RADIO
The All-Star Break is upon us and while it's nice to have some time off from setting lineups, making DFS lineups, and placing bets. It's also a nice time to look ahead and what moves you can make to put your team in the best position possible to win a fantasy basketball title.
Remember, the NBA All-Star break occurs after the halfway point in the year. Most teams have played around 55 games of their 82-game season and most leagues finish up their playoffs before the final week or two of NBA action. We are less than a month out from the start of fantasy playoffs in leagues that start early and it's time to hone in on which players might help us the most down the stretch.
In this piece, I will highlight some players on really bad teams that could be worth their weight in fantasy gold come March and April. We call them "Silly Season Heroes" and every year we get some incredible production from players who are playing on bad teams with absolutely nothing to play for.
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What Is The Silly Season?
Every year we see teams that fall out of contention shut down star players, focus on developing young players, and in the most extreme cases - roll out entire G-league rosters. There is no official start to the "Silly Season" but it sure seems like it could start earlier than usual with the lineup that Memphis rolled out last night (and beat Milwaukee with).
Perhaps the tanking won't be as obvious this year without a Victor Wembanyama once-in-a-generation talent prize to be won, but there are some teams this year that are already badly out of contention and who could consider resting (or just shutting down) their veterans and stars.
If you're looking for an example of a recent Silly Season success story (say that five times fast), then look no other than Kris Dunn of the Utah Jazz. I was able to snag Dunn on several teams last year and enjoy these types of results over his final 12 games.
14.9 points, 4.6 rebounds, 6.3 assists, 0.9 steals, and 0.5 blocks on solid percentages from the field and the line.
The point is crazy things happen in the final month of the NBA season! So let's break down at least five bottom-dwelling rosters and see just who might be worth investing in (either in trades - as many leagues still have time before the deadline - or as waiver wire pickups, stashes, or streamers.
Memphis Grizzlies
Trade Targets
Vince Williams Jr. - SG/SF (69%)
GG Jackson II - PF (40%)
Williams had his fifth straight game with 7+ assists last night and is functioning as the main ball-handler with Scotty Pippen Jr. hurt and Jacob Gilyard coming off the bench.
Ja Morant is done for the year and I don't see any reason why Memphis would push either Marcus Smart or Desmond Bane to come back to what has become a lost season. Williams will likely hurt your FG%, but he's stuffing the stat sheet with counting stats.
Jaren Jackson is the last Memphis starter standing and it wouldn't make sense for them to keep trotting him out there much longer with his injury history. GG Jackson II has been dynamite in Jaren's absence and came off the bench last night to drill six threes on his way to 27 points. The 19-year-old's per-36 numbers would be 21 points, 6.5 boards, 1.0 steals, 1.3 blocks, and 3.9 threes. He might not continue to knock down triples at a 41% rate, but it's clear that he can shoot the rock. He's looking like a steal in the second round of this year's draft.
Waiver Adds Or Watch List Worthy
Lamar Stevens - PF (6%)
Jordan Goodwin - PG (3%)
Ziaire Williams - SF (2%)
Lamar Stevens is a bulldog! I loved watching him in Cleveland, they simply ran out of minutes for him there. And he was uber-productive in Boston this season in limited minutes, too, before coming over in the Xavier Tillman deal.
He's played three games for Memphis so far and is averaging 12.3 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks in just 25 minutes per game.
How could anyone not love Lamar Stevens? pic.twitter.com/JEkr9qY4Me
— Winky Christ 🍌 (@WinkyChrist) February 15, 2024
His per-36 numbers are off the charts! 16.4 PTS, 9.3 REB, 1.8 AST, 1.3 STL, 1.6 BLK, 1.0 3PM on 49% shooting. He doesn't need to start to have value and he doesn't need any plays run for him to get buckets and rack up stats.
