Well, here we are. The trade deadline is barrelling down the tracks and the All-Star break is soon after, and fantasy playoffs begin shortly after that little reprieve. Fantasy GMs have a lot to deal with in the next month and this is really the last opportunity that you’ll have to snap up potential game-changing contributors outside of injury situations that are impossible to predict. We’d generally save a couple moves (at least) for the aftermath of Thursday’s wheeling and dealing, but there may be some names in your leagues that need to be rostered before then.

And speaking of those injury situations that are impossible to predict, two big ones hit this last week, leading to our top two adds for this edition.

Top Adds

Paul Reed, C, Philadelphia 76ers

Joel Embiid suffered a meniscus tear and after some hemming and hawing about what the injury was, it looks like the MVP frontrunner — former MVP frontrunner — is headed for surgery that could sideline him for the rest of the season. Enter Paul Reed. A hot name during draft season whose per-minute production has always impressed, Reed was unable to carve out much of a role in the early going despite Nick Nurse endorsing him throughout the summer. Now it’s Reed’s time to shine and although he was outside the top-200 last week, the Sixers have no real choice but to crank up his minutes. Even if Reed doesn’t post slate-breaking lines, he’s going to deliver must-start numbers in around 25 minutes a night. He’s the top add with legitimate season-long potential.

Ayo Dosunmu, G, Chicago Bulls

Zach LaVine’s trade market never materialized and perhaps it was a result of other teams (rightfully) worrying about his foot injury. This week the Bulls announced season-ending surgery for LaVine, which goes a long way towards clearing the team’s backcourt logjam. Dosunmu should be starting from here on out and will be the sixth man at worst. LaVine has missed enough time lately that we already have a good sense of what Dosunmu is all about, now he just has the security to make him a surefire add. Top-50 last week with plenty of minutes heading his way going forward.

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