-
February 13, 2022, 10:21 pm
The trade deadline has come and gone, and it did not disappoint. Two sagas ended simultaneously with one deal. Ben Simmons and James Harden were traded for one another. The Beard hit repeat on his tactic to get out of Houston by not putting his best foot forward at times this season and cornering the Nets into trading him before the offseason when he could potentially walk out the front door. Ben Simmons was willing to lose over $19 million by sitting out the entire season while on the Sixers, but he has found a new home in Brooklyn alongside Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.
Daryl Morey, the President of Basketball Operations for the Sixers, stuck to his guns all season long. He would not drop his asking price, waited out the declining relationship between Harden and the Nets and got his guy. Morey gave Harden the keys to the car in Houston back in 2012 and the two left the organization in 2020. Morey has successfully paired Harden with Chris Paul, Dwight Howard and now Joel Embiid. The other guys involved in this exchange were Seth Curry, Andre Drummond and Paul Millsap.
The big Harden-Simmons deal stole the show this week, but other large deals went down as well. The other shocker came on February 8th when the Pacers traded Domantas Sabonis, Justin Holiday and Jeremy Lamb for Tyrese Haliburton, Buddy Hield and Tristan Thompson. C.J. McCollum was finally dealt from Portland, along with Larry Nance Jr. and Tony Snell, in exchange for Josh Hart, Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Tomas Satoransky. Kristaps Porzingis was shipped to the Wizards in exchange for Davis Bertans and Spencer Dinwiddie. Derrick White was dealt for Josh Richardson and Romeo Langford. Dennis Schroder, Enes Freedom and Bruno Fernando were traded for Daniel Theis. Serge Ibaka landed on the Bucks, Donte DiVincenzo, Josh Jackson and Trey Lyles ended up in Sacramento and Marvin Bagley III will now suit up for the Pistons.
Montrezll Harrell is now a center for the Hornets. Thad Young is a Raptor and Goran Dragic is a Spur (for now). The league has shifted quite a bit in the past week. Many guys are playing for new teams and filling new roles. Some guys benefited from these deals and others did not. Haliburton seems to be a clear winner. He’s gone from sharing the ball with De’Aaron Fox to playing with guys like Lance Stephenson and Duane Washington Jr. Fox doesn’t have to share with Haliburton anymore either, ridding the Kings of their backcourt conundrum.
Other winners from these deals are Simmons managers! Big shoutout to those of you patient enough to stash him while maintaining playoff contention. Now, Simmons managers will be treated to an All-NBA defender who can put together Russell Westbrook counting stats without his putrid FG%. Haliburton and Fox managers are winners. Harden managers are winners because they’ll get a motivated player instead of a guy actively trying to get traded. Drummond managers, whether via scooping him after the deal or needlessly holding him during the season, are at least short-term winners. Bagley and Harrell might be guys earning a little value post-deadline. Jalen Smith and Thad Young are potential winners in deeper formats.
There’s value to be had on the waiver wire or in dealing guys post trade deadline. Justise Winslow, dealt on February 4th, has gone from unplayable in shallow leagues to must-roster. In five games over the past two weeks, Winslow is top-90 in 9-cat formats and top-40 over his last three games. Haliburton went from a top-30 guy to putting up monstrous numbers on his new team. His value has clearly jumped since last week. With fantasy’s trade deadline approaching in most leagues, it’s time to assess where we can extract some value and execute before the fantasy playoffs.
Schedule Breakdown
(We’re counting the next two calendar weeks as one fantasy week, as most leagues do.)
Three Games: Cavaliers, Lakers, Magic
Four Games: Hawks, Hornets, Bulls, Mavericks, Warriors, Pacers, Grizzlies, Heat, Bucks, Wolves, Knicks, Thunder, Sixers, Blazers, Kings, Spurs, Raptors, Jazz
Five Games: Celtics, Nets, Nuggets, Pistons, Rockets, Clippers, Pelicans, Suns, Wizards
Back-to-Backs
Monday/Tuesday: Clippers, Bucks, Pelicans
Tuesday/Wednesday: Hawks, Celtics, Pacers, Grizzlies, Wolves, Suns
Wednesday/Thursday: Nets, Rockets, Wizards
Thursday/Friday: Wolves, Thunder, Suns
Friday/Saturday: Heat, Spurs, Raptors, Wizards
Saturday/Sunday: Celtics, Nuggets, Pistons
Schedule Maximizers
Wednesday’s the big night with 11 games on. The following Thursday has the lightest load of the wonky eight-night week with only five games going down. The Suns, Celtics and Wizards are the only teams offering two double-headers and five games in week 18. The Nets, Rockets, Clippers, Pelicans, Bucks and Wizards offer three games before the league enters the All-Star break. Teams offering three games post-break are the Celtics, Suns, Nuggets and Pistons. The Cavaliers play on three low-volume nights, making them the only appealing three-game team this week. Nine of the ten teams playing on the five-game Thursday night play two more after the break. Of those nine teams, only the Nets offer games on each of the seven-game nights after the break. Managers can get creative with their streaming strategy this week.
