Cameron Johnson, Trayce Jackson-Davis, Santa Claus and Jaime Jaquez all make the list this week. Please send your questions for future mailbags to me on Twitter at @Docktora so we can keep this column fun and packed with Q&A.
Thoughts on Cameron Johnson recently? - G Money (@gobayas123) & Timmy_GER (@Timmy_GER)
He's been quite pedestrian, right? However, he's also scored in double digits in 12 of his last 14 games and had 20 points, four rebounds and four three-pointers on Wednesday. He's also hit at least one triple in every game he's played this season and my sense is this question came from disgruntled managers who were frustrated by his seven points on 2-of-9 shooting in Monday's game. He's not stealing or blocking much these days, but the rest of his game is fine. If you want to drop him for a hot free agent in a league where the waiver wire is flush with talent, feel free. But generally speaking, Cam Johnson is worth hanging onto.
Caris LeVert's role in Cleveland right now? He doesn't seem to be getting as many minutes as expected? - Stephen (@curry_monstah)
Of course, LeVert went off for 23 points, seven assists and four triples on Wednesday and he's scored in double figures in all five of his December games. He's always an injury risk but consistently hits three-pointers and steals the ball. And with Donovan Mitchell out with an illness and Darius Garland out with a broken jaw, LeVert should continue to get big minutes going forward.
I'd stick with him if you've got him. He's averaging 27 minutes in December. Just beware that Cleveland's upcoming schedule stinks so if you've got LeVert in a head-to-head league, dropping him might make sense.
Max Strus, while Darius Garland and Evan Mobley are out? I can't figure out Cleveland, though upcoming 2 and 1 game weeks makes adding them rough. Matt Boyer - (@MattBoyerCrime)
Strus has scored 18, 17 and 11 points in each of his last three games, has hit 10 three-pointers over that stretch and has been generally playing well. He's not a great source of steals or blocks, but he's averaging 33 minutes per game in December and deserves to be rostered in most leagues. The only thing working against him is the crappy head-to-head schedule.
Drop Saddiq Bey for Trey Murphy in a points league? MW - (@mw202222222)
Even though Murphy let me down on Wednesday night, I still prefer him over Bey. Especially with Jalen Johnson on the verge of a return from his wrist injury for the Hawks. Murphy and Bey play in crowded spots for their respective teams, but Murphy is the obvious sixth man for the Pels and it's only a matter of time before Brandon Ingram (or Zion Williamson) goes down with an injury.
What are we doing with Shaedon Sharpe? - Chili Palmer (@PrinceChiliTx)
Groin injuries are nasty, Scoot Henderson and Malcolm Brogdon are hungry and the Blazers are 7-19. Obviously, Sharpe is a guy to stash on the IL/IR but if that's not an option for you, I think it's safe to cut him loose and pick up a hot free agent, assuming you're in a 12-team league or smaller. If your league is 14 or 16 teams (or larger) things get tricky and Sharpe might be worth holding onto. But if you need production right now and dropping him is your only option, sometimes you "gotta do what you gotta do."
Brandin Podziemski left the last game early with a back injury. Who will benefit if he's out for some games? Is Trayce Jackson-Davis worth a stash in a 14 team league? - Illgobbo (@Illgobbo)
First of all, I'm super bummed about the Podziemski injury and hope he's back sooner than later. But I didn't like the way he went down, I didn't like the way he left the court, I didn't like the update we got during the game and I don't love the fact we still don't have an update. My guess is Podz is going to miss some time with this one. The potential benefactors from the injury are Jonathan Kuminga, Dario Saric and Tuesday's folk hero, Trayce Jackson-Davis.
I was a big TJD guy when he was at Indiana the last two years and was not happy when he fell to the 57th pick in the draft. Guys who are drafted at 57th are usually lucky to be in the league two years later, but here we are talking about TJD being worth a pickup before Christmas of his rookie season. TJD played 29 minutes and had 10 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks against the Celtics on Tuesday and was on the court to close out the game, making big play after big play. Kuminga had 17 points, seven rebounds, two steals and a three-pointer in the start, and Saric added 11 points and six rebounds in just 15 minutes off the bench.
