Pelicans’ Jose Alvarado made his trade chart debut this week.
It’s Thursday, and you know what that means.
Buy low, sell high is one of the oldest terms in fantasy, but it’s more involved than that. You have to look at the “low” and “high” of it to make sure you’re maximizing value. We can also buy the player, but question the team and role that they are in when it comes to maintaining the pace that they are on.
Most importantly here, with any call you make, you have to be willing to lose the deal or accept that you made the wrong call. It happens all the time when we think we are selling at the highest value, only for that player to buck the trend and play like a stud going forward.
Now that you have an idea of what to expect for this column week to week, let’s get to the players.
Like we do every other week, I’m going to base the highlighted players this week off of the biggest movers and shakers from our bi-weekly trade value chart.
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Buy
So for the second straight week, we have Dosunmu here. This is mainly a user error because I omitted him from the Week 14 trade chart. It’s 250-plus players deep, so my apologies for leaving someone off.
But the rookie is so, so exciting. The scoring has fluctuated, but they clearly trust him as he’s getting huge minutes on a nightly basis. I’m buying him as a must-start player as Alex Caruso and Lonzo Ball heal, and a must-roster player moving forward.
I submitted my trade chart before the Pacers’ game Wednesday night, in which Jackson hurt his ankle less than 30 seconds into the contest.
Brutal. Just brutal.
But, we don’t know if it’s a prolonged absence yet for the big man, so I’m going to remain optimistic here.
Jackson absolutely shined in his first start, scoring 26 points, securing 10 boards, and blocking two shots. If the Pacers either trade everyone or just rest their stars down the stretch to tank, Jackson could deliver a championship for the lucky fantasy team that rosters him.
Alvarado made his trade chart debut this week, and he deserved it after posting top-100 numbers over the last 14 days.
I’m buying him going forward, even if he’s limited in minutes and is coming off the bench.
If Devonte’ Graham continues to disappoint in real life, you may see Alvarado’s minutes creep up moving forward. I’m buying him as a backend player for now with the hopes of much more.
Sell
Ignoring the injured guys, Walker takes the biggest dive this week in value. It looks like that Christmas performance is going to be the highlight of his Knicks career. In his last five games, he has 23 points. In two of those, he’s been held scoreless in 34 minutes.
It sucks seeing someone who was so good just turn into a memory, but that’s what we’re seeing here with Walker. Don’t be surprised at all to see Walker record DNPs in the future.
So much for Schröder betting on himself, right? He was fine to start the season, and I realize that he’s dealing with an Achilles injury, but he’s been brutal.
His minutes have been cut dramatically, and he’s scored just 34 points in his last seven games. He doesn’t have much value right now, but with the deadline around the corner, he could get dealt to a team where he can find a better role.
If he does, trade him in your league if there’s a buyer.
I was absolutely thrilled when Reddish was dealt to the Knicks because I thought it would mean more minutes under Coach Thibs. Instead, it seems like it was Coach Thibs who wasn’t thrilled with the Knicks getting Reddish.
Reddish has played just 20 minutes since joining the Knicks and hasn’t played in three of the last five games.
What are we doing here, coach?
As of now, it looks like a lost season for him.