Best Schedule: Suns (vs. Clippers, vs. Rockets, @ Thunder, vs. Pelicans, vs. Jazz)
The Suns offer their front end doubleheader right in the middle of the first half of the week. They open up the post-break half with a doubleheader on Thursday and Friday. Their schedule concludes on Sunday at home. The Suns could bury these teams, not just beat them, which would introduce some garbage time minutes for potential streamers. The other teams in the running for best schedule in week 18 were the Clippers, Nets and Pelicans who each offer five games including that low-volume Thursday night.
Worst Schedule: Magic (@ Nuggets, vs. Hawks, vs. Rockets)
The only other team in contention was the Lakers who offer a similar schedule to the Magic. The Magic play on the three highest-volume nights of the week whereas the Lakers offer a Sunday night game on an eight-game evening, giving them the slight edge. 27 teams offer four or more games this week, making each of their three-game schedules that much worse. Weekly leagues can probably sit Jalen Suggs. Cole Anthony and Franz Wagner are tough calls. The big men can be started with confidence.
Game of the Week: Sixers @ Bucks, Thursday, February 17th, 8:30 pm ET
The reloaded Sixers visit the defending champs in a potential playoff preview. As things stand at this moment, the Bucks and Sixers would face each other in the first round as the fourth and fifth seeds, respectively. The top-seeded Heat are only 2.5 games ahead of the Sixers, so things can still change drastically. It could be our first glimpse at James Harden in a Sixers uniform and the union between he and Joel Embiid. It’s a battle between the Eastern Conference’s two titans in Giannis Antetokounmpo and Embiid. Both beasts are in heavy consideration for MVP this season and Thursday’s game will tip the scales one way or another.
Quick Adds
Oshae Brissett, PF, Indiana Pacers
The Pacers just dealt their former franchise cornerstone, Domantas Sabonis, in exchange for a point guard. Myles Turner (left foot stress reaction) remains out of the lineup. Isaiah Jackson aggravated his right ankle sprain on Friday. The Pacers’ starting frontcourt/forward group is Brissett, Goga Bitadze and Buddy Hield. Brissett has scope to work heavily for the foreseeable future. In his last three outings, Brissett’s putting up top-60 numbers in 35 minutes a night.
Cam Thomas, SG, Brooklyn Nets
Thomas is an especially good option when the Nets play at home because of Kyrie Irving’s inability to take the floor there. The Nets have three home games this week, two of which come prior to the All-Star break. They offer a doubleheader and three games on the front end of this odd week. Thomas is scoring 22 points a night over the past week and is putting up top-100 numbers in seven contests over the past two. He’s an option for points, 3s and percentages when the shot’s falling.
Coby White, SG, Chicago Bulls
White’s up to No. 100 on the season in 9-cat formats in 28 appearances. With Zach LaVine nursing a sore left knee, White will assume more scoring responsibilities until LaVine’s return. In four games over the past week, White’s putting up 16.5 PTS, 3.8 3s and 4.8 REB in 32.4 MIN on 50% and 100% shooting splits. He’s probably the team’s second-best option on the wing behind DeMar DeRozan at this point in the season.
Justise Winslow, SF/PF, Portland Trail Blazers
As mentioned earlier, Winslow was a big winner this trade deadline. On the season, he has averaged 15 minutes a night and five points a game. Since joining the Blazers, he has played 28 minutes a night and has posted top-90 value in 9-category leagues. Winslow is a source for defensive numbers, a decent FG%, rebounds and assists from the forward spot with a low turnover rate.
Injury Report
John Collins will be out until after the All-Star break with a strained right foot.
Ben Simmons is out indefinitely after being dealt to the Nets but should return at some point past the All-Star break. Kevin Durant is still recovering from a sprained MCL in his left knee.
Gordon Hayward is out indefinitely with a sprained left ankle.
Zach LaVine (left knee soreness) joined Alex Caruso (right wrist fracture) and Lonzo Ball (torn left meniscus) on the team’s injury report and will likely be out past the All-Star break.
Draymond Green (left calf tightness, back) will be re-evaluated post All-Star break.
Myles Turner (left foot stress reaction) remains sidelined until early March. Malcolm Brogdon is day-to-day with right Achilles soreness.
Paul George (right elbow) remains sidelined indefinitely alongside Kawhi Leonard (right ACL). Norman Powell has no timetable for a return from a broken bone in his left foot.
Mitchell Robinson is questionable for Monday with a sore left ankle.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will be sidelined through the All-Star break with a sprained right ankle.
James Harden has no timetable to make his Sixers debut but will suit up for the club as soon as he’s healthy enough. Joel Embiid is playing through a right wrist injury.
Damian Lillard remains out indefinitely with a surgically repaired abdomen.
Rudy Gobert was a game-time decision for the team’s recent Friday night contest before being ruled out. He was a full participant in Sunday’s practice after missing nine consecutive games, so he should be in uniform soon.
Bradley Beal underwent season-ending surgery on his left wrist. Kristaps Porzingis will be out Monday with a right knee bone bruise after being dealt to the Wizards.