RADIO
Milos Zvekic's buy low, sell high trade advice for Week 10 of fantasy NBA. His buy/hold/sell recommendations for LaMarcus Aldridge and Goran Dragic in fantasy basketball leagues.
Another week in the NBA and, as always, some players are not meeting expectations while others are holding onto their value with their fingernails.
Today we will be looking at one of the most talked-about guys this past preseason, who hasn't been able to carry that form over to the regular season yet. Will he be able to pull off a big comeback and give early round value back to his owners?
In other news, we have a guy who has been the anchor of his team and led them proudly through a rough patch while their #1 star player was out. But with the star returning, is our hero destined to take a step back and hand over the keys to his recovered teammate? Read more about it in our Week 10 fantasy basketball buy low and sell high column right here at RotoBaller.
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Buy Low, Sell High Advice for Week 10
Are You for Real, LaMarcus Aldridge?
Our regular readers might find this a bit familiar, as I talked about LaMarcus Aldridge being better than he is going to be for the rest of the season back in October. Kawhi's injury has kept his value up this long, but now he is back and it's time we revisit the subject.
LaMarcus has been a rock for the Spurs and helped them keep up with the incredible Rockets and Warriors. They are currently sitting at the #3 spot in the West and it's in no small amount thanks to LMA. He has been averaging 22.3 PTS with 0.5 3PM on 49.2 FG% and 85.4 FT%, 8.4 REB, 2.0 AST, 0.5 STL, 1.1 BLK and 1.4 TO in over 33 minutes per game. In addition to leading the Spurs to a 21-10 record on the season, those stats are worth a top-25 value in fantasy leagues.
But with Kawhi Leonard returning, it will be difficult for Aldridge to keep it up at this level. Kawhi is THE MAN in San Antonio and as soon as he is back to full health, everyone else on that team will play second or third fiddle to him.
As Leonard is not a Russell Westbrook type of player, who needs the ball in his hands to make the most of his skills, LMA shouldn't see too much of a cut back. While most of his stats should hold steady (like turnovers, assists, threes and defensive stats) the biggest hit will come from a lower usage in the points and percentage categories. While you shouldn't expect him to shoot at a lower percentage, you should expect him to shoot less, which will automatically lead to him not being as helpful and he'll be making less of an impact on your team with his efficiency.
Kawhi has been back for a week now, but still hasn't played over 17 minutes and has already been rested on a back-to-back. And LaMarcus has reacted pretty well by averaging a double-double in his 4 games in that period with 20.0 PTS and 10.3 REB, despite launching a dud on Dec 15 against the Rockets with 16 points on 38.1% from the field, six board, two dimes and one steal. That means he is still holding onto his value for now, but the sell high window is about to slam shut.
If you can get a decent top-30 or 40 guy back for him, you should definitely consider it. If I was Aldridge's owner and was offered Kemba Walker, Myles Turner or Al Horford it would be really hard to say no.
Baller Move: Sell high
Time to Panic on Goran Dragic?
With the legendary performance he provided for his home country of Slovenia in this year's Eurobasket back in September, we were expecting Goran Dragic to follow it up by lighting a fire in the NBA.
Instead, he blended into the mediocrity and injury woes that have hit Miami again this year. His 16.6 PTS with 1.6 3PM on 44.4 FG% and 76.9 FT%, 4.0 REB, 4.4 AST, 0.9 STL, 0.2 BLK and 2.3 TO in 31 minutes per game don't even justify a top-100 selection in standard leagues, let alone his average draft position of 38.3. To top it all off, The Dragon has missed the Heat's previous game and is considered day-to-day.
He is worse in every single category than in his previous season, except for a 0.2 rebound increase and a 0.6 decrease in turnovers. His percentages have dropped between two and three percent, his assists are down by 1.4, his steals by 0.3 and he is scoring almost four fewer points than last year.
Nothing that drastic has changed in Miami. Hassan Whiteside is sidelined due to injury so it's not because he's leaving it up to the big man. But still, his usage is down from 26.8% to 25.2% this season. Now he might still be feeling a bit worn out, more emotionally than physically, after having won the European gold, which has been his dream since he was a kid, and we are expecting the old Goran to show up any day now.
If you can persuade his current owner to let Goran go for a player near the top-75 mark, I believe Dragic will not make you regret it. Harrison Barnes, JJ Redick and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope are all guys I would consider moving for Dragic and the promise land he could bring to his owners.
Baller Move: Hold or buy low
