RADIO
Justin Carter looks at fantasy basketball players who can be dropped in Week 16. These are players who are struggling in the 2020-21 NBA season.
Welcome back! Sorry for missing this piece last week, but life, you know?
By now, you're either in the playoffs or starting the playoffs. There's no need for dead weight on your fantasy team. Let's get rid of that dead weight.
Below is our weekly fantasy basketball drop list, a look at players who are can be dropped in some or all formats. Every Thursday, we'll look at why it's fine to move on from certain players based on their recent play. Remember: every league is different, so make sure you evaluate what options you have to replace these players before you actually drop them.
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Players to Consider Dropping or Replacing
Jamal Murray (PG/SG, DEN)
72% rostered
Not a lot to say here. Murray will miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL. Monte Morris will likely be the starter in his place.
Murray won't be around in the postseason to help get the Nuggets past the elite teams in the West, which is just a huge loss for Denver. Murray is also almost certainly going to miss parts of next season, which will complicate things when it comes to projecting his fantasy value for the 2021-22 season as well.
Talen Horton-Tucker (SG/SF, LAL)
23% rostered
Horton-Tucker never really developed into the LeBron replacement that Lakers fans and fantasy managers hoped he would be. He's had some good games, but just hasn't been consistent enough to warrant a role on fantasy rosters.
For example, THT got to start against Charlotte, but he scored just six points in 23 minutes. He had another poor shooting night, connecting on just a quarter of his shots for the second time in three games.
Look, I'll say it as many times as you want to hear it: I'm a big Horton-Tucker fan. But he's going to need some more time to develop as a scorer before I can trust him in fantasy. Maybe next year!
Hamidou Diallo (SG/SF, DET)
18% rostered
When the Pistons traded for Diallo, I really thought he was going to be a big part of this team.
But getting minutes on the Thunder does not mean you'll get minutes on another team, even if that team is Detroit and is also a bad team.
Diallo has scored in single digits in four of the past five games. He isn't getting assists. He isn't making threes. He's not adding a ton in terms of rebounds, steals, or blocks. There's just not a lot of upside here.
Diallo is still someone who I think can be a solid piece long term. But the fantasy basketball playoffs aren't about the future. In a re-draft league, Diallo can be dropped now.
Chuma Okeke (PF, ORL)
34% rostered
After the Magic moved on from virtually everyone at the trade deadline, it seemed like the arrow was only going to be pointing up for someone like Okeke. He's young. He played a position that the team had traded away. The way this team was trending, you'd have thought Okeke was going to get all the opportunities he could handle.
...right?
Well, ehh. He hasn't scored in double figures since April 4th. He hasn't grabbed double-digit rebounds since April 1st. The blocks are still coming -- he had three of them on Wednesday -- but there's just not enough going on right now to make Okeke worth a roster spot in season-long leagues.
Aleksej Pokusevski (SF, OKC)
27% rostered
File this one in the "probably don't need to play an injured rookie" file.
He's now missed two games in a row with a sore right arm. The Thunder will obviously be careful with a player as promising as Poku is, and even though a healthy Pokusevski is a fascinating player capable of putting up 25 points while being just a capable of shooting 20 percent, the injury concern is too much for this time of the NBA season.
Look, he's definitely one of the most fascinating young players in the NBA, and his huge swings from upside to downside is just part of what makes him so fascinating. He should be rostered in every dynasty league and if you find him on the wire in one of them, jump all over him.
But re-draft isn't dynasty. Poku could win you a championship this year, but there's a better chance that he just completely tanks your season.
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