RADIO
The NBA trade deadline is looming, but that's not necessarily the case for fantasy leagues. Most of us still have the opportunity to improve our teams through some clever wheeling and dealing. And what better to do than to try and turn your in-form player into a more valuable guy who isn't at his best right now?
Damian Lillard is going bonkers right now, a perfect time to trade him away if you're not convinced he will be able to keep it going. On the other end of the spectrum, Tobias Harris is in a slump since Joel Embiid returned from his injury. He is bound to snap out of it sooner rather than later, right?
These two guys are our Sell High and Buy Low candidates for Week 16 of the NBA season, right here at RotoBaller.
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Buy Low, Sell High Advice for Week 16
Are You for Real, Damian Lillard?
Now for a while there I got some serious Space Jam flashbacks. From Jan 21 until Jan 30 Lillard was averaging 44.3 points and 7.3 threes in his three played games while James Harden averaged only 19.0 points and 1.3 threes in three outings and missed another two games in the same period. It looked like Dame had stolen the talent from The Beard. Then, on Jan 31 they both put up 30+ point games (Harden 35, Lillard a whooping 48) so I knew Harden's talent was safe, it was just Dame who's gone berserk!
He kept it going actually and by Feb 1 he had strung together eight straight games with at least 34 points and averaged an amazing 45.1 PTS with 7.1 3PM on 53.2 FG% and 88.1 FT%, 5.5 REB, 9.6 AST, 1.3 STL and 3.4 TO with no blocks. This, of course, has him pinned at the top of Yahoo rankings.
His most recent game against Denver reminded us that Dame is only human. He hit 21 points with just one three-pointer on 34.8% from the field, along with two boards, nine dimes, a steal with no turnovers. A decent line, true, but not worthy of the #1 spot, and definitely sub-par when compared to his performances of late.
Now Dame is a great player, but this insane run (which was further boosted by the absence of CJ McCollum in three and a half games) has come to an end and realistically he won't be THIS good the rest of the way. Actually, NO PLAYER will be THAT good the rest of the way.
Now, if Dame fits your team build well, by all means, keep him. But if you would rather have a go at trading him for one of the top-5 like Karl-Anthony Towns or James Harden, I think that would be safer and better value going forward.
Baller Move: Sell high
Time to Panic on Tobias Harris?
Harris is already a pretty undervalued player, and now with him not being able to score more than 10 points in two straight games, and having just one steal and no blocks in his previous four outings, his owner let him go for an offer of a player outside of the top-50. This would be a field day in my book.
Tobias is averaging 19.0 PTS with 1.7 3PM on 47.2 FG% and 80.5 FT%, 6.7 REB, 2.9 AST, 0.7 STL, 0.6 BLK, and 1.6 TO in 34 minutes a game so far this season. That is great efficiency and contribution across the board. Even the stocks, which are widely considered to be his biggest weakness come in at a combined 1.3 which is not that bad.
He is currently ranked at #60 by Yahoo, which I find really low, so his owners might be taken by this and have a lower opinion and lower expectations in return value for Tobias. Floating an offer of anyone from top-50 to top-75 wouldn't be a mistake as I believe Tobias will outperform the likes of Brook Lopez, Malcolm Brogdon and Danilo Gallinari until the end of the season. If you can get him for cheap, I would definitely recommend doing so.
Baller Move: Hold or buy low
