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Buy, Sell or Hold: Evan Fournier and Jimmy Butler?

Milos Zvekic's buy low, sell high trade advice for Week 3 of fantasy NBA. His buy/hold/sell recommendations for Evan Fournier and Jimmy Butler in fantasy basketball leagues.

Week 2 is behind us and there's been so many surprise results that it seems the NBA Gods are having a laugh. If the playoffs were to begin today Cleveland wouldn't participate, Golden State would be the number six seed in the West and the Memphis Grizzlies and Detroit Pistons would be crowned regular season West and East Conference champions.

Among these out-of-the-ordinary team performances, there are also several individual player performance anomalies. A change of scenery hasn't agreed well with one of our heroes of today's article yet, but he is starting to turn it around. On the other end, one younger role player has been stepping it up and grabbing more responsibilities. A part of the reason is an injury of a teammate, and it's not likely that he can keep it up for the duration of the entire season.

Let's take a look at who has been lighting it up and who has his owners disappointed this early in the season in our Week 3 fantasy basketball buy low and sell high column right here at RotoBaller.

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Buy Low, Sell High Advice for Week 3

Are You for Real, Evan Fournier?

First of all, kudos to all of you who drafted Fournier at around 100 or lower. He is currently smashing his ADP of 97 by returning top-15, 20 value over his first six games of the season. He is rewarding his owners with 22.3 points with 2.7 threes on 53.9% from the field and 95.7% from the charity stripe, 4.5 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.5 steals, 0.3 blocks and 1.7 turnovers in 33 minutes per game. Those are career highs across the board if he were to keep it up. But it's unrealistic to expect that he will.

Believe it or not, these insane stats are only enough for him to be the third best fantasy contributor on a per game basis on the Orlando roster with both Nikola Vucevic and Aaron Gordon being rated higher by Yahoo. Their good performances are paying off outside of the fantasy world as well, as Orlando is 4-2 to start the season. And all that without without their primary ball handler Elfrid Payton, who went down after having played just one and a half games.

Elfrid's absence is most likely a part of the reason that Fournier is performing above expectations. He saw a similar rise in numbers when Payton missed time last season and he is repeating it now. Furthermore, it is difficult to imagine Evan remaining this efficient a shooter and valuable a fantasy-contributor. If we take a look at his last season averages we will see why: 17.2 PTS with 1.9 3PM on 43.9 FG% and 80.5 FT%, 3.1 REB, 3.0 AST, 1.0 STL, 0.1 BLK and 2.1 TO in the same amount of playing time had him just outside the top-100.

It is encouraging however, that Fournier hasn't had one freakishly good performance that would bump his averages. Instead he is very consistent. He scored between 22 and 28 points on all but one of his games. He had at least one steal, between 2 and 5 assists and turned the ball over 1 to 3 times in all six. He didn't hit all of his free throws and didn't have at least 3 rebounds only once and shot under 50% only twice.

I do believe that Evan could keep playing well and I can see him clinging to top-50, top-75 value over the course of the season, but if you can get a good deal while he is hot, I would take it.

These stats from the Frenchman do warrant a high return on any trade, so a solid top-50 player would do the trick in my book. I would swap him in re-draft leagues for the likes of Goran Dragic, Dennis Schroder, Ricky Rubio, or even Serge Ibaka or DeAndre Jordan, depending on your league build. Of course, don't be too eager to get rid of Fournier and take a low ball offer just because he will probably lose some value. He won't lose all of it and will still remain a useful fantasy asset, especially for those looking for threes, points, and steals.

Baller Move: Sell high

 

Time to Panic on Jimmy Butler?

Jimmy Butler doesn't feel quite at home yet since his move to Minnesota this summer. Sharing the ball with Karl-Anthony TownsAndrew Wiggins and Jeff Teague has resulted in him taking just 13.3 field goals and just 4.0 free throws per game. That is third and fourth most on his team. Furthermore, those numbers are down from 16.5 FGA and 8.9 FTA from his last season's campaign in Chicago.

Now with such talent around Jimmy Buckets, it is normal for his attacking numbers to take a hit. But his defense isn't on par either. He hasn't blocked a shot yet this year, and has 1.5 steals per game. The steals are at a respectable level, but not for Jimmy's standards as he averaged more steals than that in each of his last four seasons. In addition to his defensive stats taking a drop, he is also down in rebounds (from 6.2 to 5.5) and assists (from 5.5 to 4.8). His shooting percentages are around the same, but his lack of usage has seen his points plummet from 23.9 to 16.3. All of this is even weirder when we factor in that Butler is playing one minute more per outing than he did last season.

Now we do have to be fair to Jimmy, he did sit out 2 games due to illness, so that probably affected him a bit too. But that also could be the reason his current owner values him less than Jimmy is really worth. Moreover, Jimmy played a decent game in his return from the illness with 25 points, five boards, seven assists and just one turnover. He didn't steal the ball or block a shot, but he did shoot 7-of-10 from the field and 11-of-13 from the line so it could mean that Jimmy B is finally feeling comfortable in the Timberwolves uniform.

If Butler's owner is thrown off by him returning only top-75 value so far you could try to pry him away with an offer of a guy at around the top-50. All the guys mentioned above in the swap for Fournier apply here as well, as I would gladly give any one of them for Butler. Do check however how Minnesota's fantasy playoffs schedule fits your team as they have either just 9 or 10 games in those three weeks, depending on when your playoffs take place.

