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Spencer Aguiar highlights three fantasy basketball takeaways from the NBA's December 14th slate. This recap focuses on Emmanuel Mudiay, Larry Nance Jr., and Kevin Huerter.
Welcome to the RotoBaller NBA Recap. In this feature, we highlight three fantasy basketball takeaways from last night's slate of NBA games, plus what in the world happened between the Phoenix Suns, Washington Wizards and Memphis Grizzlies on Friday.
Phoenix, Washington and Memphis seemed to agree on a deal to send Kelly Oubre Jr. to Memphis, Trevor Ariza to Washington and...someone with the last name of Brooks to the Suns. Was it MarShon Brooks? Dillon Brooks? No one seemed to know.
Our three main fantasy takeaways of the night and some more discussion of the proposed trade are still to come, so without further ado, let's dive into what happened during Friday's nine-game slate.
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The Brooks Non-Trade
The following deal was put into motion, and it looked like all three teams were happy with their haul:
Wizards receive:
Trevor Ariza
2019 & 2020 2nd-round picks
Memphis receives:
Kelly Oubre Jr.
Suns receive:
Austin Rivers, MarShon Brooks and Wayne Selden
However, as news started to leak about the impending trade, all hell broke loose when it came to what Brooks the Suns would be receiving. Washington stated that they were told by Memphis that it would be 22-year-old Dillon Brooks. And the Grizzlies claimed that Dillon was off limits, and they planned on sending MarShon in the deal instead.
All of this presented a nightmare scenario for the three teams involved, but just when things appeared like they couldn't get any stranger, Memphis Grizzlies general manager Chris Wallace dropped a bombshell late last night that the Suns weren't even included into the deal yet and that Grizzlies owner Robert Pera had only spoken to Washington about the proposed agreement.
As I dive deeper into this story, I become more confused about what exactly happened. Did Washington try to pull a fast one on the Grizzlies? Did Memphis drop the ball during the negotiation process and try to worm their way out of this public relations nightmare? And why is nobody talking about Christopher Wallace, AKA "Notorious B.I.G.," running the Grizzlies?!?!?!
I am not sure we will ever get a real answer out of what happened but expect Trevor Ariza to be moved swiftly after today's events. I wouldn't be shocked to see the Wizards and Suns eventually work out a deal involving Ariza --perhaps with a new third team involved, but I can't imagine how Memphis can be included in these negotiations after what transpired.
Emmanuel Mudiay: Posts Career-High 34 Points
Emmanuel Mudiay scored a career-high 34 points during a 126-124 overtime win over the Charlotte Hornets on Friday, adding three rebounds, eight assists, two steals and one three-pointer on a dazzling 14-for-21 from the floor. Mudiay did most of his damage in the second half, contributing 21 points while becoming just the ninth player in franchise history to produce at least 34 points, eight assists and two steals in a game.
The NBA is a fickle sport that is always looking for the next up-and-coming star, and the 22-year-old has been forgotten about by many after being a former hot prospect himself. Injuries to Frank Ntilikina (ankle), Trey Burke (MCL) and Allonzo Trier (hamstring) have opened up a lot of minutes for Mudiay, which partially helps to explain his recent display of quality basketball, but the former seventh pick in the 2015 draft is worth a look if he is still available on your waiver wire. He will most likely be a better contributor in points leagues because of his inconsistency in multiple categories but don't hesitate to take a flier and see how everything plays out, especially if you can afford his erratic field goal percentage.
Larry Nance Jr.: Continues Strong Play
Larry Nance Jr. might not be starting for the Cleveland Cavaliers, but he has arguably been their best contributor since Tristan Thompson (foot) suffered an injury to his left foot that will sideline him for around a month.
On Friday, Nance stuffed the stat sheet versus the Milwaukee Bucks with 14 points, 10 rebounds, six assists, three steals, one blocks and two three-pointers on 5-for-8 shooting from the field. And even more impressively, in the two games during Thompson's absence, he has averaged 35 minutes and 10.5 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 2.0 blocks, 3.0 steals and 1.5 three-pointers per game.
The 25-year-old has his fantasy arrow pointing straight up, but outside of being a quality streamer until Thompson or Kevin Love (foot) returns, he may be someone you want to consider selling off high. Thompson's contract is impossible to move, and even Kevin Love won't be the easiest player to get rid of with a 24 million dollar salary this year. Nance does have the potential to produce top-25 production during their removal from the lineup, but once they return, one would have to imagine he is relegated back to his regular role of 20 minutes a night. If you have a deep team and would rather receive his short-term production, that is fine, but I'd be looking ahead for the games that matter down the stretch.
Kevin Huerter: Is Worth An Add In 12-Team Leagues
Kevin Huerter matched his career-high on Friday, scoring 19 points to go along with two rebounds, three assists, one block, three steals and five three-pointers on 7-for-10 shooting from the field. With the effort, Huerter has now scored 19 points in back-to-back contests while shooting at an astronomical 61.9 percent rate.
The 20-year-old was one of the best shooters coming out of the draft this season, but his current form isn't sustainable for anyone in the league. However, with the injury to Taurean Prince, Huerter will remain in the starting lineup for presumably the next two weeks and perhaps even longer. His current play could cause head coach Lloyd Pierce to push Kent Bazemore back to the bench, and if that happens, the University of Maryland product could be a steal that is available in almost 92 percent of Yahoo leagues. There is no guarantee of him maintaining this pace, but there are much worse speculative adds to be had in 12-team leagues.
