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Buy, Sell, or Hold: Lou Williams and Eric Bledsoe?

Milos Zvekic's buy low, sell high trade advice for Week 17 of fantasy NBA. His buy/hold/sell recommendations for Lou Williams and Eric Bledsoe in fantasy basketball leagues.

Picking the right moments to buy, hold or sell your fantasy players can prove to be the difference come the end of a fantasy season. If you managed to sell your guy who was on fire just before he went cold again and get someone back who was slumping at the time, but is now back to his old valuable self, that could give you a significant advantage when fantasy playoffs start. And with the Trade Deadline looming, this is the right time to try and get away with some of those moves.

The Clippers made it clear that they are not looking to compete this year with them trading away their best player in Blake Griffin. It is quite possible that the Blake trade is just a gateway to more trades. And the players that are featured in almost all the Clippers' rumors are DeAndre Jordan and Lou Williams. And while DJ should keep his value wherever he goes, as he does not need ball in his hands to be productive, and he will be utilized by any team that is willing to trade for him, it could prove difficult for Lou to hold on to this usage and therefore fantasy value on most other teams. More on what to do with Lou is coming up shortly.

The Bucks have just had two of their point guards fall victim to injury. Would you believe it, not one of them is Eric Bledsoe!? If you're interested in the probable outlook for Bledsoe for the rest of the season and my take on his value going forward, keep reading. Welcome to our Week 17, Buy Low/Sell High column right here at Rotoballer.

Upgrade To VIP: Win more with our NBA and DFS Premium Pass, get expert tools and advice from proven winners! Jamie Calandro and Dan Palyo lead the RotoBaller team in 2024-25 with exclusive DFS picks, Prop picks and more. Gain VIP access to our Lineup Optimizer, Research Station, DFS Cheat Sheets and VIP Chat Rooms. Go Premium, Win More!

 

Buy Low, Sell High Advice for Week 17

Are You for Real, Lou Williams?

The former NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award winner Lou Williams found himself traded to the LA Clippers in a deal for Chriss Paul last offseason and, with Patrick Beverley, Austin Rivers and Milos Teodosic all in the team's backcourt, figured to once again be the offensive force coming off the bench, but not much more than that.

But all three of his aforementioned teammates have been having trouble with injuries. Beverley is out for the season, Rivers hasn't played yet in 2018 and Teo is healthy now, but has missed over half of the Clippers' games so far. All this has Lou riding the biggest usage % of his career at 30.1%. The increased opportunity translated very well into fantasy output with Lou averaging 23.3 PTS with 2.8 3PM on 43.9 FG% and 90.0 FT%, 2.5 REB, 5.3 AST, 1.1 STL, 0.2 BLK and 2.9 TO in 33 minutes a night. He is a top-35 fantasy asset in most formats with this contribution.

So what's to keep Sweet Lou from keeping up this magnificent form?

Well, the rumors are heating up that the Clippers are looking to get younger and are shopping their older, valuable players to accomplish their goal of competing in a few years instead of right away. Lou fits exactly into what teams that want to win now want, and what the Clippers are looking to sell. With Griffin's deal going through, it seems like there's no time like the present for Clippers to pull the trigger on a deal for Lou. And there aren't any spots where Lou can land where he can keep getting the kind of run he's been getting so far. Likely suitors for his services are quality competing teams who already have strong rosters, and who need Lou mostly as a strong bench player, not the leader of their offense, which is his role on the Clippers at the moment. So any trade away from LA would have him lose at least some of his fantasy appeal.

What if Lou stays? Even if the Clippers are unable to find a satisfying deal for Lou Will, it is still unlikely that he will be able to keep it up at this level. Griffin is out of town, but in that deal, the Clippers received a guard, Avery Bradley, who can eat up some of Lou's minutes, and a high usage guy in Tobias Harris. In the two games with them in the lineup, Lou's usage is down to 28.2. So even if Williams was to stay a Clipper, he wouldn't be guaranteed the minutes or usage to keep producing at a top-35 pace.

If you own Lou and have an owner in your league with faith in him to stay in LA, or to keep up this sort of production, it could prove a wise move to try and sell at a high price. Most players from the top-50 have safer ROS value than Lou and I would probably take a guy like Khris MiddletonDeMar DeRozan or Robert Covington if I was offered one of them.

