NBA

Fantasy Basketball 2015-16: A Dozen Dimes, Volume 10

A look at who to add, drop, buy, and sell going into Week 10 of fantasy hoops, including your annual reminder to sell Tim Duncan.

Fantasy football season has come to an end. If you've been pumping all your focus into your football team and neglecting your fantasy hoops team, we're here to help you get back on track.

Here are 12 nuggets of transaction advice, featuring the top adding, dropping, buying, and selling moves for this upcoming week and beyond. 

Add T.J. Warren

Five games since Eric Bledsoe's season-ending injury, T.J. Warren looks to be the biggest fantasy beneficiary in Phoenix. Over that span, Warren has averaged 16.4 points, 1.4 threes, 4.2 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 1.2 steals, 0.4 blocks, and only 0.8 turnovers per contest, while shooting 53.1% from the field and 70.0% from the free throw line. Even with the occasional dud like we saw on Sunday, Warren's ability to put up nearly top-50 value over his last week shows that he has a ceiling well worth owning in standard leagues. 

Add Bobby Portis

Chicago's frontcourt is pretty crowded, but it looks like coach Fred Hoiberg has finally heeded the cries of the #FreeBobbyPortis movement. Over the last three games, Portis has averaged a healthy 27.7 minutes per game and put up borderline top-100 value on the strength of 14.7 points, 0.7 threes, 8.7 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 0.3 steals, 0.3 blocks, and 2.7 turnovers per contest, with a shooting split of 61.3% from the field and 80.0% from the line. The eventual return of Joakim Noah will make the frontcourt situation in Chicago even muddier, but it's obvious that Portis has earned himself a rotation spot with the Bulls going forward.

Add Shane Larkin

Jarrett Jack has a torn ACL and will miss the rest of the season, so Shane Larkin is the next man up in Brooklyn and should be owned in standard fantasy leagues. There isn't really anyone on the roster to take minutes away from him, so he might come close to realizing his per-36 averages of 12.4 points, 1.2 threes, 4.2 rebounds, 7.0 assists, 2.5 steals, 0.3 blocks, and 2.8 turnovers, while his shooting split of 45.5% from the field and 75.9% from the charity stripe is already passable.

Sell Tim Duncan

Tim Duncan is recommended as a sell in this column at least once per year, but normally because he's liable to rack up more than one DNP-Old down the stretch of the fantasy season. This time, however, it's because father time seems to have finally caught up with him, and his legendary name might still be able to net you something decent in a trade. Since December 5th, Duncan has missed five games for rest and a sore knee, while averaging a mere 6.4 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 0.6 steals, 0.8 blocks, and 1.9 turnovers in 23.6 minutes per contest in the 10 games he did play, while shooting 45.8% from the field and 62.5% from the line. Sell while you still can.

Buy/Add Darren Collison

Rajon Rondo's renaissance season has made Darren Collison a bit of an afterthought in fantasy as his backup, but Collison has quietly been putting up a top-100 season in a healthy 29.0 minutes per game coming off the bench. Over his last seven games, he's even been a top-50 asset, averaging 15.0 points, 1.1 threes, 3.3 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 1.1 steals, and 1.6 turnovers per game, while shooting 50.0% from the field and 90.5% from the free throw line. He's only owned in 66% of Yahoo leagues, so he should be added where possible and bought where he's under-appreciated.

Buy/Add Meyers Leonard

Meyers Leonard hasn't quite had the breakout season that many were expecting out of him, but he's not a lost cause quite yet. Over his last six games, Leonard has averaged 12.8 points, 2.7 threes, 5.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 0.5 blocks, and 1.5 turnovers in 26.4 minutes per game off the bench, while shooting 53.3% from the field and 64.3% from the line. His fantasy arrow is pointing up, and his 59% ownership rate on Yahoo should see an uptick if things keep going this way. 

Buy/Add Rodney Hood

With Alec Burks set to miss a big chunk of time for his recent ankle surgery, Rodney Hood has a clearer path to minutes in Utah and is worth owning in standard leagues. In the four games since Burks went down, Hood has averaged 17.3 points, 2.5 threes, 6.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 0.8 steals, 0.8 blocks and 1.3 turnovers in 33.6 minutes per contest, while shooting 34.4% from the field and 88.2% from the line. That's good enough to be the 82nd-ranked player in nine-category leagues over that span, making him someone that should be owned in more than 56% of Yahoo leagues.

Add Jeff Withey

Jeff Withey is not likely to hold much rest-of-season value with the Jazz this year, but with Rudy Gobert still sidelined and now Derrick Favors missing a slew of games with back spasms, Withey should be on your radar going into Utah's five-game week. Over his last five games (all starts), Withey has been putting up top-50 value in nine-category leagues with averages of 10.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 1.2 steals, 2.3 blocks, and 1.3 turnovers per contest, while shooting 56.1% from the field and 68.2% from the charity stripe. He's definitely worth a flier if you're looking for short-term value for as long as Favors is out.

Drop J.R. Smith

J.R. Smith has been wildly inconsistent this season, and the recent returns of Kyrie Irving and Iman Shumpert will only make that worse. Over the last two weeks (six games), Smith has averaged 8.7 points, 2.0 threes, 1.3 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.5 steals, 0.2 blocks, and 0.8 turnovers per game, while shooting 33.3% from the field and 85.7% from the line. That's borderline standard-league value and his arrow is pointing down with his team getting healthier, so go ahead and cut him for a hot free agent if you're eyeing one.

Add Gary Harris

Gary Harris is not the flashiest of fantasy assets, but he's been a top-100 play over his last four games for averages of 12.3 points, 2.0 threes, 3.8 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.8 steals, and 1.0 turnovers per contest, and a shooting split of 42.9% from the field and 62.5% from the line. He seems to have the starting shooting guard spot locked down for the Nuggets and has averaged 33.9 minutes per contest over his last 13 games since returning from concussion-like symptoms. Give him a look.

Buy/Add Otto Porter

Otto Porter may have been dropped in your league after a few games missed recently due to a thigh bruise and you should swoop him up if that's the case. Over his last four contests, Porter has posted top-20 value on the strength of 16.8 points, 2.0 threes, 8.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.8 steals, 0.3 blocks, and 1.3 turnovers per game, with a shooting split of 52.8% from the field and 50.0% from the line. He's quietly put up 58th-ranked value in nine-category leagues on the season as a whole as well and is somehow still only owned in 73% of Yahoo leagues. Fix that, please.

Drop Terrence Jones

Terrence Jones has flashed great potential over his three seasons in the NBA, but it doesn't seem like that's going to translate into fantasy relevance this year. He's in a bit of a logjam at power forward in Houston, and he can't stay healthy long enough to earn a consistent role with the team. Over the last month (15 games), Jones has averaged 9.2 points, 0.5 threes, 4.6 rebounds, 0.8 assists, 0.4 steals, 0.6 blocks, and 1.1 turnovers, while shooting 45.6% from the field and 81.3% from the free throw line. That's only good enough for 190th-ranked value in nine-category leagues over that span, so his 58% ownership rate on Yahoo could probably stand to come down. Even if he is eventually traded to a better situation, he simply isn't doing enough right now to justify a long-term stash. Drop away.