Welcome to Part II of my post-trade-deadline analysis. We broke down the major deals in Part I, so here are my thoughts on some of Thursday's less-impactful moves:
Celtics get Muscala
Trade: Thunder send Mike Muscala to Boston for Justin Jackson, two second-round picks. Thunder plan on waiving Jackson.
Fantasy impact for Thunder: Jaylin Williams should get a boost with Muscala's exit, and he was already starting for the Thunder at times. Williams is worth a deep-league look right now and might be worth adding in standard leagues, as well.
Fantasy impact for Celtics: None, but the Celtics get a capable backup to spell oft-injured big men Robert Williams and Al Horford.
Bucks free Jae Crowder from Phoenix
Trade: Nets send Jae Crowder to Bucks for multiple second-round picks. Bucks send Jordan Nwora, George Hill, Serge Ibaka and a second-round pick to Pacers
Fantasy impact for Bucks: Those guys weren't playing many minutes, although it could give a small bump to Jevon Carter, Grayson Allen and Pat Connaughton. Bobby Portis could also take a small hit with the arrival of Crowder, who is a great real-life addition for the playoff-bound Bucks.
Fantasy impact for Pacers: Nwora could play some for the Pacers but not enough to make him a hot pickup. Hill and Ibaka weren't playing much, if at all, for the Bucks and it's hard to see the Pacers using them. Both players will likely be bought out.
Lakers send Bryant
Welcome to Part II of my post-trade-deadline analysis. We broke down the major deals in Part I, so here are my thoughts on some of Thursday's less-impactful moves:
Celtics get Muscala
Trade: Thunder send Mike Muscala to Boston for Justin Jackson, two second-round picks. Thunder plan on waiving Jackson.
Fantasy impact for Thunder: Jaylin Williams should get a boost with Muscala's exit, and he was already starting for the Thunder at times. Williams is worth a deep-league look right now and might be worth adding in standard leagues, as well.
Fantasy impact for Celtics: None, but the Celtics get a capable backup to spell oft-injured big men Robert Williams and Al Horford.
Bucks free Jae Crowder from Phoenix
Trade: Nets send Jae Crowder to Bucks for multiple second-round picks. Bucks send Jordan Nwora, George Hill, Serge Ibaka and a second-round pick to Pacers
Fantasy impact for Bucks: Those guys weren't playing many minutes, although it could give a small bump to Jevon Carter, Grayson Allen and Pat Connaughton. Bobby Portis could also take a small hit with the arrival of Crowder, who is a great real-life addition for the playoff-bound Bucks.
Fantasy impact for Pacers: Nwora could play some for the Pacers but not enough to make him a hot pickup. Hill and Ibaka weren't playing much, if at all, for the Bucks and it's hard to see the Pacers using them. Both players will likely be bought out.
Lakers send Bryant to Denver
Trade: Lakers send Thomas Bryant to Nuggets for Davon Reed and three second-round picks.
Fantasy impact for Nuggets: None. But Bryant gives the Nuggets a solid backup for Nikola Jokic and makes them better, on paper.
Fantasy impact for Lakers: Clears space for Jarred Vanderbilt to get more minutes at center while also competing with Rui Hachimura for a starting job and power forward minutes. However, the Lakers later added Mo Bamba, which will offset the potential Vanderbilt boost.
Sixers bring in Jalen McDaniels
Trade: Sixers send Matisse Thybulle to Blazers, Charlotte send Jalen McDaniels to Philadelphia, Blazers send Svi Mykhailiuk to Hornets. Sixers also get two second-round picks, Hornets get a 2023 second-round pick.
Fantasy impact for Sixers: McDaniels a quality backup for Tobias Harris and is an offensive threat, unlike Thybulle. However, they will miss Thybulle's defensive presence. McDaniels could be worth a look if Harris goes down.
Fantasy impact for Hornets: They basically gave McDaniels away for nothing and it just means more minutes for P.J. Washington, who was already playing well. It also hurts their depth for nights when Gordon Hayward can't go.
Fantasy impact for Blazers: Blazers get a great defensive player in Thybulle but his lack of offense makes it a fantasy wash. He could possibly start at small forward in Portland, but even if that happens, he doesn't have any more value in Portland than he did in Philly. I still think Nassir Little gets the biggest bump if one of them can secure the starting small forward job.
Nuggets give away Bones to Clippers
Trade: Nuggets send Bones Hyland to Clippers for a 2024 and 2025 second-round pick.
Fantasy impact for Nuggets: Frees up some breathing room and extra minutes for Bruce Brown and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and could bring Christian Braun more into the fold. But nothing major when it comes to fantasy value for those guys.
