Fantasy Basketball Trade Advice: Week 8 targets

Each and every Wednesday, we provide players that you should not only look to acquire via trade but also players you should look to trade away.

But this week, I wanted to get a pulse on what the public is doing, so we are going to switch it up a bit. I’m going to look at deals that have been made in Yahoo leagues involving players, and give my thoughts on it from a perspective that helps a wide audience.

Let’s get to it.

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Trade 1

Kristaps Porzingis (PF/C – WAS) for Tobias Harris (SF/PF – PHI)

Both of these names make sense to me, as Porzingis is putting up vintage Porzingis numbers in Washington, proving to be a draft-day value. Harris, meanwhile, has been benefiting from a higher usage rate with the number of injuries that the Sixers have had.

Notice I say have had, though, as the Sixers are starting to get healthy. That makes this trade … puzzling. If you’re going to sell high on the oft-injured Porzingis – who ranks No. 15 on the season in fantasy – then you have to shoot a little higher than a player like Harris.

Other trades involving Porzingis:

• Porzingis for Bruce Brown, Jordan Poole, Paolo Banchero (not a fan)
• Porzingis and LaMelo Ball for Zach LaVine, Jerami Grant and De’Anthony Melton (nope, nope)
• Porzingis, Bojan Bogdanovic, Pascal Siakam for Karl-Anthony Towns, Jarrett Allen, Wendell Carter Jr. (This, this is it)

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Trade 2

Fred VanVleet (PG – TOR) for De’Aaron Fox (PG – SAC)

I like the idea of actually trading for VanVleet rather than trading him away, but I like this trade. It’s very odd from the Fox perspective, though, as he’s a top-25 option on the season. The guess is that the manager is looking to get value from Fox, who has been slipping over the last couple of weeks.

For VanVleet, he’s playing heavy minutes but has been struggling over the last five games (spanning two weeks) posting 12 points, four rebounds, 5.7 assists, and 1.5 STOCKs during that stretch. That makes him the 135-ranked player in fantasy during that stretch.

I like to think that FVV will turn it around, and I’m looking to make offers for him. Maybe some of the other ones are closer than the Fox deal. Let’s look.

Other deals involving VanVleet:

• VanVleet and James Harden for Jimmy Butler and Damian Lillard (interesting on the surface, but taking on a ton of injury and shut-down risk)
• VanVleet for Christian Wood (I love this for the manager getting VanVleet, and it shows his depressed value at this point where you can get him for Wood)
• VanVleet for Jerami Grant (this is the one right here. You’re trading a player who has had a great stretch in Grant, who will see his involvement go down now that Lillard is back on the court)

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Trade 3

Scottie Barnes (SF/PF – TOR) for Aaron Gordon (SF/PF – DEN)

Over the last two weeks, Gordon has posted top 50 numbers, but we’ve seen these stretches from him before. In fact, it’s what his whole career has been. But on a team with Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr., Bruce Brown and Bones Hyland, we aren’t really expecting Gordon to keep this up, right?

Kudos to the Gordon manager for making this trade happen, but the only one of these two who will even sniff the top 5 this year is Barnes.

Other trades involving Barnes:

• Barnes for Jamal Murray (the better Denver option, of course, and I understand this one, but still prefer Barnes here)
• Barnes and Deandre Ayton for Karl-Anthony Towns (I love this. I know that KAT is hurt, but he’s a fantastic target – even if you have to give up two top-50 players in the trade)
• Barnes and Dillon Brooks for Kelly Olynyk, Mason Plumlee, and Buddy Hield 

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