Sometimes, timing is everything. This article follows last week's column, which identified players to trade for, based on their slow starts to the season.
This week, I'm looking at players off to hot starts to determine whether you should trade them away or hold them for the long term, based on their likelihood of being able to maintain their current production.
Regarding timing, the plan was for CJ McCollum to be one of the prime candidates to trade away, based on his faster-than-expected start. McCollum is a legitimately great player, but he's subordinate to Damian Lillard, and the Trail Blazers' deep roster was likely to eventually eat into his production. However, McCollum fractured a bone in his foot this weekend and is out for at least the next month, thus pushing his value in the exact opposite direction -- from a player to trade away to a player worth acquiring at a value, if your team is capable of absorbing the upcoming injury absence.
On the other hand, some of the players I recommended to acquire at a value in last week's article have already started to show that their value will soon be on the rise. For example, I've watched Kelly Oubre Jr. knock down eight 3-pointers in his past three games after starting the season in a ridiculous 7-of-51 shooting slump from downtown in his first 10 games as a Warrior. The window for getting him on the cheap could close fairly rapidly once he proves that he's back.
Again, timing is everything.
So, without further ado, let's take a look at some players producing significantly more than expected at this juncture, and project whether they are likely to hold their pace or whether they might be guys to look to trade away while their value is at a peak.