Baller Move: Sell high

 

Time to Panic on Eric Bledsoe?

Apart from his career high 2.1 steals per game and a somewhat decent (for a guy who takes almost five threes a game) 44.3% from the field, all other fantasy-relevant stats are down from his previous years. This is expected since he's been playing "just" 30 minutes a night, which is a three-to-four minute drop off from his previous years in Phoenix. But with his biggest competitors for minutes out for a couple of weeks (Malcolm Brogdon 6-8 and Matthew Dellavedova 3-4), Bledsoe should get all the run he can handle.

Expect his 16.8 points, 1.5 threes, 3.5 boards, 4.1 dimes and also his 2.9 turnovers per game, all to rise with the increased opportunity he is bound to get. Giannis AntetokounmpoKhris Middleton, and Bledsoe will be running the offense so it's difficult to imagine that he will still be limited to 13.5 field goals per game with almost 14.5 shots being up for grabs from the injuries of Brogdon and Delly.

Do be careful though, Bledsoe is quite an injury risk. He has missed less than 15 games in just three of his seven NBA seasons so far. And with the burden of injuries to his peers falling mostly on his shoulders, and Bucks in the midst of the battle for NBA playoff seeding, Bledsoe probably won't get rested enough and his body might not endure the effort.

While I would advise caution, I still believe that Bledsoe can be a decent fantasy, and can really up his value from his current top-75 form. If you can obtain his services for a player in that same range but with less opportunity or a worse outlook for the rest of the season I would certainly advise you do so. Jonas ValanciunasHarrison Barnes, and Evan Fournier have all outperformed Bledsoe fantasy-wise this season, but all have lower ceilings and, barring any injury, should have less value the rest of the way. So if you own one of these players and Bledsoe's owner doesn't trust him, it would be a mid-risk high-reward move for you to make the swap.

Baller Move: Hold or buy low

 

More Fantasy Basketball Analysis




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REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

Blake Snell

Activated From Paternity List Tuesday
Dallas Cowboys

Cowboys Still Expect Micah Parsons to Play in Week 1
Luis Robert Jr.

Exits Early With Hamstring Soreness
Chris Godwin

Passes Physical, Will be Activated From PUP List
Willson Contreras

Issued Six-Game Suspension
Randy Rodríguez

Randy Rodriguez Placed on Injured List
Brandon Aiyuk

49ers Officially Place Brandon Aiyuk on PUP List
Nathan Eovaldi

Likely Done for the Season
Tyreek Hill

Remains Out of Practice
Najee Harris

Moved to Active Roster
Yordan Alvarez

Activated and Starting on Tuesday
Oneil Cruz

Back From Injured List
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Jonah Tong Promoted to Major Leagues
Spencer Rattler

Saints Name Spencer Rattler as Starting QB
MarShawn Lloyd

Packers Leaning Toward Placing MarShawn Lloyd on Injured Reserve
Tyjae Spears

to Begin the Season on Injured Reserve
Nikola Jović

Heat Have High Hopes for Nikola Jovic
Golden State Warriors

Cody Martin Drawing Interest From Warriors
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Timberwolves Interested in Reunion With Bones Hyland
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Joins Lakers
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Links Up With Magic
Brock Bowers

Pete Carroll Classifies Brock Bowers Among His Best Players Ever
De'Von Achane

Lingering Calf Injury Poses Concerns for De'Von Achane
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Vikings and Panthers Struggling to Finalize Adam Thielen Trade
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Kings "Not Actively Engaged" in Trade Discussions Involving Malik Monk
P.J. Washington