Goodwin started at point guard last night and went for 11-7-3 with two steals. He was very productive with minutes earlier this season in Phoenix and is a superior rebounding guard. Pippen is going to be out for at least three weeks, so Goodwin should share point guard duties with Gilyard for now.
Williams came out of nowhere to post 27 points last night and reminded us of his upside. Guys like Konchar and Kennard could return to the lineup to muddy things up but he is worth keeping an eye on for now.
Portland Trail Blazers
Trade Targets
Scoot Henderson - PG (55%)
I would be floating out some offers for Scoot over the break. Convince other managers to rid themselves of his poor shooting percentage or sell them on him being injury-prone. The Blazers just announced that he will start for the rest of the season, Malcolm Brogdon is hurt (and I wouldn't expect to see him again), and Scoot has played much better over the last month than he did early in the season when he struggled to score. He's a guy who could finish the season strong.
Great drop off from Scoot Henderson to Jabari Walker in the paint. Henderson's comfort level is improving more and more - particularly on dribble drives.
Here he hits the euro under control and feels it pull Reid down - he's starting to anticipate just a little bit more. https://t.co/IIsddWF2dY pic.twitter.com/vV2T69QqK1
— Danny Marang (@DannyMarang) February 14, 2024
Waiver Adds Or Watch List Worthy
Jabari Walker - SF/PF (14%)
Duop Reath - C (3%)
Kris Murray - SF/PF (1%)
Jabari Walker has been on and off a lot of my teams this year as his production and minutes have been sporadic. In deeper formats, I am forcing myself to HOLD as I think the shutdown of Jerami Grant and Deandre Ayton is inevitable.
Reath flashed a nice fantasy skill set for several weeks while Ayton was on the shelf, too. He has range from behind the arc and was a nice source of boards and blocks.
Murray has seen the least amount of playing time, but an appealing skill set. He's not as polished as his brother Keegan, but the potential is there and I could see the Blazers just rolling out all their young guys the last 3-4 weeks of the year with absolutely nothing else to play for this season.
Charlotte Hornets
Trade Targets
Brandon Miller - SG/SF (79%)
Tre Mann - PG/SG (40%)
The big question in Charlotte is "Will LaMelo Ball return and for how long?" Ball has been oft-injured in his young career and has only played in 22 of Charlotte's 44 games this season. This is after he managed to only suit up for 36 games last season.
Gordon Hayward was dealt to OKC, P.J. Washington is in Dallas, Mark Williams has been out most of the year, and Terry Rozier is now in Miami. The Charlotte roster looks a lot different than it did on opening night and Miles Bridges (surprisingly) has been the most consistent player on the team this season.
However, rookie Brandon Miller is coming on strong. Over the last month, he's cracked the top 75 with averages of 22 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.1 steals, and 3.0 threes. We've even heard some rumblings of "Should the Hornets be building around Ball or Miller" lately with fans being obviously frustrated with LaMelo's injuries and excited about Miller's development.
Tre Mann has his best game as a Charlotte Hornet:
21 PTS
8 REB
6 AST
2 STL
54 FG%
4-5 3PMThe 23-year old did all of this in only 29 minutes. pic.twitter.com/cswFjl0U8P
— Israel (@iohandles) February 15, 2024
If you missed out on picking up Tre Mann off waivers, there's still a chance to acquire him via trade. If LaMelo does come back, it will likely put a ding in his assists, but Mann has looked fantastic in Charlotte and is clearly a player they plan to feature in the second half.
Waiver Adds Or Watch List Worthy
Grant Williams - PF (27%)
Vasilije Micic - PG (7%)
I'm not sure what kind of Kool-Aid Grant Williams is drinking, but I want some! What's weird is that he was already getting playing time in Dallas with how banged up they were and he was only putting up decent numbers occasionally. I suppose a fresh start and a move to a team that doesn't have Kyrie and Luka sucking up 60% of the usage really helps. Williams has come off the bench but is taking double-digit shot attempts and averaging 17-7-2 with two threes in 30 minutes over his first three games as a Hornet. Those numbers will play in any format.
