Fantasy Basketball Buy, Sell, or Hold: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Deandre Ayton

Aaron Phung looks at Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Deandre Ayton to determine if they are buy, sell or hold candidates going forward in fantasy basketball.

Trading in fantasy basketball can help you improve your team in the short, as well as in the long term. More than that, it's just plain fun. Negotiating with your mate, going back and forth with offers, and hopefully, reaching a mutually beneficial agreement in the end.

It's not always easy to find the right deal that both parties could agree upon, so using the current form to your advantage could be helpful for you to get a deal done, and perhaps even get the most out of it.

Here are our Sell High and Buy Low candidates for the NBA season, right here at RotoBaller.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has been nothing short of incredible to start this season. Most notably, he is ranking 5th in points per game this year, averaging 31.6 PTS on 53.7 FG%. In addition, he’s been putting up great peripheral stats with 4.2 REB, 5.6 AST, 1.9 STL, 1.5 BLK, and 3.1 TOV. These stats are more than enough to label him as a top-10 fantasy asset right now. 

Keywords: right now. While SGA is currently among the best fantasy players, will he be able to continue his level of play?

As great of a player as he is, SGA likely won't be able to keep this up for a long time. Last season, he averaged 24.5 PTS on 45.3 FG%, a significant drop from his current average. While one could argue that SGA is making a leap this season, it’s hard to imagine that he will maintain his above-50 FG%, especially when he is taking 21.8 FGA as a point guard. Furthermore, his steals and blocks are abnormally high this season. He has never averaged more than 1.3 STL and 0.8 BLK in a season before. 

Another point to note about SGA is that he is injury-prone. Over the course of the last two seasons, he has only played 91 out of 164 possible games. Considering how many games he has missed in such a short period of time, he has a high risk of missing significant time this season. 

SGA’s higher-than-normal production and his history of injuries make him a perfect sell-high candidate. Ask around your league and see if you can get a top 10 or 15 player in return. 

Baller Move: Sell High

Deandre Ayton

There’s no doubt that Deandre Ayton is a rising star in this league, especially following his amazing run to the finals with the Suns in 2021. However, he has not been living up to expectations this year. He’s only putting up 14.6 PTS and 7.6 REB, which are significant drops from his 17.2 PTS and 10.2 REB averages in the 2021-2022 season. On top of that, he’s averaging 2.2 TOV, 10th among centers. Fantasy managers are split on whether his subpar performance will continue or if he will return to his usual self.

Some fans believe that Ayton will continue to play below expectations due to the drama between him and the team over the summer. First, Ayton said that he and head coach Monty Williams hadn’t spoken to each other since Game 7 of their series against the Mavs. Then, he shocked everyone when he accepted a 4-year contract with the Indiana Pacers. These events tarnished Ayton’s relationship with the Suns, fans speculate, and his willingness to play for them has decreased as shown by his performance.

This may seem concerning at first, but Ayton has made it clear that he is on good terms with the team now, stating that “everything is back to normal.” The Suns were also quick to offer him a max contract, confirming that they want to make him one of the team’s focal points in the near future.

His performance issues are most likely due to a right ankle injury he sustained on October 28, for which he only rested 2 games before returning. Prior to his injury, Ayton was averaging 18.3 PTS and 9.5 REB over 4 games, much closer to his averages from previous seasons. So even though Ayton has not performed the way fantasy managers have hoped, do not worry. Give him some time, and he will return to the production we are used to seeing from him.

Baller Move: Hold/ Buy Low