League Winners: Second-Half Trade Targets and Stashes - 2025 Fantasy Basketball

Things have not gone as planned for fantasy basketball managers who drafted players like Joel Embiid or Jimmy Butler. But there's plenty of basketball left to be played and it's time to reassess how we view players going forward.

If you want to win that fantasy basketball league championship, worry less about where your players rank now and start thinking about where they could finish in March and April.

There's still time to make trades and even stash players off the waiver wire who could help you win down the stretch. In this article, I want to highlight some young players who are primed for big second halves. These players have already demonstrated that they can put big numbers and some may just be scratching the surface of their fantasy potential!

League Winners: Breakout Players To Target

Trey Murphy III - SG/SF, New Orleans Pelicans

I was incredibly high on Trey Murphy III coming into this season and ranked him well ahead of his ADP. But he's exceeded even my expectations by posting some top-10 numbers over the last month (22.7 PTS, 5.9 REB, 3.9 AST, 1.5 STL, 1.0 BLK, 2.9 3PM). He missed the start of the season with an injury but quickly rounded into form in New Orleans once healthy.

Holding all of my Trey Murphy stock

Will reap the benefits pic.twitter.com/VOpnyeRg1G

— Esfandiar Baraheni (@JustEsBaraheni) January 28, 2025

He's had some things align just right to allow his breakout to take place this year. Brandon Ingram has barely played this year. Both Dejounte Murray and Zion Williamson missed big chunks of time as well. And since Williamson returned to the lineup recently, TM3 has regressed a little, ranking just 46th over the last two weeks.

But if that's his floor, then I'm trying to buy low while I can. The Pelicans are going nowhere fast and I wouldn't expect them to finish the year with this entire lineup intact. Some of these guys are going to get shut down or possibly traded. Murphy could find himself as the No. 1 option in New Orleans down the stretch and putting up big-time stats for fantasy purposes.

Amen Thompson - SG/SF/PF, Houston Rockets

Is there a hotter player in the league right now than Thompson? The Rockets' recent run of success has them the talk of the NBA, as not many expected this team to be this good this quickly. The addition of Fred VanVleet last year added some veteran leadership, but the continued development of Jalen Green, Alperen Sengun, Tari Eason, and Thompson is really what is taking this team to unexpected heights.

Amen Thompson RAISED THE BAR once again for the Rockets!

🚀 33 PTS (career-high)
🚀 9 REB
🚀 4 AST

It's his 2nd straight game with a new career-high and it comes with the GAME-WINNING bucket 😤 pic.twitter.com/2hWHJupP0L

— NBA (@NBA) January 28, 2025

His numbers over the last month are eye-popping:

18.5 PTS, 10.9 REB, 4.3 AST, 2.3 STL, 1.2 BLK, 56.7 percent FG%

We aren't getting many threes, but who cares, right? Thompson's offensive game has taken a huge leap this season as he's getting to the rim with ease and is making tough shots in the mid-range. We knew his athleticism was going to help him pile up rebounds and defensive stats, but his game is much more well-rounded than I think anyone expected.

There's no reason to think he's peaked yet, either. He's taken on a bigger role for this team as the season has gone along and he's going to continue to have some of these massive games where he can help you win multiple categories for the week. I'm "buying high" on Thompson because the sky is the limit for him -- try to convince other managers his lack of threes is an issue or that he's going to regress.

Onyeka Okongwu - PF/C, Atlanta Hawks

Fantasy basketball managers have been clamoring for Okongwu to start over veteran Clint Capela for the last two years and it looks as if those days might finally be upon us. Okongwu has started the last six games for the Hawks, posting 12.5 points, 8.7 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 2.7 stocks on 58 percent shooting.

This season, Onyeka Okongwu has now achieved a career high in:

Points (28)
Rebounds (21)
Assists (7)
Steals (3)
FGM (11)
OREB (10)

Improving. pic.twitter.com/dMRcSpBhE3

— OkongwuMuse (@OkongwuMuse) January 26, 2025

Atlanta was just dealt some crushing news as young star power forward Jalen Johnson has a torn labrum and will miss the rest of the season. It could try to play Okongwu at PF alongside Capela or just try to roll with a platoon of Larry Nance Jr. and De'Andre Hunter. Either way, Okongwu has emerged as a fantasy force and the best interior option for the rest of the season -- barring some type of trade.

He's flirting with top 50 value over the last two weeks, and based on his career per-36 numbers, it's what we've always expected from him when he finally had a chance to play starters' minutes.

Kel'el Ware - PF/C, Miami Heat

The Heat rookie big man went from not even being in the rotation for the first two months of the season to the front-runner for NBA Rookie of the Year (now at +110 with the next closest being Stephon Castle at +400) in the matter of a month. Just look what he's done in his last five games.

Is Kel’el Ware the Rookie of The Year? 🤔

In his last 5 games, he’s averaging:
- 18.6 PPG
- 9.8 RPG
- 1.8 BPG
- 1.2 SPG pic.twitter.com/dhfE5irqOZ

— Overtime (@overtime) January 28, 2025

Ware has been simply too good to keep off the floor. Despite already having an All-Star-caliber big man in Bam Adebayo, Miami has been rolling with Ware in the starting lineup alongside Adebayo for the last four games.

Jimmy Butler has now been suspended indefinitely and his days in Miami are over. The Heat are now Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo's team and appear ready to embrace the youth movement with Jaime Jaquez Jr., Nikola Jovic, and Ware thrust into bigger roles.

We are still dealing with a small sample size here, but when you see Ware ranked inside the top 40 over the last two weeks with numbers like this, it's hard not to get excited about his potential for the rest of the season.

