Buy Low, Sell High: Fantasy Week 6
Buy Low:
Steve Nash has been mediocre in his last two games, the tail end of a four-game road trip. He’s thriving in Phoenix’s revived run-and-gun schemes and his lackluster start in December is an aberration. Nash will handsomely reward shrewd owners who can engineer a cheap deal for him.
Roy Hibbert has been despicable since Troy Murphy returned to the lineup two weeks ago and is now splitting minutes with Jeff Foster. The good news is that he started the last game, but the bad news is that Foster outplayed him. Hibbert’s streak during the first half of November is long forgotten now and things can’t get much worse for him. There’s still a chance he’ll find more consistent minutes eventually.
Brandon Jennings has settled down in the past two weeks. He’s still putting up nice lines but is struggling mightily with his shooting. This dip was expected but with Michael Redd out again and with Andrew Bogut’s earlier-than-expected return, Jennings should heat things up sooner than later.
Derrick Rose looks a lot more explosive and is scoring better lately. He’ll have a tough time blowing last season’s numbers out of the water but Rose looks primed to finally give his owners more reliable value for the rest of the season. Get him at a discount now before it’s too late.
Manu Ginobili is working off some major rust but will be back to being his productive self before Christmas. His health is always a touchy issue but if you can stomach that risk, grabbing Batman on the cheap now will pay off big-time.
Tayshaun Prince, Richard Hamilton, Mike Miller, Anthony Randolph, Blake Griffin, Kevin Love and any other productive players who are injured should be considered buy-low candidates.
Sell High:
Luol Deng has been a pleasant surprise to own this season but he’s looking more and more like the U.S. economy did in 2007 – there are too many things that could go wrong and the ride is too good to last much longer. For one thing, Tyrus Thomas is nearing his return. This would put a dent in Deng’s minutes, which are at a career-high 39 per game. Secondly, murmurs abound about a possible deal that would send Thomas (and Jerome James) to New York in return for Al Harrington. This deal would hurt Deng’s value more than Thomas’ return would. Sell high on Deng now or forever hold your peace.
Ben Gordon was putting up some strong lines before his ankle injury. However, with Rip close to making his comeback, Gordon is set to see some major competition for minutes. The emergence of Will Bynum doesn’t help things in what is now a somewhat crowded backcourt for the Pistons.
Greg Oden is turning a lot of skeptical heads these days and is coming off of a 20-rebound performance on Tuesday. He looks great physically and seems to have things figured out for the most part. His penchant for fouls has become more worrisome than his health risk, but the longer his healthy streak continues, the bigger that risk gets. If you own him and are pessimistic about his ability to remain healthy, now’s the time to trade him.
Carlos Boozer is playing out of his mind lately. He’s handing out more assists, blocking more shots and shooting incredibly well so far this season and is giving his fantasy owners huge returns. He remains a slight health risk and chances are that he’ll slow down eventually, which means his owners probably won’t get better value for him than they would now.
Jermaine O’Neal is having a nice season so far and has even shown some resilience. However, his history of missing significant chunks of time is too big to overlook. O’Neal hasn’t played more than 69 games since 2003-04, and there’s little reason to believe he’ll buck that trend now.
Andre Iguodala has picked things up right around where he left them last season. He’s grabbing more boards, handing out more assists, stealing more balls and hitting more threes so far this year, but with Allen Iverson set to return to the Sixers on Monday, Iguodala’s value is about to take a slight hit. He’ll still be a no-brainer to start every week in all but the shallowest of leagues, but his trade value is likely at its apex right now.
Throughout the season, be sure to leave your questions, comments, concerns, trade offers, roster problems and more in the comments below.
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December 4th, 2009 at 4:06 pm
Baby Huey says:
Yeah, quick trade Greg Oden. He is as good as he will ever be. He will be injured tomorrow….. If you believe any of this, please trade him my way. He’s been the best player on the Blazers this year and is only getting better.
December 4th, 2009 at 4:31 pm
RonNation says:
Greg Oden will not get better this year.
December 4th, 2009 at 4:53 pm
Joe says:
Tried to pick up Spencer Hawes off waivers but the first place guy got him.
My teams stands at P. Gasol, Kaman, Bargani, Gay, G. Wallace, B. Diaw, D. Granger, T. Evans, J. Calderon, R. Artest, A. Iverson.
Bench A. Randolph, J. Nelson, T. Young
Think I can use another big man instead of Young or Diaw (can’t bring myself to drop A. Randolph yet)
Ben Wallace, Kenyon Martin, Shaq, Dampier and Dalembert are out there?