The bottom line is this - Pick up TJD and drop Saric if you have him. Keep Kuminga, or grab him, if you don't. And roster both of them if you have enough spots to do so. I'd rank them like this in the pecking order: 1. Kuminga 2. Jackson-Davis 3. Saric.
And if you can put Podz on the injured list and find a way to hang onto him, I would. Having said all that, keep a close eye on Andrew Wiggins. He's had one good game and about 20 bad ones, but could get hot at any time and might eventually be worth grabbing. In the end, every single Warrior is going to get a bump based on Draymond Green's suspension and the Podz injury.
Please name three NBA players and maybe coaches who could play Santa Claus this holiday season. - Ed Helinski (@MrEd315)
Not an NBA player or coach, but I'll nominate myself. If I grew a beard it would be white and thanks to too much Creature Comforts Tropicalia IPA, just like 'fat Thor' in Avengers, I've got the jolly old belly going on a runaway freight train.
Gregg Popovich - He's got the white beard, a bit of a wine belly and could easily pull off grumpy, funny, sweet Santa.
Tom Thibodeau - He'll need a fake beard, but he's got the belly, is old enough to pull it off and already has the "why did you let this kid pee on me?" pissed off face going on. He should have probably been the fake Santa in the movie Elf or Christmas Story.
As for players who could play Santa, I'm going old school.
Paul Mokeski - Just google him.
Billy "The Whopper" Paultz - Need I say more?
John "Hot Plate" Williams - That's all I got.
In our league (14T/9Cat) the following trade happened: Jayson Tatum for Chet Holmgren + Khris Middleton. What is your opinion about it? - Illgobbo (@Illgobbo)
As you know, Illgobbo, I hate trade vetoes and I would not veto this one. Middleton is a shell of his former self and Holmgren is a first-round fantasy beast who has exceeded any and all expectations (according to me). Tatum is a stud and still a favorite to win MVP and you have to give up stuff to get stuff. I think it was a pretty fair trade and I'm not even sure if I'd rather have Chet or Tatum. Great trade!
Thoughts on Trayce Jackson-Davis? Or would you rather have Isaac Okoro in a 14-team league? - Olumpians Fantasy Sports (@olumpians)
Give me TJD and it's not even close. If TJD ends up going back under a rock, drop him and pick up another hot free agent. Okoro is as vanilla as waiver-wire pickups come.
A lot of conflicting info from analysts - half of them are saying Jaime Jaquez is a drop with the Heat being healthy and I don't know who to believe? - Kendan (@kendanc)
He still got 30 minutes in the game that saw the returns of Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro, is clearly one of the team leaders for the Heat and is going to continue to see 30 minutes a night from Erik Spoelstra, no matter what it takes. His production is going to take a hit with them all healthy, but Jimmy Butler will sit out one game per week and Jaquez has quietly made himself invaluable to the Heat. I'd stick with him for as long as you can, but if push comes to shove and you have to cut him for a hot free agent, do it. But generally speaking, Jaquez is worth holding onto if you can do it.
10-team league and a rich waiver wire - who do I keep? Keyonte George, Josh Giddey, Trey Murphy, Scoot Henderson. Which order do you put them in? - Mark Hernandez (@markhernz)
As far as keeping them, here's my priority order: Giddey, George, Murphy, Scoot.
Is Ben Simmons worth keeping? - 'CuseSox (@Jmirand1)
Wait, who? Former Clippers' semi-stud Bobby Simmons? Def Jam's Russell Simmons? Kiss' Gene Simmons? Oh, you mean former No. 1 pick Ben! I don't know man. I didn't draft him anywhere, don't want him anywhere and his free throw and three-point shooting both scare the crap out of me. If he's clogging up your IL/IR cut him loose and don't look back. You'll sleep better at night, but that might also cause you to miss a glimpse of seeing Santa leaving gifts under your tree. Tough call.