Deni Avdija - SF/PF, Portland Trail Blazers

It's happening! Avdija is emerging as a really good NBA player and the Blazers are looking very smart right now for dealing for him in the offseason when a lot of folks were giving them heat for trading for a prospect who had yet to turn the corner.

Deni Avdija tonight:

30 Points
9 Rebounds
2 Assists
2 Steals
55% FG pic.twitter.com/whVNd6PEgi

— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) January 29, 2025

I had some discussions with other analysts this preseason about why I was so high on Avdija. There was supposed to be a logjam on the wings in Portland and concerns that he would only play a sixth-man role off the bench.

But injuries to -- well, pretty much all of the other Portland starters at one time or another -- opened the door for Avdija to become a full-time starter and his play on the court has spoken for itself. He's now out there leading this young core to wins against teams it shouldn't be beating and you could argue that he, along with Shaedon Sharpe, Toumani Camara, and Scoot Henderson, are the core pieces that Portland should be building around for the future.

The only thing holding him back from a top-50 finish is a high turnover rate and some mediocre free-throw shooting (he's taking a lot of shots from the line, so his 77 percent is magnified a bit more than in years past). I'll still happily take the 18-8-4 he's been giving us over the last month to go along with 1.6 steals and 1.8 threes. And I think he will sustain this level of production for the rest of the season in Portland, too.

The Breakout Is Coming Soon: Players To Stash

Jaden McDaniels - SF/PF, Minnesota Timberwolves

McDaniels is rostered in just 48 percent of Yahoo leagues right now -- let that sink in! That's just criminal and shows us that fantasy managers still overvalue points and undervalue peripheral stats.

Things have started to click for Jaden McDaniels in January.

12.8 PTS
6.5 REBS
1.5 assists
1.5 steals
1.2 blocks

52.8 FG%
85 FT%
39.2 3P%

— John Meyer (@meyerNBA) January 28, 2025

Or perhaps managers are skeptical as to whether or not he can keep up his improved offensive efficiency. It seems like a silly thing to get caught up on for me. He's still a very young player, and at his worst, he was still giving us solid end-of-the-bench statistics. Right now, he's providing elite production, and even if he's playing a bit over his head, he could settle into some very nice top-75 territory for the rest of the season.

Toumani Camara - SF/PF, Portland Trail Blazers

I have been driving the Camara hype bus now for nearly a month, yet the Portland youngster is still just rostered in 35 percent of Yahoo leagues. What are you people waiting for?

TOUMANI CAMARA POSTER TIME 😛

Leaps off two and punches it home!

📺 MIL-POR | Late 4Q on TNT pic.twitter.com/BNqVXWkRWn

— NBA (@NBA) January 29, 2025

Camara's numbers over the last month include 12.5 PTS, 5.8 REB, 2.4 AST, 1.5 STL, 0.7 BLK, and 1.5 3PM on 47 percent from the field. His lone weak spot has been a 72 percent mark from the free-throw line, but he also only takes a few attempts per game. Camara has earned 34 or more minutes in his last four games and his play on both ends has had plenty to do with Portland's recent 5-1 stretch.

Nikola Jovic - PF/C, Miami Heat

Jovic is in his third season with the Heat, but is still just 21 years old! The European big man is 6-foot-10 but has some guard skills and can shoot the long ball. Miami has been reluctant to use him too much at the four, where he could get outmuscled by bigger forwards, or at the three, where he can have a hard time keeping up with smaller, quicker wings.

But we are finally starting to see a Jovic breakout this season, and the Heat have turned to Jovic to help fill the void left behind by Jimmy Butler's absence. Whether he's starting or coming off the bench doesn't matter too much -- the bottom line is he's playing around 30 minutes a night over the last month and contributing a tidy 13-4-4 with 2.1 3PM on 45 percent from the floor and 93 percent from the line.

DOUBLE OVERTIME IN MIAMI ‼️

Nikola Jović knots it up for another 5 minutes on NBA League Pass! pic.twitter.com/mX9ByaX70b

— NBA (@NBA) January 28, 2025

This kid's game is built for category leagues and he's only going to improve with more meaningful minutes. It's hard to imagine his production goes anywhere but up from here.

Bilal Coulibaly - SG/SF, Washington Wizards

Coulibaly is in just his second NBA season, and like Jovic, he's still very young (20 years old). Unlike Jovic and others on this list, Coulibaly's game is still very raw. Even though he has improved a lot as a shooter already, he still has a long way to go before he's a consistent scorer and his fantasy value is very much tied to his rebounding and defensive stats.

BILAL COULIBALY WITH THE HAMMER 🔨

Perfect pass from Poole leads to the powerful slam! pic.twitter.com/KP6HaQ8FD2

— NBA (@NBA) January 26, 2025

But if it's opportunities we are looking for, then Coulibaly should see the most of any player on this list. Washington has the worst record in the league and is focused on developing the young core of Coulibaly, Alexandre Sarr, and Bub Carrington.

These young players should see as many minutes as they can handle down the stretch. If you can stomach the poor shooting numbers from Coulibaly, he is most assuredly going to post some big steal and block totals down the stretch.

Ausar Thompson - SF/PF, Detroit Pistons

While his twin brother is the one getting the headlines for his breakout in Houston, Thompson is slowly working his way back into things after being on a tight minutes restriction for much of the season up to this point.

Ausar Thompson cares not what your plans are for offense. He's here to ruin them.

This might be the best individual defensive possession I've seen this season from one player. pic.twitter.com/eKQ5NDE9z5

— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) January 23, 2025

Thompson has the least-polished offensive game of the Thompson twins and there are going to be some ugly nights (like the 0-of-6 shooting for zero points he had against Cleveland on Monday), but the potential for boards and defensive stats is there and you have to think that Detroit will eventually cut Thompson loose for a full 30 minutes a game at some point here in the second half.

More Fantasy Basketball Analysis