X
Lost password?

Don't have an account?
Gain Access Now

X

Receive free daily analysis

NFL
NBA
NHL
NASCAR
CFB
MLB
MMA
PGA
ESPORTS
BETTING

Already have an account? Log In

X

Forgot Password


POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Import Your Leagues
Weekly Rankings
Compare Any Players
Projections
Articles & Tools
Weekly Planner
24x7 News and Alerts

Making Sense Of The NBA Trade Deadline

We should have known better when we thought that things were a bit too quiet last week. The NBA has taught us again and again near the trade deadline that bombs can be dropped at any given moment and usually, it's in a way we don't expect.

This was the case when it came to last year's blockbuster trade of DeMarcus Cousins to New Orleans, and it happened again this year with the Clippers, seemingly out of nowhere, dealing Blake Griffin to the Detroit Pistons.

As we prep for a week of Wojbombs and Shamwows, let's take a minute to digest what's already gone down and the impact that those moves will have for fantasy.

Featured Promo: New Novig users get a $25 purchase match (50% discount up to $25) on your first Novig deposit, and a 3 free months of RotoBaller's "Big-4" Premium Pass (NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL) which includes exclusive tools for Betting, Props, DFS and more! CLAIM IT NOW

 

Blake Griffin Moves North

The Deal:

Pistons acquire: Blake Griffin, Brice Johnson, Willie ReedClippers acquire: Tobias Harris, Avery Bradley, Boban Marjanovic, a protected 2018 first-round pick, a future second-round pick

Winners:

SG/SF Stanley Johnson, SG Luke Kennard (Detroit Pistons): With Avery Bradley being out in the Griffin mega-deal, the 31.7 minutes a game that the departing wing was playing need to be distributed, and these two guys are the first in line to absorb the bulk of it. Stanley Johnson has been a disappointment so far in his young career due to absolutely atrocious shooting. That won't change, but with 30+ minutes a game, Johnson can almost act like a Robert Covington lite - A sizable source of steals and 3s for a punt FG% team.

Kennard is looking at minutes in the high-20s, and the impact this trade will have on him is a bit more murky. The rookie has the skills to be more than just a 3-point specialist, and whether he can become that this season is dependent on how much trust Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy has in the kid to let him handle the ball more and be more involved in creating offense for the second unit. That extra involvement can be the difference between Kennard being a streamer/deep league guy versus a standard league guy.

Reggie Bullock is also worth mentioning -- he was already starting alongside Bradley, and now slots into Bradley's spot at the 2 with Johnson at the 3. His minutes aren't really changing from what they already had been for much of December and January, but they're more secure, and he's had a hot hand (shooting 45% from 3 on the year), so he's worth owning in a lot of leagues.

C Andre Drummond (Detroit Pistons): The underrated aspect of the trade working for the Pistons is the fact that Blake Griffin is a significantly better playmaker than Tobias Harris was. With Blake looking to playing a Point Forward type role, Detroit's off-ball players will get better looks than they did previously, and the giant Griffin/Drummond pick and roll will be all kinds of fun to watch. Drummond seems to be excited to team up with Blake, and there's no reason to expect his fantastic season to lose any steam after this trade.

SF/PF Tobias Harris (Los Angeles Clippers)With DeAndre Jordan and Lou Williams looking to be on the way out, Tobias Harris is in line to be the Clippers go to guy going forward and should have every opportunity to thrive as the de facto number one option. Harris should see an increase in rebounds once Jordan gets moved, as Drummond was a vacuum on the boards suppressing the numbers of his teammates.

SG Avery Bradley (Los Angeles Clippers): Avery Bradley was having a down season in Detroit, and the change of scenery should be good for the guard. He saw his rebound numbers drop significantly with the move from Boston to Detroit, as he went from a terrible rebounding team in Boston to playing along side the aforementioned vacuum in Andre Drummond. While he might not get back to the heights of last season, Bradley should be a bit more productive in LA than he was in Detroit.

