2023-24 Fantasy Basketball Week 16 Risers and Fallers

February 7, 2024

Aidin Ebrahimi looks at three risers and three fallers from Week 16 of the 2023-24 NBA season as we're rapidly approaching the trade deadline.

Welcome back, RotoBallers, to the 16th edition of my weekly fantasy basketball risers and fallers for the 2023-2024 season!

We're quickly approaching the trade deadline, and while everything is quiet right now, this is the classic case of the calm before the storm. We're bound to see some moves that can change the whole landscape of the NBA. If things haven't gone your way yet in your fantasy leagues, don't lose hope! I'm here to help you assess the value of some players who are seeing major production swings during the year.

With that being said, let's look at the risers and fallers from Week 16 of the NBA season.

Fantasy Basketball Risers: Week 16

Onyeka Okongwu - C, Atlanta Hawks

Onyeka Okongwu has been poised to take over from Clint Capela for a few years now, but he's never had the chance to break out and prove his worth to the Hawks. This year looked like it'd be much of the same for Okongwu, but he suddenly began playing better in late January when some Clint Capela trade rumors began popping up. The Rockets are seriously considering bringing back their former first-round pick, and Okongwu probably saw this as his last and best chance to prove himself.

Onyeka Okongwu in a win over Warriors

22 points
16 rebounds
2 blocks pic.twitter.com/U3rhpfVAbG

— joe schmidt (@Joe_Schmidt07) February 4, 2024

Okongwu averaged 12 points on 16-19 shooting in the three games leading up to Capela suffering a minor injury against the Warriors. In what could be Capela's last game as an Atlanta Hawk, Okongwu took his place and scored 22 points while grabbing 16 rebounds. He then started against the Clippers, putting up 18 points on 8-10 shooting. Even if Capela doesn't get traded, you'd have to think that Okongwu is slated to get even more opportunities considering how well he's doing right now.

Josh Green - G, Dallas Mavericks

Josh Green's transition into a full-time starter has been a success for the most part. Before he became a starter, he averaged 6.6 points on below-average shooting splits this season. After that, he put up 10.2 points a night while shooting 51.6% from the field and 41.9% from three in his first 12 games in the starting lineup.

Now that Green is adjusting to being in the starting five, he has been on a tear as of late, as he averaged 17.5 points a game with a true shooting percentage of 73.5% this week. His TS% is the fifth-highest among all NBA players who took 40+ shots in that period. His great play hasn't gone unnoticed by other teams in the association, as it looks like the Hornets are interested in trading for him, which could raise his fantasy stock even more.

Deni Avdija - F, Washington Wizards

The Wizards are expected to make some moves at the trade deadline, and it seems like they want to blow everything up after their failed rebuild. Deni Avdija is also among those players who are rumored to get traded, with the Clippers being his main suitors. His fantasy stock would fall off a cliff if that were to happen, but conversely, it would skyrocket if the Wizards kept Avdija and traded players like Kyle Kuzma.

Deni Avdija last 15 games

15.3 PPG
65.7 TS%
51.4 3P%—2.5 3PA/g
6.6 RPG
3.7 APG
1.3 STL + BLK

His tape shows real growth with his aggression. Attacking the rim, real playmaking chops, accurate (still unwilling) shooting, & SOLID wing defense at 6’9. Still only 23—impressive… pic.twitter.com/YtwEAnstG5

— NBA University (@NBA_University) February 6, 2024

Avdija is playing the best basketball of his career, averaging 15.3 points and 6.6 rebounds a night while shooting 55.8% from the floor and 51.4% from deep over his last 15 games. His improvement has drawn praise from Suns duo Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal, with Beal saying: "The sky is the limit for him, he will just continue to get better."

Fantasy Basketball Fallers: Week 16

Jaime Jaquez Jr. - F, Miami Heat

The Terry Rozier trade hasn't been too kind to Rozier, the Hornets, the Heat, and Jaime Jaquez Jr., who was having a great rookie season before that trade. Jaquez Jr. was averaging 16.6 points on 51.9% shooting in his last 26 games before he suffered an injury that kept him out of action for six games.

During that time, the Heat traded for Rozier, which caused Jaquez Jr. to transition into a bench role once he returned. Since his return, the UCLA product has averaged just 7.2 points per game while shooting 31.9% from the field and 18.8% from three. Hopefully, Erik Spoelstra can find a way for Jaquez Jr. to find his groove again because he is the perfect Heat player.

Georges Niang - F, Cleveland Cavaliers

All good things must come to an end. Georges Niang was on a roll while the Cavs had an injury crisis, averaging 12.2 points on elite shooting splits in an 18-game span. However, Evan Mobley and Darius Garland have returned, and Niang is back to his old role with little to no expectations.

Obviously, you need time to adjust when you go from playing somewhere around 27 minutes to just 17 minutes a night, and Niang will need some time before he can go back to his Philly form of averaging eight or nine points a night on good shooting once again. Over the last week, Niang averaged just 3.3 points per contest while having the lowest true shooting percentage among all NBA players who took 20+ shots in that timespan (26.1%).

Bruce Brown - G/F, Toronto Raptors

This was supposed to be the year that Bruce Brown proved to everyone in the NBA that he was a star in the making, and although we saw some flashes of that during his time in Indiana, he ultimately didn't change much from his Denver days. A very valuable role player, but not a star. So when the Pacers had the opportunity to trade for a star like Pascal Siakam, they went ahead and took it and traded Brown to the Raptors.

The Milwaukee Bucks are showing interest in Bruce Brown, per @BrettSiegelNBA

“Brown is said to be a player the Bucks think highly of, given his ability to impact the game in various ways on both sides of the court. The Bucks are motivated to find an immediate upgrade in favor… pic.twitter.com/pUNzB2eOwm

— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) February 6, 2024

He has gotten off to a pretty poor start in Canada, especially in February. Since the start of the month, Brown is averaging just 5.3 points a night while shooting 30% from the floor and 33.3% from deep. And now, teams like the Bucks and the Knicks are monitoring his situation and want to make a move for him.

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