This week’s stock market features a few names we haven’t seen all year, possibly ever, in the buy category while some perennial All-Stars have made their way into the sell category. A seasoned fantasy day trader knows that name value is the worst thing to base transactions on. Value shoots up and falls down quicker than you can say Donatas Motiejunas. That said, let’s take a look at some new faces worth a buy and some old faces that are getting buy on name recognition alone.
Buy:
Brandon Knight: Strong Buy. After missing three games with a knee injury, Knight returned with a 36 minute, 32 point performance on 11 of 18 shooting from the floor and 5 of 6 from behind the arc. With Jose Calderon now dishing the ball, Knight moves into a larger scoring role and while he’ll still throw up a few assists every night, he has scored 53 points over his last two games and should continue to see shot opportunities in the teens.
Tobias Harris: Solid Buy. I mentioned Harris in this week’s Waiver Wire and he’s worth another mention because his trade from Milwaukee to Orlando has completely turned his season around. He has played over 30 minutes in each of his last two games and is averaging 17.7 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 1.3 BPG, and one SPG since coming over to the Magic while shooting 68 percent from the floor. His shooting percentage can’t keep up at this pace but he definitely looks like a good pick up in most leagues right now.
Donatas Motiejunas: Deep League Buy. Emerging a bit late from the trade deadline fall out, Motiejunas has found his way into the starting lineup after Patrick Patterson and Marcus Morris were sent off in separate trades. After not making much of an impact thus far, the Lithuanian rookie has put up 24 points, 13 rebounds, seven assists, and a steal in his last two games and should continue to see increased opportunities and production worthy of a pickup in deeper leagues (for now).
Al Harrington: Speculative Buy. He is finally back from a knee injury that has kept him out all season so he is still limited to under-20 minutes per game but he may be very valuable heading towards the fantasy playoffs. Though he hasn’t been a starter for a few years now, he averaged 28 MPG, 14.2 PPG, six RPG, one BPG, and 1.6 3PPG for the Nuggets last year and could be a worthwhile buy if he can contribute those kinds of numbers once he is at full speed.
Wilson Chandler: Short-term Buy. Chandler is as inconsistent as they come but he is starting with Danilo Gallinari out which gives him a value boost. In his last four games, Chandler is averaging 27 MPG, 16 PPG, four RPG, 1.3 SPG, 1.5 3PPG, and is shooting 48 percent. His value should return to low-end status once Gallinari returns.
Sell:
John Wall: Wall hasn’t been the same since returning from a knee injury that kept him out until mid-January and has really struggled of late. In his last five games he is averaging 29 MPG, 10 PPG, 7.6 APG, and one SPG while shooting a miserable 29 percent from the floor and turning the ball over 4.6 times per game. I wouldn’t drop him but I wouldn’t start him until he evens out either.
Andrea Bargnani: Bargnani has looked downright miserable since returning from an elbow injury that cost him nearly two months, causing him to lose a lot of minutes and opportunities. In his last seven games, he is averaging just 18 MPG, 3.3 PPG, 1.6 RPG, and shooting 30 percent from the floor. I wouldn’t hold my breath on him, it looks like it’ll get worse before it gets better.
Earl Clark: I thought Clark would make good on his starting gig but he has fallen back down to earth of late and is in danger of losing his starting job. Over his last five games, Clark is averaging just 8.6 PPG, seven RPG, and 1.2 SPG on 41 percent shooting. The double-digit scoring and rebounding games are growing fewer and fewer and I would drop him in most leagues.
Kenneth Faried: Faried hasn’t been playing too well and is losing minutes and opportunities. Over his last six games he is averaging 29 MPG, 9.5 PPG and 8 RPG. On the season he is averaging 12 PPG, 9.6 RPG, 1.2 SPG, and one BPG on 55 percent shooting which is where he should be and I may consider benching him for a decent replacement until he gets past this cold streak.
Michael Beasley: I thought he may be turning this disappointing season around late in January with some good scoring games but he has completely become irrelevant of late. In his last six games, he is averaging a mere 13.4 MPG, 4.5 PPG, and 2.3 RPG on 31 percent shooting. If you haven’t already rid yourself of him, now would be the time.
