The blockbuster trade that saw Blake Griffin team up with Andre Drummond is going to reshape a fair amount of fantasy value in Detroit. And their star player up to a day ago is going to play second fiddle to the All-Star newcomer. Is this going to cause Drummond to take a dip in the fantasy rankings?

We are getting injury reports every day now, and it really sucks. But that's life and, unfortunately, it is becoming more and more a part of the NBA. John Wall is down again! This is big news and affects a lot of players. But what effect will it have on Washington's second best player Bradley Beal?

Will Andre be able to coexist and keep his current hot streak with Blake in town? Will Beal step up with his point guard on the sidelines, or will he struggle without the star playmaker there to create opportunities and open shots? Here's our take on the matter...

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Buy Low, Sell High Advice for Week 16

Are You for Real, Andre Drummond?

First of all, let's take a look at Drummonds season so far. His 14.7 points on 54.4% from the field and a drastic improvement from the line where he is at 62.5% on the year so far (up from 38.6% last season), 15.1 boards, 3.8 dimes, 1.5 steals, 1.4 blocks and 2.8 turnovers in 33 minutes per game have him ranked at #11 in my Head-to-head 10-cat (double-doubles is the 10th cat). Of course, the DD as a category boosts his value, but even in standard 9-cat leagues, he is in or near the top-20.

He's become so much more involved in his team's offense this season and he's got the assists to prove it. His previous season high was 1.1. He is smashing that average this season by creating for his teammates 3.8 times a game. Guys around Drummond were all good shooters whose game isn't based on the ball being in their hands so they spaced the floor well and allowed him to adopt a new skill and become sort of a point-forward.

But the Pistons have just traded for the definition of point-forward in Blake Griffin, and without Avery Bradley and Tobias Harris to draw defenders to the perimeter, it's going to be difficult for Andre to keep up the same level of production he's had for the past few months. Furthermore, Blake is a great rebounder compared to Harris, so some of the rebounds that are usually collected by Drumm could go Blake's way.

Drummond should still hold on to top-35 value, but I doubt he can keep his contribution at such a level where he is in the top-20 after Griffin's arrival. If you have a mate in your league who thinks differently, and who is sure that Drummond's bump in FG% with the defensive attention on Blake and a dip in TO since he will no longer be passing as much will be enough to keep him as valuable as he is now, I would suggest you try to swap Andre for a guy who is at the top-25 and is more likely to stay there.

Depending on your league scoring, of course, a guy like Kristaps Porzingis, Draymond Green or Paul George all have a better or at least a safer outlook for the rest of the season than Drummond with the big changes happening in Motor Town. And to make matters worse, it doesn't seem that Detroit is done yet.

Baller Move: Sell high

 

Time to Panic on Bradley Beal?

Now Bradley Beal isn't really playing poorly at the moment so that doesn't make him a buy-low target. Far from it, his outing from the game before last really turned heads. He hit 15-of-26 of his field goal attempts, 6-of-11 from downtown, and 5-of-7 of his free-throws for 41 points, season-high 12 rebounds, seven assists, two steals and five turnovers in 46 minutes against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Jan 25. And that was with John Wall playing.

What can we expect now when Wall has been sidelined for the next six weeks?

Well the injury-troubled PG has been out for a portion of the season already, back in late November, early December. In that time, Bradley saw his usage rate jump from 28.4% to 33.3%. So the opportunity is there for Beal to provide even more fantasy goods than his already nice, top-30 numbers of 23.9 PTS with 2.5 3PM on 46.2 FG% and 78.5 FT%, 4.4 REB, 3.8 AST, 1.1 STL, 0.4 BLK and 2.3 TO.

If you can convince his owner that Beal will stand pat and get him for another guy at the top-30, I would consider that a good deal. Khris Middleton, Otto Porter Jr. or Lou Williams are all guys who shouldn't have as strong a finish to the fantasy season as Beal is expected to have as the Wizards leader and primary offensive weapon.

Baller Move: Hold or buy low

 

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