It's All-Star weekend, which means there are no fantasy stats coming in for the next week. While we fantasy junkies will go through some form of box score withdrawal, the break provides a terrific chance to focus on improving our rosters via trades.
The NBA trade deadline comes Feb. 18, and the deadline in standard ESPN leagues comes the next week, at noon on Feb. 24. That gives us the better part of two weeks to flesh out our rosters for the stretch run.
How you approach trades will depend a lot on your league's format and your position in the standings.
In head-to-head leagues, you should pay close attention to how many games your players have scheduled each week during the stretch run and playoffs. Teams like the Chicago Bulls, Golden State Warriors and Sacramento Kings have busy schedules down the stretch, while teams like the Brooklyn Nets, Miami Heat and New York Knicks have thinned-out schedules.
If you are in any sort of rotisserie format, you will need to take a deep assessment of which categories you need to address. Is there a category in which you are dominating? Can you trade some of that strength to address a category in which your team has been struggling?
In season-long roto games, you also must factor in games played by position (Max & Pace on your team's home page). If you are ahead in pace of games played in multiple positions, you can afford to do some two-for-one trades, dealing away a pair of good players to land a great one. If you are behind in games played, you may consider swapping one stud for a pair of up-and-comers you believe in for the stretch run so you can catch up.
Finally, the biggest factor to consider is how much risk you need to take in order to put your team in position to win. If you are in good shape in the standings and believe in your team, you should simply do some fine-tuning and perhaps trade away injury-prone and risky players for safer options. If you are in the middle of the pack and don't believe in your roster, then you need to throw caution to the wind and be bold.
Let's examine some of the top players worth targeting for the post-All-Star run, breaking it down into different groups.
Elite players
Anthony Davis, PF/C, New Orleans Pelicans: Generally speaking, you should target any of the top dozen or so stars, depending on your team's needs. I like the idea of targeting Davis specifically, though. He ranks just ninth on the Player Rater (averages), finished his run to the break on a whimper in statistical terms, and surely his owners are perpetually nervous about his health, so his value is low when compared to other elite fantasy hoops stars. Still, as I noted Thursday in my Twitter Mailbag, I see Davis as a top-three option for the stretch run. He is a perfect trade target if your team needs one impact piece to push you over the top and you are willing to take some risk on his health.
Karl-Anthony Towns, PF/C, Minnesota Timberwolves: Good luck prying this young star out of the grip of his current owner. Surely, you would have to pay a king's ransom to secure him, but greatness doesn't come cheaply. On a bad team, he is locked into big minutes the rest of the way and has shown no health issues or signs of slowing down. Don't be afraid to pay whatever you need to acquire KAT, because it may turn out to be a bargain by getting access to a player capable of finishing in the top five the rest of the way.
Kyrie Irving, PG/SG, Cleveland Cavaliers: Unfortunately, Irving's trade value has skyrocketed during the past week, so you won't be able to get him for value. Still, you may be able to get access to an elite player at a comparatively affordable price if his current owner remains concerned enough about Irving's never-ending injury issues.
DeMar DeRozan, SG/SF, Toronto Raptors: DeRozan has earned a bad rap in the fantasy hoops community, because he is a shooting guard who doesn't shoot 3s. For some perspective, Terrence Jones and Vince Carter are averaging as many 3-PPG this season as DeRozan (0.6 3-PPG). He also doesn't chip in impact boards (4.3 RPG) or swipes (1.0 SPG).
However, he is huge in two stats that are critical in roto systems: scoring and free throws. You can basically pen him in for 24-25 PPG the rest of the season. At the line, he is shooting a career-high 83.6 free throw percentage and only DeMarcus Cousins and James Harden have attempted more free throws per game than DeRozan (8.3 FTA). Also of note in H2H leagues is that the Raptors have a friendly schedule going forward, including five games in Week 21. If you need scoring and free throw help, give DeRozan a close look.
Midrange players
Khris Middleton, SF/SG, Milwaukee Bucks: I'm just enamored with his well-rounded production that includes scoring, 3s, dimes, steals and free throw percentage, especially since he doesn't carry the star quality that would jack up his trade value.
Derrick Favors, PF/C, Utah Jazz: He won't be a statistical beast on the Jazz, but that means you can acquire a very nice big man (16.6 PPG, 8.5 RPG, 1.3 SPG, 1.5 BPG and 51.6 field goal percentage) at an affordable price.
Chandler Parsons, SF, Dallas Mavericks: Finally back to full speed, Parsons is hitting his stride and is a player whose production should only grow in the coming weeks.
Hustle players
Nicolas Batum, SF/SG, Charlotte Hornets: Hopefully you already made your move on Batum, because his trade value has exploded thanks to his recently stellar play. We should expect plenty more across-the-board production from him the rest of the season. Don't hesitate to overpay if that's what it takes to get him.
Giannis Antetokounmpo, SF/SG/PF, Milwaukee Bucks: Sure, coach Jason Kidd's rotations are maddening, but the Greek Freak has remained locked into major minutes and his versatility is reflected in delectable scoring, rebounds, steals and blocks.
Nerlens Noel, C/PF, Philadelphia 76ers: You can't beat his combination of steals and blocks, plus he is a legitimate double-double threat. He also is a talented young player on a horrendous team, which means he will see plenty of work as the season winds down.
Gorgui Dieng, C/PF, Minnesota Timberwolves: His role may not be secure -- that's in the hands of coach Sam Mitchell and it depends on the health of Kevin Garnett and Nikola Pekovic -- but I believe Dieng has proved himself worthy of big minutes down the stretch. As a double-double threat who can rack up big blocks and respectable steals, he could turn out to be a great trade value.
Injured players
If your team is desperate and needs to take a risk to compete for a title, or if your squad is packed with talent and you can afford to roll the dice on a difference-maker, then targeting a player who is either currently injured or returning to form after previous health issues could be a wise move.
Consider the likes of Jrue Holiday and Bradley Beal, who appear to be back to form in terms of health and play, and Jimmy Butler and Blake Griffin, who are out at least a couple of more weeks.
Due to their respective health issues, their current owners likely aren't married to keeping them, which should allow you to acquire them at an affordable rate. If healthy, all four are capable of pushing teams to championship heights in the final month of the season.
Steals and 3s
We all want stars like Stephen Curry, who stuffs box scores with boatloads of 3s and steals, but you can get access to both stats at affordable rates by targeting the likes of Avery Bradley, Jae Crowder, Trevor Ariza, Otto Porter Jr. and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope.
If you need to address steals and 3s and don't want to pay for the stars, securing a couple of these players on the cheap could make a difference in the long haul.