free agency madness that went down on Thursday? To get more in-depth analysis on all the moves from today, you’ll need to have a FANTASYPASS membership. Click here to learn more and sign up! 

Jalen Brunson

PG, New York Knicks

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June 29

Monte Morris

PG, Washington Wizards

Morris figures to slot in as either the team’s starting PG next to Bradley Beal or their primary backup guard off the bench. Regardless, he figures to play a lot of minutes for the Wizards as they have been in desperate need of a table-setter even since John Wall started dealing with his injuries. There is a distinct possibility that Morris can flirt with top-125 per-game value with the Wizards but that is where his fantasy ceiling ends as we saw with the injury-riddled 2021-22 Nuggets.

Want to find out about the rest of this trade or find out how the Dejounte Murray deal impacts the fantasy landscape? To get more in-depth analysis on all the moves from today, you’ll need to have a FANTASYPASS membership. Click here to learn more and sign up! 

Will Barton

SG/F, Washington Wizards

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June 28

Alec Burks

SG, Detroit Pistons

Burks has shown that he needs starter-level opportunity to produce value for 12-team managers, and that won’t happen in Detroit barring injuries. Unless his situation changes once again this summer, Burks has left the chat in terms of 12-team value and will only have relevance in much deeper leagues in 2022-23. Maybe he hits the radar if the Pistons can flip him elsewhere.

It’s also worth noting that Burks underwent foot surgery following the end of the season but is expected to be fully healthy ahead of training camp.

Want to find out about the rest of this trade? To get more in-depth analysis on the other players impacted by this move, you’ll need to have a FANTASYPASS membership. Click here to learn more and sign up! 

Nerlens Noel

C, Detroit Pistons

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June 23

De'Anthony Melton

PG/SG, Philadelphia Sixers

Melton was acquired by the Sixers on draft night in exchange for their first-round selection and while this may not get national attention, it will have one of the greatest fantasy impacts out of any of the moves that were made on draft night. Melton figures to start alongside James Harden and Tyrese Maxey in Philadelphia with Matisse Thybulle likely headed elsewhere this summer. Melton is a per-minute gold mine for fantasy managers, but struggled to get the consistent playing time that he needed in Memphis to produce top-100 value. It is worth noting that Melton’s role could get squeezed once again in Philadelphia if they don’t find a way to move Thybulle this offseason.

On the Grizzlies side of things, they could be in the market to consolidate some of their young talent but if they don’t, the departure of Melton helps clear some of the logjam that existed in their backcourt between himself, Desmond Bane, Dillon Brooks and even John Konchar. Bane is the clear fantasy player to roster out of that bunch while there is also a possibility for Brooks to have low-end standard league appeal.

June 22

Jerami Grant

SF, Portland Trail Blazers

The Pistons received draft compensation as well as a trade exception in this Grant deal. The exception has since been used in order for them to acquire the expiring contracts of Nerlens Noel and Alec Burks from the Knicks. For more information on the ramifications of those deals, take a look at the moves that were made on June 28.

The fantasy implications on the Pistons side are interesting in this Grant deal. It could allow Isaiah Stewart to slide down and see more minutes at PF, a position that Grant occupied 95% of the time in 2021-22. The Pistons added Jalen Duren in the draft and he has much greater upside than what we saw from Beef Stew last season. The Pistons are developing quite the young core with Duren and Jaden Ivey added to a core that already features Cade Cunningham, Saddiq Bey and Stewart. Cunningham’s versatility allowed them to have true flexibility this offseason and moving forward.

With Grant on his way to the northwest, it’s reasonable to assume that he will no longer be the high-usage guy that he was with the Pistons. That will lead to a decrease in the counting stats, but the efficiency should climb back up to his Thunder/Nuggets days. It can be expected that Grant takes a small step back from the top-65 per game value that he had with the Pistons, but he should still have plenty of opportunity available to him in order to produce top-80 value. I won’t even discuss the silly season players that the Blazers were trotting out there at the end of last season who are set to lose value with this move because no one should have expected any of them to remain with the starters come opening night.

June 16

Christian Wood

C, Dallas Mavericks

The pieces that are headed back to the Rockets are irrelevant for fantasy purposes with Boban Marjanović perhaps the only player of the bunch that is slated to be on the roster come opening night. It is worth noting, however, that this move clears up the opportunity for Alperen Şengün to produce (at minimum) top-100 value for the Rockets and we could even see their newest addition, Jabari Smith, have relevance as early as his rookie season.

Wood’s journey to Dallas will obviously have fantasy implications for 12-team leagues. The big man will get the pleasure of playing alongside one of the best offensive creators in the league in Luka Dončić so while his usage and shot attempts will likely dip with this inter-state move, his efficiency should stay level or even improve slightly. One possible downgrade for the Mavs overall is that they are appearing on the verge of losing Jalen Brunson to the Knicks in free agency, although they would still have Spencer Dinwiddie available as a secondary offensive creator behind Dončić.

The biggest question for the Mavs is what kind of intensity and effort they can get out of Wood on the defensive end after some disappointment on that end of the floor with Houston. Defense can be a matter of buy-in and with the way that the Mavs bought into Jason Kidd’s defensive scheme in 2021-22, I’m going to bet on Wood increasing his level of effort on that end as the Mavs look to take their next step towards the Larry O’Brien trophy. With this move, Wood is slated to sustain or even eclipse the fantasy value we’ve seen over the last two seasons with the Rockets as long as he buys in on the defensive end of the floor.

It isn’t all good news for fantasy managers. Maxi Kleber and Dwight Powell will no longer have the opportunity available to them to even have a chance at streamable value in 12-team leagues.