This week was an interesting one for fantasy, with three high usage players all being ruled out for season (Jalen Johnson, Brandon Miller, and Dejounte Murray), and countless more nagging injuries waiting behind. This has resulted in even more opportunity for players off of the wire who can project as strong rest of season adds, while also making certain underperforming players much more expendable.
Being vigilant on the wire is most important with the trade deadline right around the corner. In this article we continue to highlight three solid adds alongside three drop candidates, in order to help you maximize your week.
Adds
Kelly Oubre
(Shallow Leagues)
Another benefactor from one of the most injury riddled teams in basketball, Oubre has quietly put together one of the best fantasy seasons of his career so far. Long considered more of a points league guy rather than a category league player, Oubre has been ranked 60th in category leagues over the course of the last two months (26 games played).
With no end in sight for the Sixers injury woes, combined with Nick Nurse minutes and a great schedule this week (4 games, 3 low volume), he projects as a great option in shallow leagues should he still be available (62% rostered).
Oubre excels in a few categories that do not usually get paired well together, making his value a bit difficult to track fully. Firstly, he is stealing the ball at an incredible rate over the last two months, and his 1.8 steals per game bring back first round value. He is great at disrupting passing lanes and is second in total deflections across the entire NBA.
Furthermore, he has also increased his rebounding and field goal percentage in the last two weeks, grabbing 8.9 rebounds while also shooting 47% from the field (we really got efficient Kelly Oubre before GTA 6). In short, he remains the guy he has always been, a steal generating bucket getter, while also fixing a few key flaws of his from the past. He is a great add in shallow formats until proven otherwise.
Jose Alvarado
(Standard Leagues)
With the loss of Dejounte Murray due to a ruptured Achilles, the New Orleans roster continues its curse of having to reach deep into their depth chart at any given moment. Currently, Alvarado is the only true point guard in the depth chart, and projects to be a much needed commodity to the struggling team. The team lacks playmakers and talented defenders in their back court, and Alvarado will address both of those concerns, even if his starting spot is a bit up in the air.
The Pelicans schedule is terrible this week, with three games all on high volume days, yet the upside of Alvarado is too much to pass on, and he projects as a strong add going forward. From a fantasy perspective, Alvarado stands out as an elite steals generator, even in limited minutes. He currently grabs 1.3 steals per game despite being limited to an average of 22 minutes a night, a number that has scaled up when given starting minutes (1.7 as a healthy starter this season).
Alvarado also has some good upside to provide assists and threes (2.2 3PM and 4.1 APG in limited minutes) in true role player fashion, and stands as a very good dart throw for category league managers looking for a spark off the wire.
Jaxson Hayes
(Deep Leagues)
Well I guess the Lakers need a center now? Following the absolutely mind boggling Luka Doncic trade, the Lakers are formally out of any big man in their roster. As the remaining center, Jaxson Hayes stands to have decent rest of season value until the Lakers are able to acquire a different big. The Lakes have a solid schedule on the week, with two of their three games being played on low volume days. As a result, Hayes remains a unique dart throw as an early benefactor of the hectic trade deadline.
Hayes is a great shot blocker, in large part due to his athleticism, and has recorded 4 blocks over his last two games as a starter following a recent injury to Anthony Davis. Hayes also has a good impact on your field goal percentage, being limited to dunks and put backs at the rim (he is still not great there, but at least the numbers are passable).
Should Hayes remain the best center in Los Angeles following the deadline, he will be on the receiving end of playmaking from both Luka and LeBron James, giving him a great shot of outperforming his skill level. A great speculative add with rest of season value in deeper leagues, Hayes is one of many players who can be a great add going into the deadline.
Drops
Jrue Holiday
(Shallow Leagues)
Long passed are the days where Jrue Holiday is able to anchor a top 40 spot in fantasy with ease. Since moving to a stacked Celtics roster last year, Holiday has slowly been pushed to the edges of fantasy relevance, and the emergence of Payton Pritchard as a top bench option is what ultimately will cause Holiday to be a drop.
Unlike most drop candidates, Holiday remains a great option in real life, but he just falls victim to the realities that come from being a 6th option on offense. Combined with a below average three game schedule, Holiday is a perfect example of a great drop candidate in shallow leagues (rostered in 86% of Yahoo formats).
So what is off for the veteran this year? The easy answer would be everything (bar FT and TO), however it is no fault to his play, which has remained elite compared to his role. The unfortunate reality is that there are not enough shots to go around, and as a player best fit in the lanes rather than behind the arc, Holiday is often the one losing out. He ranks 112th on the season so far, with his play over the past couple weeks having him ranked comfortably outside the top 150.
The upside for the vet appears to be nonexistent, and managers can be best served by opening up his roster spot for a streaming option or even a high upside stash going into the deadline. While his play is still passable for now, the upside does not merit a locked spot in shallow leagues by any means.
Aaron Gordon
(Standard Leagues)
Following an extended time outside of the lineup due to a nagging calf injury, Aaron Gordon has finally made his way back to the starting unit, albeit to virtually no fanfare. However, his play has not caught up to his former self, and his value reflects that fact. Similarly to Holiday, it can be tough to see a player so clearly impactful in real life be cast aside from a fantasy perspective, however the reality is that glue guys are often the first to drop value in high level teams.
The emergence of Christian Braun and Russell Westbrook has only limited his opportunity for easy boards and looks at the rim, as the other two are simply more dynamic for the time being. Gordon has slid all the way to being ranked 193rd on the season so far, providing value nearly 100 spots below his ADP. Including the games played in the last two months, he slides down to a ranking of 265th, making him an actively negative player in most spots.
He is currently a steep negative in six categories (points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks, and threes), while also providing nothing positive outside of turnovers. He remains rostered in roughly 60% of Yahoo leagues, yet is a great example of a low upside stash best served as a streamer. Going into the trade deadline, players like these are great examples of expendable standard league assets who might have been held far too long (sunken cost fallacy no doubt).
Jeremy Sochan
(Deep Leagues)
Another player who stands out as a clear loser following an unexpected trade, Sochan projects to be largely unrosterable following the arrival of De’Aaron Fox in San Antonio. Due to the shooting struggles of Fox, it is unlikely that Sochan is ever going to be able to wrestle his starting spot back from the hands of Harrison Barnes. As a guy already proving incapable of providing value off of the bench for the last couple weeks, this is likely the death blow for the youngster, despite all the promise he showed early on.
In the five games since Sochan returned from injury, he has not only failed to start a single time, but he also has been averaging a mere 20 minutes a night. In this span, Sochan has returned a ranking of 259th, making him a negative asset by a wide margin. His inability to provide great value off the ball limits his upside from a fantasy perspective, and his lowered usage impacts his ability to rack up the counting stats that made him special (assists/rebounds).
Definitely not a confirmed drop yet (a lot of this is speculation), should a high upside player be available at the deadline, Sochan is no longer a great hold. It can definitely be tough to drop a guy you likely held through multiple long term injuries, however the deadline is definitely the time to get cutthroat with roster spots, as many deeper leagues can be won by well executed waiver moves.