A raucous, high-scoring All-Star game followed the best All Star Saturday ever, with stars shining across the board in the Skills Challenge, Three Point Contest, and Dunk Contest. Aaron Gordon’s performance on Saturday night alone makes me want to place a waiver claim in all leagues.

In the spirit of creativity and togetherness, let’s let loose a little bit and not focus on any particular positions. There’s not a lot time to waste, as we must talk about your best players as you make your championship push.

The idea of this column is simple. These players all have value, but you have to assess whether or not they will give you the best chance to win down the stretch. Buying low and selling high is extremely important at this point in the season. Now is the time to make some aggressive moves.

Position Eligibility Based on Yahoo! Fantasy Basketball Player List

 

Trade, Hold, Or Drop for Fantasy Basketball

Serge Ibaka (PF/C, OKC)

Serge Ibaka doesn’t seem like himself these days. Sure, 2.2 blocks a game is nothing to scoff at, but anyone who drafted him was probably expecting better overall production. Over the past month, I-block-a has only averaged 1.8 blocks per game. On top of that, he is only scoring 12.7 points per game with 6.7 rebounds. In his last seven games, Ibaka has five single-digit efforts.

This is definitely a noticeable drop off from his numbers last season, when he averaged 14.3 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 2.4 blocks. Ibaka isn’t really an inside player either, so his efficiency was never really good enough to compensate for a lack of production in his volume stats. Is it time to trade Ibaka under the guise of letting someone else buy low?

Ibaka is always going to be deemed a safe early pick every fantasy draft, but his value just won’t increase much this season. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook are as great as they have ever been, and take up the majority of the offense. Ibaka’s reliance on a mid-range game makes him an unattractive option heading down the line, as these single digit efforts are likely to continue.

His last game before the All Star break was very good, as he scored 18 points, 3 blocks, and 7 rebounds against a weak defensive team in the New Orleans Pelicans. Use his ADP and this big game to try to get yourself another big man. Check to see if the Greg Monroe owner in your league is a rankings slave.

Verdict: Trade him.

 

Goran Dragic (PG/SG, MIA)

Dragic has probably been the toughest high-end pick to own all season, and he certainly hasn’t made writing about him any easier. Dragic returned from injury at the end of January, but has still failed to display any sense of consistency in his play. Dragic has averaged 11.6 points with 6.4 assists and 3.6 rebounds.

His doesn’t really chip in too much in terms of threes and steals, making him effectively, late-round flier material. I’ll take the blame here, as I’ve been praising his potential all season, and how Wade just has to be out a quarter of the season due to injury. With little time left for Dragic to turn things around and provide adequate return on your investment, what should you do with him?

It’s time to give up and admit that his great numbers during his Phoenix days were just a flash in the pan with a high-paced offense. Dragic just hasn’t found his shooting touch this season -- or during any of his tenure in Miami -- and I would advise the All Star Break as the right time to throw any remnants of preseason ADP out the door. Dragic’s mediocre efficiency and his bad free throw shooting as of late has made him an even less attractive asset to hold on to.

At this point, I would much rather stream hot guards off the waiver wire, or pick up Dennis Schroder anticipating a trade involving Jeff Teague. That being said, assists are hard to come by and point guards with good name value can still nab you a decent return. Shop aggressively and hope something (anything) good lands on your lap.

Verdict: Trade him.

 

Chris Bosh (PF/C, MIA)

Chris Bosh may be an All Star this season, but his recent lack of efficiency heading into the All Star break isn’t going unnoticed by us. In his last six games, Bosh has averaged 18.0 points and 5.7 rebounds. These volume stats are decent but not great. However, he has only shot 40.7% from the field and 30.8% from three.

While a cold streak is acceptable at this stretch in the season, Bosh does look to be a decent candidate to shop around. Minute limits are possible down the stretch. With Hassan Whiteside around, Bosh’s rebounding numbers may continue to stay low as well. His name value and real life skills surpass his fantasy value, and his low FG% and blocks total as a big man will always limit his value. Should you look to trade him?

Bosh is definitely an asset you want to use name value sell. The best case scenario this season would have been for Bosh to return first or second round value like he did last season before injury. However, Bosh has become a mid-range player with average efficiency. He doesn’t hit enough 3’s for you to consider him a serious contributor in that category either -- he is essentially a poor man's Kevin Love if you're trying to punt FG% or blocks in favor of 3 pointers, and being called "a poor man's Kevin Love" is definitely not a good thing these days.

If you’re doing well enough with three point shooting, try shopping him to see if you can get his teammate Hassan Whiteside or rookie Kristaps Porzingis. Even experienced fantasy owners are prone to making trades like these due to name value alone, and you’ll have yourself a better fantasy asset as you finish the season.

Verdict: Trade him.

 

NBA & Fantasy Basketball Chat Room

[iflychat_embed id="c-11" hide_user_list="yes" hide_popup_chat="no" height="400px"]