Mavs Likely to Offer P.J. Washington a Contract Extension
Kenny Pickett

Raiders Acquire Kenny Pickett From Browns
Cincinnati Bengals

Bengals Give Trey Hendrickson a Raise
Amari Cooper

Signs One-Year Deal With Raiders
NHL

Jan Rutta Lands in Switzerland
Kirby Dach

Skates on Monday
COL

Tyson Barrie Retires From NHL
Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Back in Toronto's Lineup
Joe Mixon

to Start Season on Non-Football Injury List
Jaylen Wright

Not Expected to Play in Week 1
Jakobi Meyers

Requests Trade
Jauan Jennings

Not Practicing on Monday, has Avoided IR for Now
Matthew Stafford

Taking 11-On-11 Reps on Monday
Zhang Mingyang

Suffers His First UFC Loss
Johnny Walker

Gets Back In The Win Column
Brian Ortega

Loses Back-To-Back Fights
Aljamain Sterling

Proves Too Much For Brian Ortega
Chris Sale

Penciled in to Start on Saturday
Waldo Cortes-Acosta

Suffers Unanimous-Decision Loss
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Wins Decision At UFC Shanghai
Terry McLaurin

Signs Three-Year Extension with Commanders
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Drops Decision At UFC Shanghai
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Wins Back-To-Back Fights
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Still Winless In The UFC
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Gets His First UFC Win
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Earns his Second Daytona Cup Series Win
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Locks Into the 2025 Playoffs Despite Underwhelming Daytona Performance
Erik Jones

Misses the 2025 Playoffs Despite Top-Five Run at Daytona
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Best Performance of 2025 Falls Short of Victory at Daytona
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To Throw Bullpen on Tuesday
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Enters Playoffs As Co-Points Leader
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Advances to Playoffs Despite Crashing at Daytona
Cole Custer

Finally Shows Signs of Life at Daytona
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Lame-Duck Daniel Suarez Delivers Clutch Second-Place Finish
Logan Gilbert

Punches Out 13 in Victory
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Out 4-6 Weeks, Could Miss Rest of Season
Ranger Suárez

Ranger Suarez Strikes Out 11 in Win
Cal Raleigh

Sets Catcher Home Run Record
Yordan Alvarez

Likely to Return on Tuesday
Jacob deGrom

to Start on Monday
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Homers Twice in Win
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Marcus Semien

Placed on Injured List
Chase Elliott

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Kyle Larson

a Poor DFS Option at Daytona
Christopher Bell

Consistent Enough to Consider for DFS
Chris Buescher

Now Must Win His Way Into Playoffs
Ryan Preece

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Ross Chastain

Leads a Lot on Drafting Tracks
Daniel Suarez

Now in Desperation Mode With his Career on the Line
Chase Briscoe

Tendency to Finish Better Than He Runs May Reap Dividends at Daytona
Carson Hocevar

Hard to Forecast Since He's Rarely Given 100 Percent at Daytona
Michael McDowell

has a Solid Drafting Record
AJ Allmendinger

A.J. Allmendinger Arguably Starting Too Well for Place-Differential Points
Austin Dillon

Will Likely Be Too Conservative for DFS Consideration
Moses Moody

Warriors Not Interested in Trading Moses Moody
Kevin Durant

Rockets Expected to Agree on New Contract
Trey Murphy III

Warriors, Spurs Interested in Trey Murphy III
CAR

Luke Kunin Joins Panthers on One-Year Deal
Auston Matthews

Says His Health is "Good" Before Start of Season
Roope Hintz

"Feeling Good" Ahead of New Season
Matthew Tkachuk

Recovering From Surgery
Marco Rossi

Wild Re-Sign Marco Rossi to Three-Year Deal
NBA

Malik Beasley Now Drawing Interest from Teams
Zhang Mingyang

Set For UFC Shanghai Main Event
Johnny Walker

In Dire Need Of Victory
Brian Ortega

An Underdog At UFC Shanghai
Aljamain Sterling

Set For UFC Shanghai Co-Main Event
Waldo Cortes-Acosta

Looks To Extend His Win Streak
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Kevin Borjas

Set for UFC Shanghai Main-Card Bout
Sumudaerji

Looks To Win Back-To-Back Fights
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Set To Open Up UFC Shanghai Main Card
Taiyilake Nueraji

Set For His UFC Debut
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Clears Player Assistance Program
Frank Nazar

Inks Seven-Year Extension With Blackhawks
COL

Victor Olofsson Signs One-Year Deal With Avalanche
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Aims to Be Healthy for Training Camp
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Provides Injury Update
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Considered a Trade Candidate
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Warriors "Remain Very Confident" About Signing Al Horford
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Agrees to Deal With Heat

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