The game of musical chairs may have come to an end for NBA players on Thursday afternoon, but most of us still have a bit of time left in our fantasy leagues to make deals to set us up for a title run. This week, I’m looking at some off-brand players that aren’t just having a hot stretch, but rather players that may have made a leap in value for the 2020 calendar year. This chunk of time, consisting of five weeks, makes up about a fifth of the season for most players, so I consider it a fairly significant sample size.

A reminder of my goal in Name Brand vs. Off-Brand: To identify who’s going to give us stats at a bargain price. If we can swap a player with a high perceived value for a lesser-thought-of player that nearly replicates his numbers, then we can get a little extra back as well. An upgrade at a second position or a pick in a dynasty league for handing over the player with the bigger name, for example.

There’s a little big of zag when they zig here, to be clear. Today, it’s sort of a buy high/sell low thing, which typically isn’t advisable. However, many people looking to sell high and buy low on players end up overdoing it and we can take advantage of them thinking they absolutely have to get rid of a player that looks awesome for a name brand player in a slump before their trade deadline.

Today, I’m using Basketball Monster’s 8-cat rankings over the period of 1/1 to 2/5. Here are some pairings that stuck out to me:

Here’s one clear example of our name brand player on his way down and our off-brand player trending up. They’ll both probably end up somewhere closer to the midpoint of their 2020 ranks for the remainder of the season, but I think Ricky Rubio‘s perceived value due to his incredible start to the season is still enough to net you Lonzo Ball. The shooting percentages are ugly for both, but I’ll point out that Lonzo only attempts 1.3 free throws per game (this calendar year) to Rubio’s 2.8. Over this stretch, Rubio only holds a slight lead over Ball in two categories.

This one was a shocker. I identified Off-Brand A as a knock-off version of the name brand guy during the preseason (accepted a trade for him plus a pick in a Hoop Ball dynasty league), but I didn’t think he’d catch up this quickly. The first player in this box is C.J. McCollum, who is normally hangs out in the 50 to 65 range these days. I assume he’ll be putting up numbers in that range again soon enough (that free throw percentage will right itself). But Collin Sexton (A) is doing an excellent McCollum impression right now, and should be attainable in a deal for C.J in which you can get something extra. If you can’t get Sexton, you might want to shoot for Dennis Schroder (B), who is looking great in his current situation, too.

These two were drafted about two rounds apart and in almost the opposite slots compared to their 2020 rankings. And I think you’d still be able to send away name brand Donovan Mitchell for his off-brand version in Zach LaVine. Mitchell is sitting right in the neighborhood where’s been for his whole career, so he’s probably not going anywhere. But it looks as thought LaVine is going to finish ahead of him for the second straight season.

This name brand player became a big name in fantasy with a hugely improved stat set during the first few months of the season. Recently, though, he’s found himself back where he’s been for the last few years. As of Thursday, he’s got a new team with quite a void of talent, so he maybe be able to get it going again. Yes, it’s new Warrior Andrew Wiggins. And who is this rough copy putting up similar stats but with a free throw percentage for assists trade-off? That’s newly extended Dillon Brooks. It might be worth holding onto Wiggins for a week to see what happens in Golden State. I think the Brooks-and-more for Wiggins deal should be there for a while if you want it.

Another example of ships passing in the night as the former all-star declines while the youngster ascends. First up, we have Al Horford, who still has value, but the drop in defensive stats hurts. The off-brand player here is Larry Nance Jr., whose production has been increasing quickly. Unfortunately for him, his Cavs acquired Andre Drummond and didn’t ship off either of Kevin Love or Tristan Thompson. So, I’ll advise to watch how Nance’s role shakes out before attempting to make this deal.

This pairing is a little unfair, I’ll admit. The big name star has only played in six games throughout this stretch as he’s been dealing with injuries. But if I could trade Joel Embiid for Jonas Valanciunas and another good piece right now, I’d definitely consider it. This is another example of doing the opposite of what conventional wisdom says. We know it’s usually smartest to target the best player in a trade and to do 2-for-1 deals whenever we can. However, there are obviously limits to when that’s wise. So, let the Valanciunas owner be the guy who thinks he’s making the smart move by acquiring Embiid at a low point. I think Valanciunas and another top-50 player is a great deal for the injury-prone Embiid as we gear up for the fantasy playoffs.