RADIO
Making the right moves at the right time make for a championship team. Let us remember that the Golden State Warriors decided to trade away, their then star-caliber franchise player, Monta Ellis for Andrew Bogut. And even though Bogut didn't pan out as they had hoped, the space left by Ellis was filled by none other than future MVP and the leader of one of the most dominant franchises in recent history - Stephen Curry. Right move at the right time.
In fantasy, it's a bit simpler. You have to wait for your player to string together a few great performances that are above his realistic abilities. Then you find someone on an opponent's team who fits your team, is generally a better fantasy option than your in-form guy and is currently in a slump. You trade your guy for your gullable rival's gold in the mud and when things get back to normal, you end up with the better player and a better team.
If you're into this sort of wheeling and dealing, you will enjoy this article. Here are our Sell High and Buy Low candidates for Week 9 of the NBA season, right here at RotoBaller.
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Buy Low, Sell High Advice for Week 9
Are You for Real, De'Aaron Fox?
A guy who was ranked outside of the top-100 and is in the top-10 in the last seven days has to be doing something unrealistically right, doesn't he? His averages of 24.3 PTS with 2.7 3PM on 58.7 FG% and 84.6 FT%, 2.3 REB, 8.0 AST, 2.7 STL, 1.0 BLK and 2.7 TO over the last three games are unreal.
Now I do like Fox, and, being from Serbia, I love the Kings as well (Peja and Vlade back then and Bogdan Bogdanovic and Nemanja Bjelica now). But that doesn't change the fact that this sort of production is not sustainable. Hell, most of the stats, with the exclusion of turnovers and rebounds, are better than he had back in college.
Sacramento is playing above all expectations, and could even make a push for the playoffs if things keep going their way for this young and exciting team, but if you are a wise fantasy owner, you should definitely try and capitalize on these performances.
No sane owner is going to give you a legitimate top-20 player for your on-FireFox (and believe it or not, just as I wrote this pun Bruce Springsteen's "I'm on fire" came on my 722-song playlist that is on shuffle, lol). But if you're good at talking your guy up, you could get away with a decent top-30 or top-40 player like Klay Thompson, DeMar DeRozan or even our slumping hero for the week - Kyle Lowry if you're really lucky.
Baller Move: Sell high or hold
Time to Panic on Kyle Lowry?
It was getting ugly for Lowry for a while there. Up until his last game, his averages were 3.8 points with 0.8 threes on 14.3 FG% and luckily no misses in four attempts from the line, 3.8 boards, 8.3 dimes, 1.3 steals, 1.5 blocks and 3.8 turnovers in 34 minutes per outing in his four December games. Yuk! Apart from the assists and stocks, that is really awful. He really had as many points as turnovers over that period. And 14.3% from the field - over a four-game period... Insane!
Kyle sobered up in his last game though. He went 8-of-13 from the field (4-of-8 from beyond the arc) and hit his only free throw, grabbed five rebounds, dished out seven assists and continued his nice defensive streak with a block and steal apiece. He did have two turnovers, but that is quite alright when it comes with that kind of production.
This shows us that we can expect the good old Lowry to return sooner rather than later, so the buy low window could be quickly closing. I would gladly part with someone who is in-form, but I believe to be a lesser fantasy option compared to him if I could get his owner to do the swap. If De'Aaron Fox's hot streak lands you a Lowry, don't walk - run. Furthermore, if anyone from the top-50 can persuade Lowry's current owner to part ways with him, you should try it. Blake Griffin, LaMarcus Aldridge, Aaron Gordon... I would gladly give up any of those guys in this case.
Baller Move: Hold or buy low
