RADIO
Here we are, in the thick of the in-season tournament playoffs and crazy schedules that put every single game on two different days of the week. Welcome back to the dynasty corner, RotoBallers! The place where we get to look at players in fantasy basketball the same way that general managers look at prospects and teams in real life, with the longest view in the room.
In case anyone is new to the Dynasty Risers and Fallers series, this piece is almost like a stock market watch for players around the NBA. Some young prospects may be receiving more minutes than expected. At the same time, some players entering their prime years may be experiencing a drop-off that no one predicted. All of that factors into whether a player is rising or falling in dynasty value.
What we're aiming to do each week is show which players are losing value and those that are gaining value. Hopefully, this will help some of you buy low, sell high, or brag to your league mates that you chose the right players from day one. Without further ado, let's check in on some of the risers and fallers through Week 7 of NBA action.
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Risers For Dynasty Fantasy Basketball Leagues
Fred VanVleet (PG, HOU)
Bet on yourself and double down! Some wise words from Fred VanVleet back in 2016 and they're ringing true yet again. The 29-year-old is in his eighth season after going undrafted and he's found a way to kick his production up another notch.
Let's start off by pointing out that if anyone's fantasy team requires high field goal percentages, then VanVleet is not your guy. If we're talking about threes, points, assists, rebounds, free throws, and low turnovers, well then we can have a conversation. The Wichita State product is averaging a career-high 9.1 assists per contest right now while putting up his lowest turnover total since the 2018-19 season.
Despite seeing a lower usage rate than the previous three seasons, VanVleet is either averaging the same or more assists, rebounds, threes, and free throw percentage compared to those same seasons. He may not be contributing the same amount of steals he normally does, but if he moves that number back to his usual average of around 1.7 per game, then he'll shoot right back up to the top 20 in fantasy value.
Franz Wagner (SG/SF/PF, ORL)
Franz Wagner proving to be a very good player is not truly surprising. Many people expected him to take a leap this season after showing flashes of brilliance over his first and second years. Jumping almost 50 spots in per-game fantasy value is something that wasn't exactly predicted though.
As of December 6, Wagner ranks 59th in per-game fantasy value, according to Basketball Monster. Last season, he finished at 106 while he was playing 0.6 fewer minutes per contest. So what made him leap over so many people? The career highs in points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks, and threes are probably to blame. Yes, you read that correctly, he has either tied or hit new career highs in all of those categories so far this year.
Wagner's playmaking ability has been one skill that forces everyone to stop in their tracks. How is a defender supposed to contain a 6'10" wing that can put up more than 20 points per game and throw dimes from anywhere on the court? Oh, did I mention he's also only 22 years old? Yes, he's turning out to be the real deal.
Isaiah Joe (PG/SG, OKC)
This one is for all of the fantasy managers out there in deep dynasty leagues looking for someone who might be flying under the radar. Isaiah Joe went from the 49th overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft to playing 9.3 minutes per game with the Philadelphia 76ers to now playing 20.9 minutes per night with the Oklahoma City Thunder. If that's not a glow-up, then I'm not sure what is!
Joe averages 10.6 points, 2.5 rebounds, 1.2 assists, and 2.7 threes per game while shooting 45.8% from the floor and 83.3% from the free throw line. He's hitting around the same amount of threes per night as Kyrie Irving, Klay Thompson, OG Anunoby, and Malik Monk. That's while playing as a depth piece with players like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren, and Jalen Williams leading the way.
While Joe isn't going to take over and win any fantasy matchups by himself, he can account for a big chunk of threes and points that will go a long way in winning those categories.
Fallers For Dynasty Fantasy Basketball Leagues
Nikola Vucevic (C, CHI)
This is not a call to action for anyone to drop Nikola Vucevic or accept pennies on the dollar for him in a trade. The big man out of USC has a bit left in the tank and still leads the league in double-doubles since he entered the NBA in 2011. He is, however, starting to slow down a bit and his value is slowly falling.
Vucevic currently sits at 65th in per-game fantasy value in nine-category leagues after placing in the top 30 in each of the last two seasons and the top 11 in the season before those. His averages in points, rebounds, assists, threes, blocks, and turnovers have either stagnated or gotten worse. Even his field goal percentage went from 52.0% last season to 45.3% across his first 21 games this year.
The traditional stat categories are still solid value returns for fantasy managers who don't need to rely on Vucevic to put up huge games. Slowing down like this in his age 33 season can be more than enough cause to look to trade him while he still has a higher upside for teams looking to compete right now.
Tobias Harris (SF/PF, PHI)
Right when Tobias Harris looked like he was finally turning things around, he reverted to some hideous basketball. What makes it even worse is the fact that this came when Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, and Kelly Oubre Jr. all missed time. That's when Harris should be returning elite value for fantasy managers, but he did the opposite instead.
Over the last two weeks, Harris shot under 40% from the floor while taking 12 shots per game. He posted a measly 11.2 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game despite seeing his highest usage of the season so far. On top of that, he turned the ball over at the highest rate of the year.
So essentially, Harris needs the stars back in the lineup so that he can put up somewhat decent stats against the third or fourth-best defender on the opposing team. That isn't necessarily terrible, but it limits his upside severely. Especially given the fact that he's 31 years old and we don't know where he'll end up after this season.
Immanuel Quickley (PG/SG, NYK)
Other than maybe Jaden Ivey, there isn't another player that can go from inside the coach's doghouse to his star pupil like Immanuel Quickley. Head coach Tom Thibodeau will have Quickley on the floor as he scores 30 or more and looks like a genius to playing him less than 20 minutes in a terrible stretch of outings.
Quickley has been in the spark plug-off-the-bench role for quite a while now. He hasn't received much of a chance to prove himself as a starting-caliber player and he still hasn't received a new contract after his rookie deal. At times last season, he looked willing to take over the floor general role with the bench squad while providing a much-needed scoring punch. Now, it seems like he was told to shoot and worry about the rest later.
The 23-year-old is scoring 0.1 more points per contest but has experienced dips in nearly every other stat category across the board from last year. That also includes minutes per game as he's seeing 4.7 fewer per night. At this rate, he's hard to trust night in and night out to provide enough output for a fantasy team. Especially for such a young player, that doesn't bode well in a dynasty setting.
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