Roundtable: Whose fantasy value would rise, fall if traded?
The 2024 NBA trade deadline is Thursday at 3 p.m. ET, and any trade that happens is sure to have a direct impact on fantasy basketball.
So who are the players rumored to be on the trading block who stand the greatest chance to see their fantasy value increase or decrease if they are dealt?
Here are fantasy experts André Snellings, Eric Moody, Eric Karabell, Jim McCormick and Steve Alexander with the players they have their sights on.
Fantasy value could rise if traded
Andre Drummond, C, Chicago Bulls (9.7% rostered): Drummond’s fantasy value could rise if he’s traded to a team like the Celtics, who are looking to bolster their bench heading into the playoffs. He is only rostered in 9.5% of ESPN leagues and averages 15.8 minutes per game this season. However, Drummond has been productive when provided minutes as he showed Tuesday night when he got a spot start against Minnesota and went for 16 points, 16 rebounds and 4 blocks in 35 minutes. He has averaged 13.6 PPG, 16.4 RPG and 2.0 BPG in the last nine games where he’s played 20 or more minutes. — Moody
Drummond somehow averages 8.3 RPG on only 15.8 MPG, and it is not merely because of his mammoth work over eight starts. Drummond clearly can still do yeoman’s work on the boards, when presented opportunity. He averages 6.8 RPG and 1.1 SPG over 13.8 MPG as a reserve. Those minutes would presumably rise if the Bulls trade him and especially if he ends up back with the 76ers. — Karabell
This might be digging in the crates, but Drummond would become a fantasy force if a team such as the Philadelphia 76ers were to acquire him. Essentially on an expiring minimum deal, the path to such a transaction is simple to conduct, while the indefinite absence of Joel Embiid and the team’s newfound rebounding woes are convergent issues. Paul Reed is a smaller center with a high foul rate, while Drummond leads the NBA by a massive margin with 18.9 rebounds per 36 minutes. There’s even appeal if he lands on Dallas, Brooklyn or the Clippers regarding teams with real minutes for a big body on the glass. Drummond could vault from plug-and-play option whenever Nikola Vucevic is out for Chicago to a must-roster producer. — McCormick
Dejounte Murray, PG/SG, Atlanta Hawks (99.3% rostered): If Murray is dealt away from being in Trae Young‘s shadow it not only clears the way for Murray to potentially become more of the main man, but would also take some weight off Young’s shoulders. It all hinges on where Murray lands, but he’s a proven fantasy star just entering his prime that has never really had the opportunity to run his own team, as he was a much younger player in San Antonio. And, even then, he was never fully given the keys to the car. — Alexander
Caris LeVert, SG/SF, Cleveland Cavaliers (48.3% rostered): LeVert averaged about 20/5/5 as a starter a few years ago, but his production is capped in his current role off the bench for a deep Cavaliers squad. If he were to be traded to a team where he could start, LeVert is still only 29 years old and has the game/upside to return to top-75 fantasy hoops consideration in the right situation. — Snellings
Fantasy value could fall if traded
Kyle Kuzma, SF/PF, Washington Wizards (93.3% rostered): The Mavericks are prioritizing landing a power forward over a small forward and Kuzma is one player on Dallas’ radar. Kuzma has averaged 21.8 PPG, 6.5 RPG, and 4.3 APG in his third season with the Wizards. The Mavericks rank 23rd in defensive rating, an area where Kuzma could be of assistance, but playing alongside Luka Doncic, who has a 37.0% usage rate, would be detrimental to his fantasy value. — Moody
The 28-year-old Kuzma has been a focal point in Washington and is enjoying a career-best 30.2% usage rate this season, but that number will likely be coming down on almost any other team. The good news is that he’s a fairly efficient player, which should at least give him fantasy value on other teams, but it’s hard to see him landing on a team where he’s such a key part of the offense as he’s been with the Wizards. — Alexander
DeMar DeRozan, SG/SF, Chicago Bulls (99.6% rostered): DeRozan averages 22.3 PPG, 5.3 APG and 16.4 field goal attempts per game, but these numbers seem unlikely to continue if he joins most contending teams (Lakers, especially), so fantasy managers should hope he remains a Bull. Give DeRozan, 34, credit. He has been an underrated fantasy option, thanks to high usage, for more than a decade, despite relying on his mid-game shooting far more than 3-pointers. His fantasy value may not be near as solid in another uniform. — Karabell
Tobias Harris, SF/PF, Philadelphia 76ers (89.1% rostered) and D’Angelo Russell, PG/SG, Los Angeles Lakers (91.1% rostered): Both are starting and being relied upon for heavy production in their current situations, but both have been rumored to have their largest trade value as short/expiring contracts that could be used as salary filler in a deal for a better player. If either were traded as salary filler, it could indicate their new destination wouldn’t have as much need or as large of a role for them as they currently have. Both Harris and Russell are 20 PPG type players now, but if traded could end up as reserves with smaller roles moving forward. — Snellings
D’Angelo Russell is 17th overall on the Player Rater over the past month due to a surge in shooting and distribution success. Empowered more as a creator in recent lineups, Russell would almost surely lose statistical luster if included in a deal later this week. — McCormick
Collin Sexton, PG/SG, Utah Jazz (72.8% rostered): Sexton is another player who has been hot of late that would likely see a dip in usage and fantasy utility if dealt to be a team’s scoring microwave, versus the expanded role he’s earned with the Jazz. — McCormick
