RADIO
It's a new year but some shooting guards are still stuck in their old ways. Since we last discussed struggling shooting guards, the four players on the first list have continued to do much of the same. Danny Green has put up very little production. Even though he got hot on Saturday night against a bad defensive effort from the Houston Rockets, he has only been half the fantasy asset that he was last year. Kobe Bryant was reminiscent of the old Kobe for a little while, and we got to see some respectable stat lines from the legend. However, the FG% has regressed once again and he's back to being a difficult player to start in your lineup. Victor Oladipo was a candidate to be traded away and Monta Ellis has continued to perform below his career averages. Let's revisit these two guys and add another player to the list.
NBA Under-Performing Stars: Shooting Guard Edition
Victor Oladipo (SG, ORL)
Hopefully, you managed to trade away Victor Oladipo one month ago, because his value has really bottomed out. Over the last month, Oladipo has averaged 10.9 points, with 4.0 assists and 3.6 rebounds. He has shot 38.6% from the field and 28.6% from three. The number of single digit performances in which he seems to just disappear from the game has been extremely frustrating. Essentially, the production of all the players on the Magic are going to be inconsistent with the exception of Nikola Vucevic and maybe Tobias Harris. For now, the outlook for Oladipo is bleak, as teammate Evan Fournier has stepped it up over last few weeks. The time to discuss a trade for Will Barton has passed, and Oladipo has unfortunately fallen into the drop-or-not debate. What should you do with him?
Hold him.
His trade value has evaporated, but try to hold out for a while longer to see he can string some solid performances together. At that point, he is still not a reliable option you would want for the rest of the season. However, you could at least try to dangle him in front of a rankings slave and talk up his high draft position at the start of the season. It may feel like decades ago, but Oladipo held a lot of interest from newbies and experienced fantasy players alike. In the long run, Oladipo's production should look to climb up a bit, and he should be able to at least get to double digits scoring every night. However, he is definitely not the stat sheet monster he was last year. This is due to the overload of players competing for minutes, as well as the offensive system under the notorious Scott Skiles.
Kyle Korver (SG, ATL)
Kyle Korver is having a horrible shooting stretch for a 3-point specialist. Even before this rough stretch of games, Korver has failed to produce the decent numbers he had put up the past two seasons. Over the last month, Korver has averaged 7.6 points with 3.3 rebounds and 2.6 assists. He has shot only 32.0% from the field, and more importantly, only 27.6% from three. Korver's fantasy value is almost completely tied into his three pointers. If you can't count on at least two of those from him a game, then he becomes an extremely difficult option to keep on your roster. His last three games have been absolutely dreadful, in which he has gone 2 for 27. Korver was a commodity because of the threes he provided at a good FG% trade-off for a three point specialist. Given his terrible recent performance, is it time to move on?
Drop him.
Having a three point specialist on your fantasy roster is definitely a good way to utilize your shooting guard slot and to keep up your percentages despite the shot volume. However, if Korver isn't hitting threes, then he has absolutely no fantasy value. The last month has honestly been atrocious, but his season overall has been sub par as well. Pair that up with the production he has put up over the past few years, and we can chalk his struggles up to an extended cold streak. However, the issue is that not a lot of fantasy teams should be that desperate for three pointers and be that well rounded at all the other categories. There are plenty of good shooters on the waiver wire who can provide threes along with some other categories. Have a look at Devin Booker and T.J. Warren, who have earned themselves starting spots on the Suns.
Monta Ellis (SG, IND)
By all means, Monta Ellis hasn't been bad this season. But he hasn't looked good. Ellis has had a bunch of up and down performances since the last time we discussed him, but the scoring average still has remained about the same. Over the last month, Ellis has averaged 13.7 points with 2.0 rebounds and 3.9 assists. Ellis isn't struggling the way Oladipo and Korver are struggling, but he is averaging 5 points less than last year. This is certainly disappointing as his play correlates inversely with the performance of Paul George. Paul George cooled off several games throughout December, and that's when Monta stepped up and provided the scoring we're accustomed to seeing. However, when George is playing well, Monta becomes passive and relegates himself to a secondary or tertiary option even when he is given the main ball-handling duties. Should you still look to hold on to him or trade him to an owner under the pretense of letting them buy low?
Hold him.
Stick to your guns here. Even though Monta can't be counted on to provide the scoring he provided in the past, he is still a big piece of the Pacers offense and his opportunities will come. Aside from scoring, Monta's value also comes from the steals and occasional blocks that he can provide. His defense has certainly been there, so look to hold onto Monta as a strong contributor from the shooting guard slot for these categories. The rationale for trying to get another shooting guard over him would have to be if you're desperate for more scoring. Even then, Monta still has the capability of put up good scoring nights like he showed at the end of December. You just have to count on Paul George coming back down to earth over the rest of the season.