What move should I make? I’m first in scoring and almost last in FG% (starting to slip in rebs and blks)
Thanks Doc!
December 4th, 2009 at 5:02 pm
The Fantasy Doctor says:
@Joe: Please see response in previous post.
December 4th, 2009 at 5:30 pm
Monk says:
Thanks for the article, good reads!
Quick question, would you rather have Elton brand or Greg oden?
December 4th, 2009 at 5:40 pm
Joe says:
Thanks Doc,
Who should I drop Young or Diaw? I was all set to drop Young, but Diaw has been horrible since sjax showed up.
December 4th, 2009 at 5:47 pm
The Fantasy Doctor says:
@Joe: True, but some of that is also due to Diaw’s ankle, which remains an issue for him. I like Diaw long-term, though I can’t blame you for dropping him instead of Young. It seems that Young stands to lose some shots with A.I. around, which isn’t good since his value is based mostly on his points, threes and boards.
December 4th, 2009 at 5:51 pm
Monk says:
Hey doc,
would u rather have Elton brand or Greg oden?
Thanks!
December 4th, 2009 at 6:28 pm
The Fantasy Doctor says:
@Monk: I’d prefer owning Oden.
December 4th, 2009 at 7:16 pm
Juan says:
#3 Are you in a 5 Team league??????
December 4th, 2009 at 9:59 pm
Jcarr says:
Doc Nate didn’t play tonight… Rip and duhon are available for a drop and scenario… What would you do?
December 4th, 2009 at 11:22 pm
Jason says:
Should I trade away Brandon Roy and Luol Deng to get Steve Nash?
December 4th, 2009 at 11:35 pm
Jason says:
Also, should I trade away Deng to get Eric Gordon?
December 5th, 2009 at 12:48 am
The Fantasy Doctor says:
@Jcarr: Nate will recover his value soon enough. The question is whether it’ll be in a Knicks uniform or not.
There’s no problem with swapping him out right now. Duhon is probably a bit more appealing than Rip right now, though that’s not saying all that much.
December 5th, 2009 at 12:51 am
The Fantasy Doctor says:
@Jason: If you can afford to lose some depth (i.e. if there’s a solid waiver wire player you can add after the trade goes through), the first deal seems fine.
Deng for Gordon is very appealing for you.
December 5th, 2009 at 4:09 am
Lady Luck says:
Hey Doc,
Jeff Green and Wilson Chandler just hit the wire. Also available are Louis Williams, Mike Dunleavy, Kendrick Perkins, Hakim Warrick. Should I add 1 or 2 of these players?
Rotisserie League. 12 teams.
Derrick Rose
Monta Ellis
Grant Hill
Rudy Fernandez
Kevin Durant
Carmelo Anthony
Jason Thompson
Ersan Ilyasova
Lamar Odom
Luis Scola
Kevin Love
Andrew Bynum
Dwight Howard
December 5th, 2009 at 10:30 am
DoubleA says:
Doc, somebody just dropped Richard Jefferson. Has he still got more value than Ersan Ilysova, Brand or Deng?
December 5th, 2009 at 10:49 am
Atom says:
Hey Doc, should I drop Ben Gordon to pick up Morrow? Drop Bogut for Morrow? Kid keeps putting up solid numbers.
December 5th, 2009 at 2:05 pm
The Fantasy Doctor says:
@Lady Luck: Hill, Fernandez and Ilyasova are probably your most droppable players. Consider picking up Dunleavy, Green, Chandler or Perkins.
December 5th, 2009 at 2:07 pm
The Fantasy Doctor says:
@DoubleA: Not right now. Ilyasova could be dropping off a bit, so if you’re gonna swap anyone out it should be him.
December 5th, 2009 at 2:08 pm
The Fantasy Doctor says:
@Atom: Maybe Gordon, but not Bogut. Just be aware that Nellie will be back soon, so he could put a dent in Morrow’s value. But yes, he’s definitely worth a pickup right now.
December 5th, 2009 at 3:12 pm
will says:
hey Doc,
do you think I should pull the trigger on a trade for Dirk?
I would have to give up Boozer and Barnani. Is that giving up to much?
Thanks
Will
December 5th, 2009 at 5:19 pm
The Fantasy Doctor says:
@will: Yeah, probably a bit too much. If you got a decent second player in return, then this could work.
December 6th, 2009 at 2:00 am
Duck says:
Ryan Gomes. Worth waiver wire? If not, why not?
I’m just curious if you think he’s worth picking up.