Neutral:

PF/C Blake Griffin (Detroit Pistons): Not much changes with Blake. He still is playing alongside a big center, and he still will have carte blanche to handle the ball in a point forward type role. He does move away from his brilliant 4-4-4 playoff schedule, but the Pistons still possess a solid 3-4-4 schedule so you only lose one game with the move. He will remain a top-30 level guy.

Losers:

PG Reggie Jackson (Detroit Pistons): Jackson's value as a point guard was already precarious due to his lack of steals and low 3s. His saving grace was fairly decent assist numbers for a later round point guard, and that stands to take a hit with Blake coming in and taking over some of the ball-handling duties. It's hard to see Reggie being a top-100 guy going forward.

PG/SG Lou Williams (Los Angeles Clippers): Bringing in Avery Bradley means adding another mouth to feed in the guard rotation, and Bradley will eat into Lou's minutes if Lou doesn't get moved. The chance of Lou getting moved also increases as the move signals a rebuild for the Clippers, and it's hard to envision a better situation for Sweet Lou than the one he had found himself in the last few months.

 

The Montenegro Alpha Meets Mardi Gras

The Deal:

Pelicans acquire: Nikola Mirotic, second-round pick; Bulls acquire: Tony Allen, Jameer Nelson, Omer Asik, protected first-round pick

Winners:

SF/PF Nikola Mirotic (New Orleans Pelicans): Nikola Mirotic looks to have a more solidified role and should see his minutes settle close to the 30 minute mark for a team that desperately needs help up front with the season ending injury to DeMarcus Cousins. With Anthony Davis commanding the type of defensive attention he gets, Mirotic will be able to carve out a role next to the generational big man and his value should increase. He should settle in as a borderline top-50 guy.

PF/C Bobby Portis, SF/PF Paul Zipser (Chicago Bulls): These are the two guys who should be in line to absorb the majority of Mirotic's minutes. Neither of these guys are particularly good players, but the opportunity is there for them to provide some value. Portis looks to get minutes in the high 20s, and he can almost provide a double double in that time with a bit of defense and 3s. He can be a top-100 guy given those minutes and should be added in standard leagues.

Zipser still remains a ways away from being standard league relevant, but should see his minutes rise and coach Hoiberg likes him, so there is a chance he can reach streamer relevancy at some point this season.

C Omer Asik (New Orleans Pelicans): Just kidding! The corpse of Omer Asik is still as useless as ever.

Losers: 

SF/PF Dante Cunningham, SG/SF Darius Miller (New Orleans Pelicans): The random Pelicans front court flotsam all take a hit with this trade. They had borderline standard league relevancy before, and almost zero relevancy now.

 

#FreeGreg

Suns buyout Greg Monroe

Winner:

PF/C Greg MonroeWherever Greg goes will be better than his current situation as a walking DNP-CD. If Monroe ends up on a team with a shallow front court, like the Boston Celtics, he can be close to the top-70 guy he has been in previous seasons in a role with minutes in the high-20s. This is great news for Monroe and he is worth a speculative add as he has great upside if he ends up in the right situation.

 

More Fantasy Basketball Analysis




POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Import Your Leagues
Weekly Rankings
Compare Any Players
Projections
Articles & Tools
Weekly Planner
24x7 News and Alerts

REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

Chris Boucher

Active Thursday vs. Kings
Jalen Duren

Won't Return Thursday After Ankle Injury
Ryan Kalkbrenner

Ruled Out Again Friday
Josh Hart

Sidelined for Fourth Straight Game
Kyshawn George

to Miss Fourth Straight Game Friday
Joel Embiid

Cleared to Play Thursday vs. Mavericks
Jonas Valančiūnas

Jonas Valanciunas Ruled Out for At Least Four Weeks
Bo Bichette

Yankees Showing Interest in Bo Bichette
D'Angelo Russell

Ruled Out Thursday With Illness
George Kittle

Listed as Questionable for Week 18
Alperen Sengün

Alperen Sengun Active Versus Nets
Amon-Ra St. Brown

Trending Towards Playing
Clint Capela

Steven Adams and Clint Capela Sidelined Thursday
Miles Wood

Blue Jackets Place Miles Wood on Injured Reserve
Dak Prescott

May Not Play Full Game in Week 18
Conor Garland

to Miss One Week
Egor Demin

Won't Suit Up Against Houston
Marco Rossi

to Miss at Least One Week
Ace Bailey

Still Out on Thursday Night
Tari Eason

Active on Thursday
Yegor Chinakhov

Set for Penguins Debut Thursday
Lauri Markkanen

Ruled Out on Thursday
Tanner McKee

Will Start for Eagles in Week 18
Shayne Gostisbehere

Misses Third Consecutive Game Thursday
Keyonte George

Unavailable on Thursday
Michael Porter Jr.

Out on Thursday
Auston Matthews

Returns From One-Game Absence
Josh Allen

Trending Towards Resting in Week 18
William Nylander

Remains Out Thursday
Lamar Jackson

Will Officially Return in Week 18
Tobias Harris

Won't Suit Up Against Miami
Lauri Markkanen

on the Injury Report for Thursday Night
Keyonte George

Battling an Illness, Might Miss Thursday's Game
Jusuf Nurkić

Jusuf Nurkic Won't Play on Thursday Evening
Houston Astros

Astros Sign Tatsuya Imai to Three-Year Deal
Jordan Love

Clears Concussion Protocol, Won't Start in Week 18
George Kittle

"Absolutely" Expects to Play in Week 18
Clayton Tune

to Start for Packers in Week 18
Chris Olave

Ruled Out for Week 18
Tom Wilson

Wraps Up 2025 With Gordie Howe Hat Trick
Valeri Nichushkin

Nets Second Career Hat Trick
Frank Vatrano

to Miss Six Weeks With Shoulder Injury
Conor Sheary

Noah Laba Exit With Injuries Wednesday
Brayden McNabb

Suffers Upper-Body Injury Wednesday
Miles Wood

Exits Early Wednesday
Gavin Brindley

Sustains Upper-Body Injury
Michael Porter Jr.

Battling Illness, Questionable Thursday
Davante Adams

Not Expected to Play in Week 18
Geno Smith

Won't Play in Week 18
Aaron Rodgers

Considering Playing Beyond 2025?
Sean Monahan

Sits Out Wednesday's Game
Zach Werenski

Misses Fourth Straight Game Wednesday
Dougie Hamilton

Questionable Wednesday
Radko Gudas

Expected to Remain Out Wednesday
Stefon Diggs

Expected to Play in Week 18
Ilya Lyubushkin

Back From One-Game Absence Wednesday
Alex Lyon

to Miss "Bit of Time"
Erik Cernak

Rejoins Lightning Lineup Wednesday
Christian McCaffrey

Trending to Play in Week 18
Jalen Hurts

Eagles Expected to Rest Jalen Hurts, Most Starters in Week 18
George Kittle

49ers Will be "Very Surprised" if George Kittle Doesn't Play on Saturday
Marvin Harrison Jr.

Ruled Out for Regular-Season Finale
CFB

Lane Kiffin Interested in Sam Leavitt, Brendan Sorsby at LSU
CFB

Deuce Knight Officially Entering Transfer Portal
CFB

Kewan Lacy Expected to Be Full-Go Against Georgia
Stefon Diggs

Facing Strangulation, Assault Charges
CFB

Chip Kelly Named Northwestern Offensive Coordinator
Riley Leonard

Will Start Against the Texans
Bijan Robinson

Explodes for 229 Total Yards, Two Touchdowns on Monday Night
CFB

Penn State Working to Hire D'Anton Lynn as Next Defensive Coordinator
CFB

Omar Cooper Expected to be Full-Go for Rose Bowl
CFB

Marcus Freeman Staying with Notre Dame for 2026 Season
CFB

Star Wideout Cam Coleman Entering Transfer Portal
CFB

Jay Hill Expected to be Next Michigan Defensive Coordinator

RANKINGS

QB
RB
WR
TE
K
DEF
RANKINGS
C
1B
2B
3B
SS
OF
SP
RP