The Fantasy Basketball Drop List: Week 12

January 13, 2020

Justin Carter looks at fantasy basketball players who can be dropped in Week 12. These are players who've struggled so far in the 2019-20 NBA season.

We missed last week, so a belated Happy New Year to our readers. Hopefully the first week and a half of 2020 has treated you and your fantasy teams well.

Here's our weekly fantasy basketball drop list, a look at players who are can be dropped in some or all formats. Every Friday, we'll look at why it's fine to move on from certain players based on their recent play.

Let's look at players who you can consider dropping so far. Remember: every league is different and we're working on a pretty small sample size this early in the year, so make sure you evaluate what options you have to replace these players before you actually drop them.

Players to Consider Dropping or Replacing

Blake Griffin - (F/C, Detroit Pistons) - 66% Owned

Well...

Blake Griffin had knee surgery and we don't have a timetable for his return, but with Andre Drummond trade rumors swirling and the Pistons sinking in the Eastern Conference standings, it's probably a safe assumption to say that Griffin's season is over. Maybe if you have a spot left on your injured list you can throw him on there for a little bit, but man...I think Griffin's done.

Michael Porter Jr. - (F, Denver Nuggets) - 25% Owned

A hot commodity as recently as last week, Porter Jr. is cooling off big time. Since scoring 25 points on January 2nd against the Pacers, Porter's seen his minutes drop back down and hasn't scored in double figures since. The problem is that the Nuggets have their sights set on the Western Conference title, and they have more reliable options who can help them get there. Porter's potentially a very good NBA player and someone who you should hold in all dynasty leagues, obviously, but his short term value is low right now. Maybe someone will trade you for him for the upside, but more than likely he's just going to sit on your bench for the foreseeable future if you hold onto him.

Dario Saric - (F/C, Phoenix Suns) - 31% Owned

This has really south.

Phoenix has played four games since 2020 started, and in two of those Dario Saric played single-digit minutes. You can't really justifying rostering someone who isn't going to consistently play basketball, and Saric isn't going to really give you much even on the nights where he gets 15-20 minutes of action. Barring injuries ahead of him in the Phoenix rotation, it seems that rostering Saric is something that's not worth doing at this juncture. Maybe trade season opens something up, but you can always go grab him off waivers in that scenario. I mean, Cameron Johnson is ahead of him in the Suns rotation.

Jonathan Isaac - (F, Orlando Magic) - 71% Owned

On Thursday, the Magic filed for a Disabled Player Exception for Isaac. He won't need surgery for his knee sprain/bone bruise, but he was already expected to miss 7-9 weeks before being reevaluated, and Orlando's application means they don't expect to see him again this year. He's an intriguing player for the future, but you can safely move on from him in all re-draft leagues now.

Jabari Parker - (F, Atlanta Hawks) - 23% Owned

23 percent of people stopped playing fantasy hoops, right?

Parker has played in one game since Christmas. He has a shoulder injury, and the return of John Collins mean that Parker was already losing minutes when healthy. He's out for at least two weeks and won't have a significant role when he gets back. It's safe to drop Parker if you haven't already.

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