December 6th, 2009 at 2:22 am
The Fantasy Doctor says:
@Duck: Yeah, he’s surprisingly worth it for now. I’m not sure he can sustain this pace consistently, especially with Kevin Love back and contributing already. But for now, yes.
December 6th, 2009 at 3:08 am
Duck says:
Pryzbilla, worth a pickup now that Oden is out (sad day)?
December 6th, 2009 at 3:55 am
Khalvin says:
Wow… did evryone look at post 1? Dude called it! lol
Hey Baby Huey any lotto numbers showing in that crystal ball you got?
December 6th, 2009 at 4:21 am
dagwaller says:
Przybilla is a beast.
December 6th, 2009 at 7:51 am
The Fantasy Doctor says:
@Duck: Yep, though he has his flaws. There might be better big men out there for you.
December 6th, 2009 at 11:03 am
Duck says:
Yeah I know he has flaws, but as of now, I’ve got a spot that fits just for FAs, so I’ve been switching around with Udrih/Ridnour, etc. Do you think Pryzbilla will get better stats than them?
December 6th, 2009 at 1:29 pm
a dirty suarez says:
yo doc,
i was offered carlos boozer and mike bibby for andrew bynum and jeff green. keep in mind i also have milsap as a handcuff.
thanks!
December 6th, 2009 at 2:47 pm
The Fantasy Doctor says:
@Duck: More consistent, but not better, unless you are looking exclusively for boards and blocks.
December 6th, 2009 at 2:49 pm
The Fantasy Doctor says:
@a dirty suarez: That sounds like a fair deal. The way Boozer’s playing, it’s tough to turn that down.
December 6th, 2009 at 6:44 pm
Jamal says:
Doc, i was thinking about selling high on Brook Lopez. my main concern is yi jianlian coming back and taking away brook lopez’s production. is this a legitimate concern? or should i just hold onto lopez. If you think i should sell high on lopez, who could i get in return?
December 6th, 2009 at 7:17 pm
Duck says:
Okay. So someone just dropped Wilson Chandler.
Is he worth a pickup?
Possible FA pickups are, Chandler, ARandolph, T. Prince, Gomes.
Thanks
December 6th, 2009 at 8:32 pm
the truth says:
doc, Ant-Rand just got dropped in my league and I got first dibs on the waiver wire, and I’m thinking of dropping Kmart to get him. I’m in need of some BLKS, REBS and FG%. Is it a good move or is Nellieball still anti-fantasy owners?
December 6th, 2009 at 10:04 pm
Twiz says:
Al Thornton has been a beast lately. worth a pickup?
December 6th, 2009 at 11:43 pm
The Fantasy Doctor says:
@Jamal: Yi’s not a threat to Lopez’s value, so hold onto him.
December 6th, 2009 at 11:44 pm
The Fantasy Doctor says:
@Duck: I’d rather have Randolph or Gomes at this point. Chandler still hasn’t shown that he can be reliable.
December 6th, 2009 at 11:45 pm
The Fantasy Doctor says:
@the truth: Martin’s been pretty solid lately, but I’d cautiously support a swap for Randolph. Nellie’s returning to the bench soon, so yes, be prepared for some turbulence.
December 7th, 2009 at 12:00 am
the truth says:
thanks for clearing that up. I actually forgot that I wanted to drop Flynn as well. I already got a ton of PGs (Rondo, Wade, Brooks, Jennings) and I think I can afford to lose Flynn and his massive TO numbers. Would a Flynn for Randolph waiver transaction be better?
December 7th, 2009 at 1:48 am
The Fantasy Doctor says:
@the truth: You bet.
December 7th, 2009 at 10:13 am
The Fantasy Doctor says:
@Twiz: Yeah, but once December’s over and Griffin returns, all bets are off.
December 7th, 2009 at 10:35 pm
baron shieh says:
I currently have T.J. Ford and am considering dropping him for a more reliable PG. My choices are C.J. watson, fisher, lowry,and lawson. Mind that i like watson for he starts on a warrior team, but i already have monta and maggette =/. Should i drop ford for one of the choices or wait for him to break through?>
December 8th, 2009 at 10:37 am
The Fantasy Doctor says:
@baron shieh: Watson’s decent right now but Nellie’s returning soon, not to mention Morrow, so don’t count on him too much.
Lowry and Fisher are your best bets, though I’m not sure any are better than Ford.
December 24th, 2009 at 8:02 pm
JT says:
Louis Williams is available should i drop Brandon Jennings for Williams??