Injuries, injuries and more injuries have been a common theme in the NBA this season. We’ve seen teams lose multiple stars already, which has a ripple effect across the fantasy landscape. One way to try to help your fantasy basketball team stay afloat through injuries is to make trades. Let’s discuss some players to buy low, sell high or hold based on their early starts.
Fantasy basketball trade goals
Donovan Mitchell, Cleveland Cavaliers
Mitchell averaged at least 26.6 points, 4.3 rebounds and 4.4 assists in both of his first two seasons with the Cavaliers. He is below all of those marks this season, averaging 23.7 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.7 assists. His scoring isn’t down for a lack of efficiency. He is shooting 46.8% from the field, including a career-high 41.0% from behind the arc.
The reason Mitchell’s numbers are down is because he only averaged 31 minutes per game. He averaged at least 35 minutes in both of the last two seasons. The Cavaliers are blowing out teams en route to a 12-0 start, which means they haven’t had to push Mitchell to play much some nights. His usage rate is still 31.4%, which is identical to his mark from last season. As the Cavaliers play closer games, Mitchell should spend more time on the floor. While he isn’t exactly struggling, this could be the low point for his fantasy value for the season.
Trey Murphy III, New Orleans Pelicans
The Pelicans have been completely decimated by injuries. Things got even worse for them on Tuesday with Jose Alvarado (hamstring) possibly out for around six weeks. He joins Zion Williamson (hamstring), Dejounte Murray (hand), CJ McCollum (thigh), Herbert Jones (shoulder) and Jordan Hawkins (back) on the sidelines.
One of the few bright spots for the Pelicans is that Murphy made his season debut on Monday after sitting out his first 10 games. He only played 26 minutes, posting 12 points, five rebounds, two blocks and two 3-pointers. As he continues to circle his way back into form, he should become one of their focal points of their offense. Try trading for him now before he starts producing flashy scoring and 3-point totals.
Players to trade
Jordan Poole, Washington Wizards
Poole has provided more scoring for fantasy managers this season, averaging 20.0 points and 3.3 3-pointers per game. He shoots 42.6% from the field, which is quite close to his percentage from last season. However, he is shooting 41.7% from behind the arc, which is up from 32.6% last year.
As encouraging as things have been for Poole to start the season, it’s hard to be too excited for him moving forward. He continues to average just 30 minutes per game as the Wizards are often blown out. He also never finished a season shooting higher than 36.4% from behind the arc, so he should be in line for some significant regression in that department. Kyle Kuzma is also back from injury, so the Wizards don’t need to rely on Poole as much for scoring. Now is the time to float trade offers and see if anyone is willing to overpay Poole in a trade for his hot 3-point shooting.
AND Anunoby, New York Knicks
Anunoby doesn’t have crazy stats with his averages of 16.4 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.6 assists. However, his averages of 1.6 steals and 2.2 3-pointers are a valuable combination. He remains a reliable shooter from behind the arc, making 41.5% of his 3-point attempts this season.
The reason to consider selling high on Anunoby is his injury history. He hasn’t played at least 70 games in a season since his rookie campaign. Although he hasn’t missed a game this season, it’s scary that a player with his injury history is averaging 37 minutes per game. With their lack of talent on the bench, don’t expect the Knicks to ease up on Anunoby’s minutes anytime soon. It’s hard to envision him lasting the entire season with this type of heavy workload.
Players to keep
Norman Powell, Los Angeles Clippers
Powell averaged just 26 minutes in both of his first two full seasons with the Clippers. Now that Paul George is gone, the Clippers need more from Powell this season. He responded by averaging 26.0 points and 4.2 3-pointers over 34 minutes per game. While his 50.5% shooting on t3 pointers probably won’t hold up, he shot 39.9% from deep for his career.
Not only did Powell play more, but his usage increased from 20.0% last season to 26.6% this season. The Clippers don’t have a deep roster and there have been no positive updates on the status of Kawhi Leonard (knee). The Clippers need Powell to play a lot and take a lot of shots. No need to sell high on Powell now. He should remain a reliable source for points and 3s going forward.
Jrue Holiday, Boston Celtics
Holiday saw his scoring production take a massive hit during his first season with the Celtics, and that has continued with him averaging just 12.5 points per game this season. However, what was surprising was his general lack of production in other departments this season. After averaging 5.4 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 0.9 steals last season, Holiday has provided 3.8 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 0.3 steals per game this season.
Holiday has never averaged less than 0.9 steals per game for a season in his career, so his production should increase in that department soon. He also has seven straight seasons in which he averaged at least 4.5 rebounds and 4.8 assists. The Celtics were involved in a lot of lopsided scores out of the gate, which resulted in Holiday averaging two fewer minutes per game than last season. His playing time should increase soon, so look for him to improve his scoring stats. Don’t panic and trade him in at a discount.
