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With the passing of the official NBA trade deadline and the upcoming fantasy trade deadlines for both ESPN and Yahoo leagues, it’s time to buckle down for one final installment of Under-Performing Stars. In the majority of ESPN leagues, you will have until Wednesday, February 24th to put in your last minute trades, and Thursday, March 3rd for Yahoo! leagues. Let’s make a final, last-minute analysis and then tackle the home stretch.
Position Eligibility Based on Yahoo! Fantasy Basketball Player List
Trade, Hold, Or Drop for Fantasy Basketball
Dirk Nowitzki (PF/C, DAL)
Dirk Nowitzki has continued to find ways to perform year after year. Many didn’t expect him to continue being a star this season, as reflected by his ADP. However, he has managed to prove doubters wrong through the first half the season. Despite his high player rating and the high amounts of minute totals he has been playing as of late, Dirk has been showing some signs of regression.
Nowitzki's scoring has steadily dropped as the year has gone on, and he has only broken past the 20 point mark once in the last ten games he has played. His efficiency has been uncharacteristically woeful, as he has barely hit 40% of his field goals and 30% of his threes. Given this prolonged shooting slump and the possibility that he will be rested heading into the playoffs, should you look to dump Dirk before the deadline?
Dirk is definitely a great candidate for you to try to sell now, as there isn’t exactly an option to wait and sell some other time. This is one of those cases in fantasy where we have to take a look at the real life standings in the NBA. The Mavericks are in the sixth seed, 7.5 games back of the Clippers who currently hold the fourth seed. Barring unforeseen circumstances, the Mavericks will have to resign themselves to the fifth or sixth seed come playoff time and ultimately start on the road. The only way that Dirk will be utilized to his full potential down the stretch is if the Mavericks somehow manage to fall backwards in the standings. Even though Dirk is likely to break out of his shooting slump soon, his lack of production in the other categories severely limit his value. This makes his expendable as you fine tune your roster. Leverage his name value to bring back a safer fantasy option.
Verdict: Trade him.
Reggie Jackson (PG/SG, DET)
Reggie Jackson seems to have run into a bit of trouble as of late, as his scoring and assist totals have taken a slight dip over the past month. During this time, Jackson has averaged 17.9 points and 4.8 assists with little to no contribution in any other category. This is definitely a noticeable drop off from his overall season numbers, as he has averaged 19.1 points, 6.2 assists, and 3.4 rebounds. The decrease in production could be somewhat explained by the return of Brandon Jennings, but not completely.
The fear is that Jackson may have lost a bit of steam through the tough stretch in the season right before the All-Star break. While Jennings is now in Orlando and no longer breathing down his neck, new additions in Tobias Harris, Marcus Thornton, and Donatas Motiejunas will take away touches from the young point guard. Should you look to sell?
Unless you can get some kind of crazy return for Reggie Jackson, he isn’t worth selling and his potential down the stretch makes him a great asset. While the rebounding rate may be expected to stay relatively low with Andre Drummond and the addition of capable big men at the trade deadline, his scoring and assist totals should definitely look to bounce back once the Pistons figure out their improved offense.
The additions from Houston will offer valuable spacing for Jackson as he works in the lane, while Tobias Harris should give Jackson himself more opportunities to shoot threes if Stan Van Gundy is willing to utilize Harris in the paint. His percentages have a good chance of increasing down the stretch. Look to buy low on Jackson if you’re in contention.
Verdict: Buy Low / Hold him.
Kevin Love (PF/C, CLE)
The ownership of Kevin Love has been a roller coaster ride this season. His third to fourth round ADP looked like a bargain as he came out strong early on. However, turbulence within the Cavs’ locker room and their offense has made Kevin Love an inconsistent big man who must rely on threes to chip in some points. He is averaging 2.1 threes per game, which is great, but he isn’t supplementing his threes with enough close range shots to make his field goal percentage appealing.
Love is only shooting 41.8% on the year, but has seen some slight improvements in the past month since Coach Blatt’s firing. It’s kind of debatable if you’re even selling high or not, but should you look to move him after his recent 15-15 double-double?
Kevin Love put up a few lackluster performances prior to the All-Star break, but we can attribute this to a lack of minutes. The fact that the Cavs did not make significant moves prior to the trade deadline is good news for Love owners, as he can be expected to be a big part of their offense down the stretch. LeBron James will certainly sit out several games prior to the end of the season, and Love will be there to soak up that production if you can make it that close to the championship.
Love's combination of elite threes and rebounding is difficult to come by, and makes him a great piece to hold on to as long as you are not in need of blocks. Love had a great stretch of games towards the end of January, and the prospect that he can put up similar production down the stretch makes him a must-own asset.
Verdict: Hold him.
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