RADIO
Two weeks ago you had the opportunity to read some advice in this column that turned out to be pretty decent. That was to buy Larry Nance Jr. while he was in the doghouse in Cleveland. For those of you who managed to obtain Larry's services on the cheap, congratulations are in order! He has been playing like a fantasy star, and he deserved to star in my article today as well because of it. So, we will be taking a look at what is it exactly that's changed in the last week or two, and ponder over what to do with Larry now.
Every coin has two sides, so we will be looking at a player that just can't catch a break this season - Draymond Green. Plenty of drama, plenty of bad luck involved in his poor season so far, and we will be taking a longer look at all that and try and predict what will happen with the rest of his season fantasy-wise.
So, if you believe you could benefit from hearing another opinion on these to fantasy studs, you're in the right place. Here are our Sell High and Buy Low candidates for Week 10 of the NBA season, right here at RotoBaller.
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Buy Low, Sell High Advice for Week 10
Are You for Real, Larry Nance Jr.?
I've been crying out "Unleash BOBAN!!!" for several seasons now, and nobody listened so far. Boban Marjanovic remains caged up in LA with no sign of getting 20+ minutes needed for him to become a must-have player.
I've cried out "Unleash Larry!!!" two weeks ago, and, fortunately, Cleveland's head coach Larry Drew finally heard me (yeah right)! Larry Nance Jr. is getting nearly 30 minutes per outing in eight games over that period and is really rewarding both his coach and his patient fantasy owners with averages of 11.3 PTS with 0.8 3PM on 58.1 FG% and 75.0 FT%, 8.6 REB, 4.5 AST, 1.8 STL, 0.9 BLK, and 1.4 TO. That is good enough for top-20 value in the past 14 days.
Furthermore, Nance was a starter in his last game and put up a monster line with 15 points (7-of-14 from the field), one three-pointer, 16 boards, six dimes, three steals, one block and two turnovers in over 33 minutes. He also hit the game-winner. If this is any indication of what we can expect from Nance Jr. going forward, this guy can seriously contribute to a fantasy team's bid for the title.
Larry was a top-100 asset last year playing just 21 minutes per game. Just imagine what he could do if he sticks close to 30. Now Larry is pretty hot, but he still hasn't strung together a longer run of superb games so his trade value can vary from league to league and from owner to owner.
I believe he will keep beasting, especially while Tristan Thompson and Kevin Love are out with their injuries, so I would definitely look to hold onto him while he is on fire. Of course, I'm not advising you not to shop him around in case you find an owner desperate for his stats, or who is willing to overpay for any reason.
If you get an offer to trade him for a guy like C.J. McCollum, Klay Thompson or DeMar DeRozan, well I can't tell you Larry will keep outperforming them. I would be too tempted to pass any of those guys up in a regular 9-cat league, especially if we take into consideration the uncertainty that surrounds Nance in Cleveland, and the looming return of Love and Tristan. Although, even with them back, I trust Nance to secure a 25 minute per game role and give back top-75 value, nevertheless.
Baller Move: Hold or sell really high
Time to Panic on Draymond Green?
What a time to be Draymond Green... Not only is he having his worst season in the past five years, but he's also had a falling out with one of the best players in the NBA and his teammate Kevin Durant, which resulted in Dray being fined for initiating the altercation. This all happened about a month ago, and it led the reigning champions into a slump with their star PG Stephen Curry battling an injury at that moment.
Since then, Curry's recovered and the Warriors are back to their winning ways, currently sitting half a game behind the #1 seed in the West. The Warriors are back, but Draymond is not. He has scored double-digits in just three games since the beginning of the season. Furthermore, he has missed almost a month of action with an injury of his own and has just returned a week ago.
We'll let stats tell the story. Dray is averaging just 6.4 PTS with 0.4 3PM on 41.0 FG% and 72.7 FT%, 7.9 REB, 7.2 AST, 1.7 STL, 0.8 BLK, and 3.3 TO in 30 minutes a game. Now the boards and the dimes are nice, and are on his level, as are the steals. But all other stats are way below his standards.
Now, whether this is just a slump, the atmosphere in the locker room has had a negative impact on him or he is just feeling confident shooting the ball, I would advise you to stay away from Draymond. At least until we find out which one it is, or until we see a positive sign of him turning his season around.
I wouldn't offer a top-50 player for Draymond, at least not at the moment. If you have a guy at around top-60, top-75 who doesn't really fit your team and Green does, and his owner is fed up with his inconsistency and lack of offensive contributions, float him an offer. If you can get away with a trade for the likes of Tim Hardaway Jr., Lonzo Ball or Kris Dunn - well that would be well worth the risk, even if the Warriors decide to give out their standard rest days to their starters come fantasy playoffs.
Baller Move: Stay away, cut your losses or buy extremely low