Micic really only holds value when Ball is out, but the European veteran has had two solid games since arriving in Charlotte. He can definitely play, it's just a matter of getting minutes.
Washington Wizards
Trade Targets
Deni Avdija - SF/PF (73%)
Marvin Bagley III - PF/C (45%)
I am sure there's an inclination to "sell high" on Deni after he exploded for 43 points and 15 boards against the Pelicans, but I am absolutely buying. I've had Deni on several teams for most of the year and I am excited to see what he can do down the stretch. While Jordan Poole looks entirely disinterested out there and is possibly the biggest bust of the season, Avdija has broken out in a big way this year and is playing some spirited basketball (along with Tyus Jones and Bagley).
Deni Avdija is the first Wizards player since Moses Malone in 1987 to have at least 40 points and 15 rebounds in a game.
He's the first player to do it since the team changed their name to "Wizards" in 1997.#NBA | #ForTheDistrict pic.twitter.com/ml3qkXlKQm
— Basketball Reference (@bball_ref) February 15, 2024
Deni is averaging 23 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 3 assists on 61.5% shooting over the last two weeks! His free throw percentage and lack of defensive stats are the only flaws in his game.
I'm not a Bagley fan as he's been pretty boring as a fantasy player in his young career, but it certainly looks like he's finally going to get 30+ minutes as the Wizards dealt Daniel Gafford and only got the corpse of Richaun Holmes in return. Bagley is a boon to scoring, rebounds, and FG% but has actually chipped in five blocks in his first three games in Washington, too. He looks poised for a strong finish.
Waiver Adds Or Watch List Worthy
Corey Kispert - SG/SF (15%)
Bilal Coulibaly - SF (8%)
He's not an exciting player to roster, but Kispert is doing his best Max Strus impression lately, averaging 16.9 points and 2.9 threes over the last two weeks. His playing time has seen an increase and he's responded with some really good outside shooting.
I am not as bullish on Coulibaly as I was earlier in the year when he flashed some impressive upside in defensive stats, but it would make a lot of sense for Washington to prioritize his minutes and development in the second half as he continues to be a very raw "work in progress" out there. He's been inconsistent all year, but he will have some nights when he puts up some impressive numbers we all know it.
Detroit Pistons
Trade Targets
Ausar Thompson - SG/SF (57%)
Thompson was a guy who we saw some huge potential from early in the season but was relegated to the bench for much of December and January and was subsequently cut by many managers. His February playing time is up and has leveled off around 26-28 minutes a night, and he's responded with five games in double-digit scoring and a boatload of steals and blocks.
Ausar Thompson last night:
19 PTS | 1 STL | 9-13 FG | 1-2 3P
In what was a poor team performance, Ausar's crazy jumping ability stood out a heap to me. Special athlete. pic.twitter.com/8o4pmykCYa
— Jack Kelly (@jack_kelly_313) February 14, 2024
Ausar and his brother, Amen, are both incredible athletes who are going to stuff the stat sheet with points, boards, and defensive stats. Amen is finally getting his chance in Houston and Detroit would be wise to cut him loose at some point and see what this youngster can do because he's oozing with fantasy upside.
Waiver Adds Or Watch List Worthy
Simone Fontecchio - SF (29%)
Marcus Sasser - PG (6%)
I added Fontecchio to several teams as soon as he was dealt to Detroit. He's had two good games out of his first three and there are likely going to be some bad nights mixed in there for sure, but the Italian marksman has performed well both in Detroit and Utah when given the minutes and I think he's in line for starters' minutes the rest of the way with Detroit's lack of talent on the wing.
Sasser is a watchlist guy for now and even with Killian Hayes gone, he probably needs an injury to Cade Cunningham (or an early shutdown) to get the minutes he needs to be relevant.
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