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Finally, we have experienced a trade with somewhat bigger names this season! Welcome back, RotoBallers. This week's edition of the dynasty risers and fallers will have a very noticeable theme. When a trade, like the one that happened earlier in the week, takes place, we usually see some sort of shake-up in dynasty leagues along with it.
While the Toronto Raptors and New York Knicks swap players and add some value to names that stagnated, we took the time to dive into the rotations and see who might come out as the winners and losers. If you're new to the risers and fallers series, this series aims to find three players that have gained or lost fantasy value specifically in dynasty formats. That means their long-term outlook has changed along a touch of short-term fluctuation.
An older player hitting a week or two-week-long hot streak doesn't exactly change their value when it comes to dynasty. If a rookie goes on a tear for a month or a player in their prime moves teams to an even better situation, well that could boost their value moving forward for the foreseeable future. So, let's get into which players are gaining or losing value this week!
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Risers For Dynasty Fantasy Basketball Leagues
RJ Barrett (SG/SF, TOR)
Since Jalen Brunson came to New York, RJ Barrett took a backseat and officially became the third option on the team. When he was drafted, most of the expectations were for him to become the team's superstar and go-to guy. After a shaky rookie season, his value has steadily decreased. That is until the news came in about the trade for OG Anunoby!
The Toronto Raptors seem committed to building around Scottie Barnes, and their first move brought in two younger players who still have plenty of time to develop. Barrett is one of those two, and while he hasn't exactly lived up to expectations, the fact he's going to a Raptors team that will likely ship out Pascal Siakam means he should be getting plenty of opportunities to grow. Especially while he comes in to take over the number-two spot unless they get a big name out of a Siakam deal.
In terms of per-game value for nine-category leagues, Barrett currently sits outside the top 200 and his best season was in 2020-21 when he ranked 173. In that season, Barrett was the "co-star" alongside Julius Randle, which is similar to his new situation beside Barnes.
Immanuel Quickley (PG/SG, TOR)
Finally, Immanuel Quickley is on a team that can unlock his highest potential. He gets away from a Tom Thibodeau-coached team and gets out from under Jalen Brunson's shadow. They were never going to make a starting backcourt duo since they're both undersized. In his first game with the Raptors, Quickley already got the starting nod.
Last season, Quickley was knocking on the door of the top 100 in per-game value for nine-category leagues. He finished at 107 while registering a rank of 52 in total stats. 14.9 points, 2.1 threes, 4.2 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 1.0 steals, and 1.2 turnovers per game were his averages when he was seeing more minutes. This year, he took a minor step up in points, threes, and field goal percentage, but received 4.5 fewer minutes per contest on the Knicks.
Despite the small sample size so far, Quickley has averaged 20.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 1.0 steals, and 3.5 threes per game. Yes, he's only played in two games, but that's a great way to introduce himself to the Toronto faithful.
Donte DiVincenzo (PG/SG/SF, NYK)
The Big Ragu came into the league with high expectations as the 17th overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft. He never turned into a superstar, but he became an important role player for the Milwaukee Bucks. Unfortunately, he got injured during their championship run, and has bounced around from Milwaukee to Sacramento to Golden State and finally to New York.
When the Knicks acquired Donte DiVincenzo, it was seen as an overall solid move. Over the first 20 games, he started in two of them. Since then, he's started in all 14 games and has seen some big jumps in production. After the Knicks shipped out both RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley, it seemed to solidify the starting spot for DiVincenzo alongside the newly acquired OG Anunoby. That's directly translated into five more minutes per night.
Over the last two weeks, DiVincenzo has cracked the top 70 in per-game fantasy value and even reached the top 35 over the last week. Since he moved into the starting lineup on December 8, he's averaged 12.9 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.4 steals, 1.0 turnovers, and 2.9 threes per game. By the way, he's only 26 years old.
Fallers For Dynasty Fantasy Basketball Leagues
Malachi Flynn (PG, NYK)
We can make this one pretty short, sweet, and to the point. Fantasy managers holding on to Malachi Flynn either are holding on to a prediction they made about him or they're in such a deep league that it's smart to hold everyone possible. Well, in both of those scenarios, it's okay to let go and be free.
Flynn is approaching 26 years old, hasn't seen more than 19 minutes per contest, and has never placed higher than 281 in per-game fantasy value and 277 in total value. New York is not the place to find more minutes than he was receiving in Toronto. At this rate, his value is low enough for the waiver wire.
Dennis Schroder (PG, TOR)
After an amazing run at the FIBA World Cup with Germany, Dennis Schroder took on a starting role with the Toronto Raptors. His value after that FIBA run and before the season started probably hit its peak since his days in an Atlanta Hawks or Oklahoma City Thunder uniform. Then, the season started and we were all reminded that it's the same Schroder that we've seen for years.
He remains outside of the top 100 in average fantasy value and the last time he saw the top 100 was in 2017-18 when he was still with the Hawks. Even while he played 32.0 minutes per game, Schroder wasn't able to produce more value compared to the league average than Jakob Poeltl, Alex Caruso, Al Horford, or Aaron Nesmith. All of which average fewer minutes on the court.
Let's add Immanuel Quickley into the equation, who received the start at point guard in his first two games and we have a diminishing return on Schroder. In the short term, someone may want to throw him in a lineup or two and use him as a streaming option. For the long term, however, his value has dropped like a rock, especially now that he's approaching the other side of 30 years old.
Talen Horton-Tucker (SG/SF/PF, UTA)
One of the most difficult situations to predict when it came to any fantasy format was the backcourt situation in Utah. They have guards ranging from actual NBA and fantasy contributors to ones who were trying to restart their careers. Talen Horton-Tucker was still trying to get his career off the ground after he was once hyped up by LeBron James and company. After arriving in Utah, he hasn't produced much to prove that he belongs on fantasy rosters.
Horton-Tucker has lived in the 200s in terms of per-game fantasy value in his first four seasons. He finally reached up to 187 this year, but over the last seven games, he's been healthy and hasn't stepped foot on the court in six of them. In the only game he did play in that span, he spent six minutes on the floor.
Even with a team that isn't competing for a championship any time soon, Horton-Tucker is getting phased out. His low field goal percentages, lower-end three-point shooting ability, and lack of opportunities do not equate to winning fantasy matchups. It doesn't even equate to getting a second- or third-round pick for a rookie draft in return.
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