Fantasy impact for Clippers: The Clippers added both Hyland and Eric Gordon (see below) so Bones doesn't really have any better path to minutes than he had in Denver, as long as everyone stays healthy. But he is likely to be the backup point guard behind Terance Mann now that John Wall and Reggie Jackson are out of the way (see below).
Justin Holiday dealt to Houston
Trade: Hawks send Justin Holiday and Frank Kaminsky to Rockets for Garrison Mathews and Bruno Fernando in a cost-cutting move.
Fantasy impact for Hawks: None.
Fantasy impact for Rockets: None. Kenyon Martin Jr. and Tari Eason are still the guys to target and both got a big boost today when Eric Gordon was sent back to the Clippers (see below).
Thunder, Suns swap forwards
Trade: Thunder send Darius Bazley to the Suns for Dario Saric and a second-round pick.
Fantasy impact for Thunder: Bazley wasn't playing much to begin with and the fact they also moved Mike Muscala earlier means that it could officially be Jaylin Williams time in OKC. Pick him up.
Fantasy impact for Suns: Bazley is a nice pickup for the Suns and he could battle Torrey Craig for a starting forward job. There's no need to drop someone of value to pick him up but Bazley should be considered a luxury stash now that Dario Saric is out in Phoenix (see below).
Clippers add another veteran
Trade: Rockets send Eric Gordon to Clippers, Clippers send Luke Kennard to Grizzlies along with three second-round picks, Clippers send John Wall to Rockets and Grizzlies send Danny Green to Rockets. Rockets plan on waiving Wall.
Fantasy impact for Rockets: The loss of Gordon frees up more playing time for Kenyon Martin Jr. and Tari Eason. They should both be rostered in all formats until further notice, especially given Houston's excellent fantasy playoffs schedule. I consider Martin to be one of today's biggest winners. I doubt that Danny Green will touch the floor for the Rockets.
Fantasy impact for Clippers: Gordon will give the Clippers instant offense off the bench and he'll be a key starter on nights when Paul George or Kawhi Leonard are resting. And he gets to come home to the team that drafted him. However, he was starting for the Rockets and his value will take a hit. I'd only use him in DFS on nights that he's starting.
Fantasy impact for Grizzlies: Ja Morant gets one of the best and most efficient three-point shooting specialists in the league in Kennard. But that's also the problem. He's a one-dimensional player and not a must-add in most fantasy leagues.
Pels land Josh Richardson
Trade: Spurs send Josh Richardson to the Pelicans for Devonte' Graham and four second-round picks.
Fantasy impact for Spurs: This frees up a spot for Malaki Branham to really shine and he could start at shooting guard for the rest of the season. He looks like an automatic add in all leagues at this point, and he was already making a solid impact before the trade deadline. The only thing that can stop him is a healthy Romeo Langford, who has missed eight straight games with a thigh injury. But even when Langford is healthy my money is on Branham to start at shooting guard. Graham should spend most of his time backing up point guard Tre Jones and will likely only be worth using on nights when Jones or Branham aren't playing.
Fantasy impact for the Pelicans: Richardson is going to stick with the Pelicans but he'll be stuck behind guys like Brandon Ingram, Trey Murphy and Herb Jones. I'd dump him for a hot free agent if you've got him.
Lakers get Mo Bamba from Orlando
Trade: Magic send Mo Bamba to Lakers for Patrick Beverley and a second-round pick. Beverley isn't expected to play for the Magic and may be headed back to Minnesota after a buyout.
Fantasy impact for Magic: Clears out room for more minutes for Wendell Carter, Moritz Wagner and could revive Bol Bol's season. Keep an eye on Bol in case this move thrusts him back into the spotlight.
Fantasy impact for Lakers: Bamba gives the Lakers a replacement backup with the loss of Thomas Bryant, but also hurts the chances of Jarred Vanderbilt to break out for the Lakers. Unless Vanderbilt can overtake Rui Hachimura for the starting power forward job, which is a possibility. Bamba's not worth adding but could be if (or should I say 'when') Anthony Davis goes down again.
Gary Payton back with Warriors
Trade: Blazers send Gary Payton to the Warriors for five second-round picks.
Fantasy impact for the Warriors: Payton is coming home and will help bolster the Warriors' bench. Stephen Curry (leg) is out through the All-Star break so Payton could see time at both guard spots off the bench. But I'd only plan on using him on nights when Jordan Poole, Klay Thompson or Andrew Wiggins are resting. The fantasy impacts aren't great but it was a nice move by the Warriors to bring Payton back.
