Fantasy basketball in the weeks leading up to the trade deadline can be a difficult time to navigate your roster. Between tracking post-deadline stashes, maximizing stream value, and dealing with the usual injury woes, it often feels like there are not enough roster spaces to do everything that needs to be done. Today, we visit some key names on either side of the spectrum, taking a look at guys that trend well for the week compared to those who likely will lack value going forward.

 

I will also throw in a little disclaimer that this list is far from a blanket list that applies to all formats, and names that show up here should be viewed as suggestions or guys worth a deeper look under the context of your lineup specifically. This list also comes one day after this particular week began and I do apologize for that oversight (work gets the better of me sometimes). I will factor the missed Monday into my suggestions for the week. 

 

 

Add Them

 

Scoot Henderson 

 

The Blazers are the only team left this week that plays four games, with their week starting this Tuesday. Combine that with Anfernee Simons being a recent addition to the injury report and we have a perfect storm of opportunity for the second-year guard in Portland. Scoot has been electric over the last week, averaging roughly 25 points and eight assists in his last four games, all while seeing an average of 35 minutes in that span. 

 

It appears that Chauncey Billups has finally decided to give his sophomore the time needed on the court to develop. This has led to a bit of a perfect storm for Scoot, and he is ranked 22nd over the last week. Long considered a stash for silly season in March, it would seem that his number has been called a bit earlier than expected, and he is a great add to double dip as both streamer and potential rest of season hold. 

 

Onyeka Okongwu 

 

The narrative surrounding Okongwu has always been that he is a starting spot away from being a fantasy treasure chest. Well, that time has finally come for the 5th year big man out of USC, as he received his first-ever start today, with Clint Capela available as well. He did not disappoint in that time either, holding Karl-Anthony Towns to 13 points on 28% shooting in their matchup today. 

 

 

Okongwu has been on a tear recently to earn this starting spot as well. He is ranked 28th over the last week, posting averages of 17 points and 14 rebounds while also shooting 63% from the field. While he is a player that might only be available in shallower formats, I believe that his play, as of late, has earned him a roster spot in almost every league until he proves otherwise.

 

The Hawks remaining three games this week come against teams that have proven to be terrible at stopping big men, as they play Detroit once and Toronto twice to end the week. 

 

Jaylin Williams

 

Jaylin Williams (not to be confused with his teammate Jalen Williams) is a center who should have some useful value for people hunting for a short-term burst of value in deeper leagues. While he is not the greatest player on the court (he is the third-stringer for a reason), Williams does have upside as a guy capable of grabbing a rare combo of threes, rebounds, and blocks.

 

Injuries to both Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein have paved the path for him to receive big minutes, with the third year receiving 24 minutes per night as a starter (this counts the 14 from the Cleveland blowout, otherwise, it would be higher). 

 

In his time as a starter this season, Williams has posted averages of roughly 10 points and eight rebounds while also collecting 1.7 triples per night as well. Hartenstein could miss the entire upcoming week with a calf injury and it is unlikely that the Thunder will force him back before he is ready, leading Williams a clear path as the last true big man on the roster (outside of Branden Carlson).

 

OKC has a breeze of a schedule this week, with an injury-riddled Dallas roster serving as their primary opposition, which should allow Williams some extra opportunities to generate fantasy stats. 

 

 

Drop Them

 

Terry Rozier 

 

The Miami Heat have a terrible schedule this week, with only one quality game and a below average three games being played in total. This makes a player like Terry Rozier fully expendable, given his already meager late performances. The Heat have been quick to recognize Rozier as a lost cause, and it is now time for fantasy managers to join with them.

 

Being rostered in 63% of Yahoo leagues indicates that the fantasy community has more faith in him than Erik Spoelstra (or are just inactive), but an important part of fantasy is knowing when to let go. 

 

Rozier has been ranked the 196th player over the last two weeks, and not even the suspension of Jimmy Butler could clear up meaningful usage for the once-productive vet. As is the case with many punt field goal players, once the volume dries up, there is nothing to fall back on, and Rozier is currently negative in eight out of the nine categories in that span.

 

With no signs of life being shown outside of one encouraging game against San Antonio, it is time to find greener pastures and reach for higher upside players should they exist on your wire. 

 

Andrew Nembhard

 

Another roller coaster of a guard makes the list as a strong drop candidate, this time in the form of Andrew Nembhard of the Indiana Pacers. After having a bit of a hot streak following the disappointing performance of Tyrese Haliburton to start the season, Nembhard has been comfortably relegated to being an afterthought now that the star guard has regained a bit of form.

 

 

Nembhard has ranked 297th over the course of the last week and is posting absurdly negative values (-.75 Z-Score and lower) across six categories in that frame. Already a drop based on Nembhard's recent performances, his brutal schedule does him no favors as a hold. As Indiana is a part of the Paris games being played, they only suit up twice this week, both on high-volume days.

 

This means that even if you keep Nembhard at the end of your bench, he is likely adding no value as a streaming option or a handcuff stash to Haliburton. I would not take a second thought at cutting ties with Nembhard outside of the deepest of leagues, and even then, there are likely some higher upside stashes that might be on the wire. 

 

Klay Thompson 

 

Another player rostered in way too many leagues (73% on Yahoo), Klay has been a strong drop candidate for a while now. While his roster percentage is surely being dragged up by inactive leagues, I have heard some discourse about how he should benefit from the injuries plaguing Dallas.

 

 

The reality is actually the opposite, as without Luka Doncic to find Klay in his preferred spots, the veteran has taken yet another steep decline in his fantasy game. The Mavericks have an extremely difficult week ahead, playing defensive juggernauts in Minnesota, OKC, and Boston to round out their week. 

 

As for his personal performances, Klay continues to plummet. He is ranked as the 253rd player over the last week, posting a mere 8/3/2 stat line with some brutal shooting numbers (38% from the field). This has seen him reach a low of 25 minutes per game over that span as well, with much of his usage being distributed across rising role players such as Quentin Grimes, Naji Marshall, and Jaden Hardy.

 

Long considered a drop in my eyes, hopefully this serves as a wake up call to any that might currently be rostering the veteran. Basically, any player with a pulse would be capable of adding more value to your roster for the time being.