Trying to trade away your guy when he is surpassing everyone's expectations for a guy who actually has more value but just isn't in the groove just makes sense. It's a good business model and can help your team become stronger in the long run.
Furthermore, if a guy you're looking to acquire on a discount has a favorable fantasy playoff schedule, that is another reason for you to find a deal for him. Buddy Hield is a prime target for this, especially in leagues who have their playoffs in Weeks 22-24 (from March 16 until April 5).
On the other hand, we have a surging player who is making the best of the hospital-like situation in Toronto. Kyle Lowry is beasting right now, and it's difficult to imagine him keeping it up at this level, so he is definitely someone to consider moving while he is such a hot commodity.
Editor's Note: Our incredible team of writers received five total writing awards and 13 award nominations by the Fantasy Sports Writers Association, tops in the industry! Congrats to all the award winners and nominees including NBA Writer of the Year, Best NFL Series, MLB Series, PGA Writer and Player Notes writer of the year. Be sure to follow their analysis, rankings and advice all year long, and win big with RotoBaller! Read More!These two guys will be our focus in our Sell High and Buy Low candidates for Week 10 of the NBA season, right here at RotoBaller.
Buy Low, Sell High Advice for Week 10
Are You for Real, Kyle Lowry?
Lowry has been pretty good whole season long and is sticking around top-30 value on the season. He was already getting a ton of minutes and offensive touches, but injuries to Pascal Siakam and Norman Powell that was only going to increase. And boy did it!
The two of them missed the previous three games and Lowry eclipsed the 40-minute mark in all of them. And not only that, but he's been a real beast in the past week with averages of 27.0 PTS with 4.0 3PM on 45.3 FG% and 82.8 FT%, 7.0 REB, 9.5 AST, 1.0 STL, 0.3 BLK and 3.5 TO in 41 minutes per game over a four-game stretch. This has him ranked at #18 on Yahoo.
Now even though Lowry is a great player, and has been for years, it's not realistic for us to expect a 33-year-old point guard to average 40 minutes a game and put up this sort of numbers. Moreover, he already missed 11 games due to injury this season, and has had difficulties staying healthy in the past as well. In the past five seasons, he has played more than 70 games only twice. He averaged exactly 12 missed games a season in this span, so it isn't too bad, but still not what you would want from your top-30 player. Plus, he already missed 11, so he is pretty close to his average and we're just 30 games in out of 82.
I expect Lowry to be a top-30 guy even when the Raptors are at full health. I expect him to be top-20 whenever Siakam or Fred Van Vleet miss time. And he can have flashes of brilliance which will make him seem like a first-round pick (like his previous two games where he hit 30 points on both occasions).
But with him being 33, kind of injury-prone, and playing over 40 minutes on most nights, I would rather play it safe and swap him for another top-25 guy who I feel more comfortable with. If I was offered Nikola Vucevic, Donovan Mitchell or John Collins I would have to think long and hard and would hava a difficult time saying no. That being said, as I'm writing this Lowry just hit back-to-back threes against the Celtics on the opening game on Christmas for the Raptors to take a 10-0 lead.
Baller Move: Sell high
Time to Panic on Buddy Hield?
Boy, has Buddy been poor lately! In the last 7 days his averages of 8.2 PTS with 1.3 3PM on 20.0 FG% and 60.0 FT%, 5.7 REB, 3.7 AST, 0.7 STL, 0.0 BLK and 2.0 TO in 31 minutes a game in three games played have him ranked at #349. This from a guy picked on average at the 38th pick is quite bad we must agree. He is not great if we look at the entire season either, just barely making the top-75.
But we all know how good Buddy can be. His 3-point shot is up there with the best of them, and his overall contribution should warrant a third of fourth-round pick when he is playing like himself. a few months ago he signed a four-year contract extension that could pay him up to $106 million. This means that he is committed to Sacramento and they are committed to him and we can expect Buddy to have the longest of leashes until his shot starts falling again. And that should happen sooner rather than latter.
This is the first reason why Hield is a good buy-low target.
Another reason is the Kings' fantasy playoff schedule in the three weeks from March 16 until April 5. Not only do they play 11 games during this period, but they also play on all eight days with six or fewer games. This will especially help in daily-lineup leagues that have a limited number of starting spots as it will maximize the number of games your team plays in these weeks and provide you with an extra edge over your opponent.
I wouldn't mind parting with a top-50 asset for the opportunity to own Buddy during this festive playoffs period, so players like DeMar DeRozan, Khris Middleton or D'Angelo Russell would all be viable options to swap for Buddy if his owner is willing.
Baller Move: Hold or buy low