2014-15 Fantasy Basketball: 5 Trade Targets Owners Should Already Be After
Just like winning the real thing, it takes a season-long commitment to capture a title in the fantasy basketball world.
A good draft can get teams started on the right foot, but savvy owners know that league championships often change hands on the waiver wire and the trade market.
The latter can be a daunting place, as no one wants to pay a premium for misleading production nor pull the plug on a valuable player too early in the year. That said, it operates in the same manner as the exchange market in the business sector: The keys to successful deals are still buying low and selling high.
As tempting as it can be to chase a top-tier producer, owners are going to ask for the world—and then some—to part with that type of player. So, if you missed the boat on the perimeter-savvy Blake Griffin, the maxed-out Klay Thompson or the finally-featured-correctly Rudy Gay, just try to avoid watching them sail away toward fantasy gold.
Proper trading is all about finding costs below expected levels of production. The combination of sluggish starts and panicky owners can be the perfect recipe for a low-cost, high-impact acquisition.
For the five players on this list, the early portion of the 2014-15 NBA schedule has hardly gone according to plan. But all have major potential to recover, and, as such, all already deserve ample attention as trade targets.
Darren Collison, PG, Sacramento Kings
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Darren Collison has hardly been quiet out of the gate. The new Sacramento Kings floor general is one of only seven players averaging at least 14 points, six assists and five rebounds.
With multicategory production like that, he may seem like an odd choice as a buy-low candidate. But his woeful shooting percentages (36.8 percent from the field, 12.5 percent from deep) could make him easier to obtain than he should be.
History says this isn't the type of shooter Kings fans will see all season. Coming into the year, Collison owned a career slash line of .464/.365/.861.
His track record also suggests he should be able to maintain this type of volume. His career per-36-minute averages are 15.0 points and 6.1 assists, numbers that could become his basement if he keeps his current workload (37.7 minutes a night).
And there are reasons to buy his continued exposure.
Ramon Sessions, once thought to be eyeing an equal share of playing time at the position, has logged just 10.0 minutes a night. The eight-year veteran has misfired on eight of his nine field-goal attempts and tossed out only two assists against five turnovers.
Even if Sessions finds his form, he may have a hard time unseating Collison. Kings coach Michael Malone is a big fan of the latter.
"His quickness, his ability to push the ball, create pace, his ability to pick up full court," Malone told reporters of the things he likes about Collison, via Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times.
With the quantity in place and the quality likely to follow sooner than later, Collison should be a fantasy gem. But he shouldn't carry that type of price tag if you move quickly enough.
Damian Lillard, PG, Portland Trail Blazers
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Speaking of ghastly shooting figures, Portland Trail Blazers' All-Star point guard Damian Lillard has had trouble connecting on just about everything so far.
The career 42.4 percent shooter has hit only 11 of his 41 field-goal attempts on the year (26.8 percent). Behind the arc, he has missed all but seven of his 22 attempts (31.8).
And unlike Collison, this lack of efficiency has plagued the rest of Lillard's production. He is only averaging 13.7 points a night, the same amount as D.J. Augustin and Devin Harris. Lillard's 4.0 assists-per-game average puts him on an identical plane with notorious shot-chuckers Josh Smith and J.R. Smith.
Obviously, those aren't the type of stats owners wanted to see from someone who was coming off ESPN.com's draft boards near the 15th overall pick. If three games is enough to make an owner sweat, then potential trade partners should be ready to pounce on that anxiety.
Don't let those worrywarts in on this little secret—Lillard's early struggles are nothing more than an anomaly.
"Dame just plays the game," head coach Terry Stotts said, per Anne M. Peterson of The Associated Press. "He'll get his shots."
Already this season, Lillard has had to contend with a then-healthy Russell Westbrook and the Golden State Warriors' 6'7" point guard stopper Klay Thompson. Even the typically generous Kings currently own the league's seventh-best defensive efficiency rating.
Lillard is far too talented to not get himself back on track. If his resume isn't enough to restore complete confidence on its own, the fact he can ink his first contract extension next summer should do the trick.
Jeremy Lin, PG, Los Angeles Lakers
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It's been a little over two years since Jeremy Lin sent the basketball world into a craze known globally as "Linsanity," but it may feel like an eternity for those who have seen him struggle to make his mark with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Through four games with his new team, Lin has shown signs of life only once: a 17-point, 7-of-13 showing against the Phoenix Suns. Overall, the 26-year-old is averaging just 9.0 points on 34.5 percent shooting and 5.5 assists against 3.8 turnovers.
