Jalen Suggs, Cole Anthony, Jaime Jaquez, Keegan Murray, Trayce Jackson-Davis and Wemby all made it into the Dr. A's Mailbag column this week. Keep the questions coming at @docktora! Let's go.
What are your thoughts on the Pacers and the trade deadline? Should they make a move or wait until the offseason? - Lloyd Christmas (@Lloyd_chrissmas)
I think it depends, Lloyd. Also, I'm far from a "reality" expert or a trade-deadline guru. But if the Pacers can get a guy like Pascal Siakam, or another player of his caliber, at the deadline I think they do it. But I also like the mix of guys they have right now and chemistry is a tricky thing, so making a trade just to make a trade doesn't make much sense.
Buddy Hield probably needs to go in order to feature Bennedict Mathurin and if they can package him for Siakam, I think they should probably do it. I just don't want them to take any weird chances. But if someone wants to offer them another Tyrese Haliburton at the deadline, I'd take it (duh/lol).
Did you know you can interchange 2 players who are IL+ eligible until any dates in the future? You can fix your schedule ahead, so when those 2 players are already playing, you can have both players in your team and play them alternating. Do you think this is a fair strategy? - Bubbachuck (@bubbachuck84)
Not sure which platform we're talking about
Jalen Suggs, Cole Anthony, Jaime Jaquez, Keegan Murray, Trayce Jackson-Davis and Wemby all made it into the Dr. A's Mailbag column this week. Keep the questions coming at @docktora! Let's go.
What are your thoughts on the Pacers and the trade deadline? Should they make a move or wait until the offseason? - Lloyd Christmas (@Lloyd_chrissmas)
I think it depends, Lloyd. Also, I'm far from a "reality" expert or a trade-deadline guru. But if the Pacers can get a guy like Pascal Siakam, or another player of his caliber, at the deadline I think they do it. But I also like the mix of guys they have right now and chemistry is a tricky thing, so making a trade just to make a trade doesn't make much sense.
Buddy Hield probably needs to go in order to feature Bennedict Mathurin and if they can package him for Siakam, I think they should probably do it. I just don't want them to take any weird chances. But if someone wants to offer them another Tyrese Haliburton at the deadline, I'd take it (duh/lol).
Did you know you can interchange 2 players who are IL+ eligible until any dates in the future? You can fix your schedule ahead, so when those 2 players are already playing, you can have both players in your team and play them alternating. Do you think this is a fair strategy? - Bubbachuck (@bubbachuck84)
Not sure which platform we're talking about here but that's some interesting information. If a fantasy manager wants to go in and flip flop IL guys with a focus on what days they play and the system will let him or her do it, then I see nothing wrong with it. With so many injuries in the league these days, I think you need to use the IL to your advantage every chance you get.
Is Jalen Suggs a drop? - Epic Brouhaha (@BenOfUs)
A funny thing happened a few hours after you asked this question. The Magic turned into a three-point shooting monster (franchise-high 25 triples), Suggs went crazy (24 points, six triples, four dimes, two steals, two blocks), Franz Wagner (ankle) and Gary Harris (calf) both got hurt, and the Magic nearly beat the Kings in double-OT in Sacramento. Cole Anthony and Markelle Fultz were already out with injuries and Suggs played 39 minutes. Until they're all healthy again, Suggs is a hold despite his two recent duds.
Victor Wembanyama next season is a Top ___ player? Is it time to say goodbye to Wendell Carter Jr.? What is the value of Immanuel Quickley the rest of the season? - Illgobbo (@illgobbo)
Wemby's definitely a Top-10 player next season and will probably go in the Top 5 in most drafts. He's just too lethal and the only things holding him back this year are the missed games and limited minutes. Those will both be concerns again next season, but he and Chet Holmgren are both going to be Top 10 picks in every league as long as they're healthy and I'll probably have them ranked a little higher than everyone else, just like I did this year.
I'm not a big WCJ guy and Paolo Banchero and Goga Bitadze are buzzkilling him. So, yeah, I'm not about hanging onto WCJ just in case something changes.
IQ had 26 points, five dimes and five triples in 33 minutes last night and the Raptors are going to let him rip the rest of the way. He's a must-have fantasy player, in my opinion.
Thoughts on Jabari Smith for the rest of the season, and would you still hold Trey Murphy in a 10-team league? - Mark Hernandez (@markhernz)
Smith has been a dud for four straight games and Houston is deep and plays too many players for him to become a star. He'll be better than he has been at some point, but I don't think the breakout is coming any time soon.
In a 10-team league, I think Murphy belongs on waivers after missing three straight games with a knee injury. The Pelicans offense is completely focused around Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram and C.J. McCollum, meaning Murphy (and Herbert Jones) is going to be hit-or-miss from night to night when he's actually healthy again.
I'm thinking you can find a more healthy and consistent player to roll with every night, even though I am a fan of Murphy. In a 12-team league he's probably more of a luxury hold, but he's been a rough ride for much of the season and I don't see that changing as long as the Big 3 stay healthy. I think I'd rather have Donte DiVincenzo or Isaiah Hartenstein.
Jarrett Allen or Jrue Holiday? Jaime Jaquez or Cole Anthony? - Gideon tomines (@eon_gids)
Allen, but it's close and I'd be pretty happy to have either of them.
Jaquez, and it's not close -- especially with Jimmy Butler and Anthony both hurt right now.
Jayson Tatum is probably not ending as a first-rounder anymore this season. What's a realistic expectation end-of-season ranking for him? - Jake (@jakemorris01)
Right now he's a third-round guy, simply because his Celtics are so good and deep, and he doesn't have to carry the team on his back. I have a feeling he'll end as a mid-second round player and it will be interesting to see if he gets bumped out of the first round in fantasy drafts next season with the emergence of Wemby and Chet. I said in this column a few weeks ago that I'd rather have Chet than Tatum and was laughed at. But I'm not sure anyone's laughing now.
Do you view Keegan Murray as a buy-low or is this who he is? Modest scoring with some threes and steals sprinkled in. - Mediocrites117 (@mediocrites117)
Well, he probably was before last night's explosion when he hit 13-of-21 shots and two triples for 28 points, a season-high 12 rebounds and a steal. I still kind of think of him as a three-point specialist, but he broke out of his four-game funk last night and I'm afraid his asking price in a trade just went up. So my answer prior to Wednesday's explosion was going to be 'yes.' But that changed after his solid performance last night.
Thoughts on Trayce Jackson-Davis for the rest of the season? - Ricardo Llorens (@LLorens_ricardo)
I'm in on him right now and Steve Kerr appears to love him. He's a better fit for the Warriors than Draymond Green (in my opinion) and I think they're going to roll with him the rest of the way. I'm holding him in a few leagues right now and will be very reluctant to drop him unless a player emerges on waivers that I don't think I can live without. I still can't figure out how he fell so far in the draft (57th pick).