Baller Move: Hold or buy low

 

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REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

CFB

Eric Singleton Jr. Questionable For Saturday
Braden Schneider

Limited in Training Camp
Lars Eller

Recovering From Abdominal Procedure
Nick Jensen

in Danger of Missing Start of Season
Brandon Montour

to Miss Two Weeks After Ankle Surgery
Gabriel Landeskog

a "Full Go" for the Season
Samuel Girard

Avalanche Hope to Have Samuel Girard Available for Start of Season
Mackenzie Blackwood

Out Week-to-Week
Alex Tuch

Day-to-Day With Undisclosed Injury
Jordan Greenway

to Sit Out Training Camp
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen

Considered Day-to-Day
Simon Edvinsson

to Miss a Couple of Weeks
Mikael Backlund

Signs Two-Year Extension
Connor Ingram

to Be Waived by Mammoth
Zach Hyman

Misses Start of Training Camp
Nick Paul

Out Until November
Kris Letang

Cleared for Training Camp
David Pastrnak

Out for Start of Training Camp
Matthew Tkachuk

Expected to Be Out Until December
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Trevelin Queen Joins Chinese Team
Damian Lillard

Not Rushing His Return
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Keon Johnson Waived by Nets
Justin Verlander

Plans to Pitch in 2026
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Day-to-Day With Back Tightness
Will Smith

Won't Return When First Eligible
Tyler Soderstrom

Returns to A's Lineup
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Sidelined on Wednesday with Toe Injury
Jaylen Waddle

Questionable for Week 3 Against Buffalo
Joe Burrow

Bengals Not Closing the Door on Joe Burrow Returning This Year
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LaNorris Sellers to Play Against Missouri?
Kyle Tucker

Progress has "Plateaued"
Isaac Paredes

has "Outside Chance" to Return This Weekend
CFB

Kaidon Salter Expected To Start for Colorado on Saturday
Willson Contreras

Goes on 10-Day Injured List, Done for Season
Justin Fields

Ruled Out for Week 3 Due to Concussion
Jayden Reed

Out Indefinitely After Foot and Shoulder Surgery
Washington Commanders

Preston Smith Signs With Commanders
Trey Jemison III

Joins Knicks on Two-Way Contract
Kevin McCullar Jr.

Signs New Two-Way Deal With Knicks
Matt Ryan

Returns to Knicks on Exhibit 10 Contract
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Alex Len Signs Exhibit 9 Deal With Knicks
Nickeil Alexander-Walker

Expected to Take on Larger Offensive Role With Hawks
Thomas Sorber

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Dominic Canzone

Has Five-Hit, Three-Homer Game Tuesday
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Sets Single-Season Home Run Record for a Switch-Hitter
Jayden Reed

Undergoes Clavicle and Foot Surgeries, Out for Foreseeable Future
Bo Bichette

to Miss Rest of Regular Season
Zach Neto

Placed on 10-Day Injured List With Hand Injury
Yordan Alvarez

Out on Tuesday, Dealing With "Significant" Ankle Sprain
Aaron Jones Sr.

Vikings Place Aaron Jones Sr. on Injured Reserve With Hamstring Injury
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Diego Pavia Refutes Report of Seeking Seventh Collegiate Season
Christian Kirk

Expected to Return in Week 3
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Diego Pavia Seeking Another Year of Eligibility
Tarik Skubal

on Track to Start Thursday
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Kevorian Barnes Questionable Against SMU
Bo Bichette

has Short-Term Knee Injury, Could Return for Postseason
Tosan Evbuomwan

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Kai Jones Links Up With EuroLeague Team
Bismack Biyombo

Returns to Spurs
Bones Hyland

Rejoins Timberwolves
Kobe Bufkin

Moves to Brooklyn
Trey Yesavage

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Yordan Alvarez

To Receive MRI For Sprained Left Ankle On Tuesday
Willson Contreras

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Officially Active on Monday Night
Jauan Jennings

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Logan O'Hoppe

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Denton Mateychuk Dealing With Groin Issue
Bo Horvat

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Jose Altuve

Returns Against Rangers
J.J. McCarthy

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Likely Out for Week 3 With High-Ankle Sprain
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Gets Finished For The First Time In His Career
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Unlikely to Play in Week 3 Due to Hamstring Injury
Diego Lopes

Returns To The Win Column
Jayden Daniels

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Rob Font

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Wins His Second UFC Fight
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Rafa Garcia

Wins Back-To-Back Fights
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Gets Back In The Win Column
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Alexander Hernandez

Extends His Win Streak With A Brutal TKO
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Santiago Luna

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Alex Bowman

Falls Short of Advancing Through Cup Series Playoffs
Chase Briscoe

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Ryan Blaney

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Alperen Sengün

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Indiana's Lee Beebe Jr. Out for Season with Knee Injury
Dennis Schröder

Dennis Schroder Named EuroBasket MVP
Bryce Eldridge

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Jaren Jackson Jr.

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Jonathan Kuminga

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Kenneth Walker III

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Bijan Robinson

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Justin Fields

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Cincinnati Bengals

Bengals Calling Around to Available Free-Agent Quarterbacks
Joe Burrow

to Undergo Surgery, Out at Least Three Months
Quentin Grimes

Still Not Close to a New Contract Agreement
Joel Embiid

"Looking Slender, Spry and in Positive Spirits"
Ty Gibbs

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Despite Crashing Out at Bristol, Chase Elliott Advances to Round of 12
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Ryan Williams Explodes In Return To Field
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DJ Lagway Tosses Five Interceptions In Loss
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Garrett Nussmeier Plays Game Manager in Saturday's Win
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CJ Carr Remains Poised In Narrow Loss
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Jeremiah Smith Impresses In Win
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Ross Chastain

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Josh Berry

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