Why, then, would we advocate pursuing him? Because we're talking about a four-game sample size for a player still well-positioned to post major numbers going forward.
Most players in new settings will undergo some type of feeling-out process, and Lin's is occurring under the unrelenting spotlights of Hollywood. If that isn't enough, he's also re-acclimating himself to the starting lineup (he made only 33 starts for the Houston Rockets last season) and learning how to share the floor with the incredibly demanding Kobe Bryant.
Those are identity-altering changes. But the Lakers, already having lost Steve Nash for the season, have no other option but to live with the growing pains. This franchise still needs a long look at Lin to see if he should be included in its long-term blueprint.
"He could be the point guard of the future for a Lakers team without one," Bleacher Report's Dan Favale wrote of Lin. "He could be one of the rentals they keep long term. He could be a project that pans out."
There are so many possible outcomes still in play, and the Lakers have to figure out which is most likely to come to fruition.
That means no shortage of minutes for Lin, a player who has previously produced whenever he's been given the opportunity.
Kevin Love, PF, Cleveland Cavaliers
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Kevin Love's offseason move to the Cleveland Cavaliers sent shock waves through the basketball world. But in the fantasy realm, it brought along more questions than anything.
After being the guy for the Minnesota Timberwolves the past several seasons, Love now found himself as one of several guys inside the championship-starved city. The title of No. 1 option was definitely no longer his, and even the rights to be No. 2 are up for grabs between him and Kyrie Irving.
Love's NBA reality changed for the better in terms of thrusting him into the championship race. But that change didn't come without a tremendous sacrifice and a grueling transformation.
"It's going to be very difficult for him," LeBron James' old running mate Chris Bosh said of Love, per Bleacher Report's Ethan Skolnick. "… It's extremely difficult and extremely frustrating. He's going to have to deal with that."
Love's new life is a psychological test with real-world—or, in this case, fantasy-world—consequences. The spotlight is no longer his, and the offensive opportunities he used to feast on are now being split three ways.
Through two games, Love's field-goal attempts (15.5 from 18.5), assists (2.5 from 4.4) and usage percentage (20.9 from 28.8) are all down from last season. That was to be expected, though. But what could be concerning for his owners is his anemic 35.5 field-goal percentage, the area in which he figured to see the biggest improvement in his new digs.
No one knows how Love's new situation will treat his stat sheet, so his losses in efficiency and overall production could lead some owners to cut their losses and sell him at a discount. If that's the case, you should be ready and willing to strike.
Love is still an elite rebounder (15.0 per game), and his shooting numbers will improve over the course of this season. Once the Cavs get a better grasp of his full ability and how to use it, his involvement at the offensive end has obvious room to grow.
Rodney Stuckey, SG, Indiana Pacers
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There has never been a better time to feel bullish about Indiana Pacers combo guard Rodney Stuckey.
He is everything you would want in a trade target. Not only does the 28-year-old have a strong fantasy resume, he is also in a situation conducive to statistical growth.
The Pacers were punchless on offense last season (22nd in offensive efficiency), and that was before losing Paul George to a broken leg and Lance Stephenson to free agency. Indiana needs someone to grab the reins of this offense, and the crafty Stuckey is best equipped to do just that.
"Stuckey is Indy's only proven off-the-bounce threat," wrote Grantland's Zach Lowe, "and he's going to feast on all the shots he wants during a contract year."
Just what type of involvement are we talking about? Well, through three games, Stuckey has fired up 21.6 field-goal attempts per 36 minutes. More importantly, he has converted 47.6 percent of those shots and dished out 7.2 assists per 36 minutes.
So, why should owners be interested in dealing him? Well, they shouldn't, but they might be open to the idea for a couple reasons.
For one, Stuckey has never been much of a fantasy force. Add in the underwhelming offense that he is overseeing, and he might not strike many owners as a player they cannot move.
Plus, he just suffered a new injury in an already bothersome foot.
His price tag hasn't been as high as it should be—he had an average draft position of 119.8 on ESPN.com—and this injury could have just slapped a clearance sticker on it.
Unless otherwise noted, statistics used courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com and NBA.com.
