Every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, we pose a question to a rotating panel of ESPN fantasy basketball experts to gauge their thoughts on a hot topic. Today's contributors are ESPN Fantasy's John Cregan, Kyle Soppe and Joe Kaiser.
Name a player who has been underachieving this season and should be targeted in trades because you expect him to pick things up in the coming weeks.
John Cregan: A week ago, I would have shouted Nikola Jokic from the rooftops. Now, after Monday's 27 point, 11 rebound breakout, I'll just tell you. There simply hasn't been a more disappointing player in fantasy this season, and it's not due to a lack of ability. It's the timeshare with Jusuf Nurkic, and a residual lack of self-confidence that's resulted from it.
Head Coach (and Fantasy Killjoy) Mike Malone has been excruciatingly steadfast in his defense of Jokic's reduced role, but Jokic's improving play since returning from a wrist injury is forcing Malone to reconsider expanding his offensive responsibilities. This may be your last chance to buy low.
Another name to consider is Andrew Wiggins, as I have faith that Tom Thibodeau will mandate consistent improvement in steal and block production as the season progresses.
Joe Kaiser: Devin Booker of the Phoenix Suns is the name that comes to mind. He hasn't taken the next step like many expected, but it's easy to forget that he just turned 20 at the start of the season. Last season as a rookie, he flourished once the injuries started to mount in the backcourt, and I could envision that same thing happening again this season if either Eric Bledsoe or Brandon Knight miss time.
Booker's game is built around scoring and, when his confidence is high, it impacts the rest of his game. He's a player who is outside the top 50 in fantasy right now, but he's averaging 33 minutes a game and has a 25.1 usage rate. When his shot starts to fall, he has a chance to become a big-time scorer in the Suns' fast-paced offense. Expect his shooting percentages (41.1 FG, 31.4 3PT) to rise and his scoring average (18.4 PPG) to follow suit in the weeks and months ahead.
Kyle Soppe: I'm going to break the rules a bit here and name a player I am targeting in trades that is NOT struggling. The purpose of this question is to find a player whose stock will increase in value moving forward and I think Sam Dekker fits that bill. He's playing well, which is exactly why someone may be willing to deal him at this point, thinking that they are selling high. Buy.
Dekker is an analytics dream on the offensive end with nearly 95 percent of his shots coming either within eight feet of the basket or beyond 24 feet. He has proven to be a capable rebounder at times, averaging 10.8 boards per 48 minutes in December, with as many seven-plus rebound efforts in the past two weeks as he had all of last season.
I'm buying him as a viable option in the third-most efficient offense in basketball, with the potential for his value to spike in a big way if and when Ryan Anderson (97 missed games in the past three seasons) or Trevor Ariza (31 years old, and averaging more than 33 minutes for the fourth straight season) miss time. Dekker currently sits at No. 153 on our Player Rater and if that is how he is valued in your league (in the Andre Roberson and Shelvin Mack tier), you need to pounce.