The trade deadline is officially one week away and me and my colleagues are going to do our best to make sure you and your fantasy team are well prepared for anything that happens. In these six division previews, we’ll be highlighting some possible names that could be on the move in addition to the fantasy implications and stashes that could give your team an edge as the fantasy playoffs draw closer. This installment will focus on the Southwest Division, which hasn’t lacked for drama to this point in the season.
Dallas Mavericks
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The Mavericks made a major splash Thursday, acquiring Kristaps Porzingis, Tim Hardaway Jr., Courtney Lee and Trey Burke from the Knicks in exchange for Dennis Smith Jr., DeAndre Jordan, Wesley Matthews and two future first-round draft picks. With Porzingis in the fold Dallas now has its second building block of the post-Dirk Nowitzki era, with the 7’3 “unicorn” joining forces with prized rookie Luka Doncic. Porzingis, who has yet to play due to a torn ACL suffered last year, is unlikely to take the floor before the season ends according to team owner Mark Cuban. Hardaway, Burke and Lee will give Dallas additional depth, with Burke being especially important due to the ruptured Achilles tendon suffered by J.J. Barea last month. He should slide into the backup point guard role, with rookie Jalen Brunson remaining in the starting lineup.
Hardaway, who’s averaging 19.1 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game, is shooting just 38.8% from the field and 34.7% from three this season. However in Dallas scoring opportunities may come a bit easier for the veteran guard, due in large part to the fact that he’ll be playing against a playmaker in Doncic who’s better than any of the options Hardaway worked with in New York. As for Lee he did not make his season debut until early December due to a neck injury, and the 11th-year pro wasn’t in the Knicks rotation once healthy. With this move being made, the Mavericks don’t have many remaining options when it comes to doing more business ahead of the trade deadline.
The newest Mavericks - Of these four players Burke has the most amenable contract with regards to a trade, as he’s due to be an unrestricted free agent this summer and his cap figure ($1.795 million) isn’t all that high. But as noted above he fills a need for Dallas due to Barea’s season-ending injury, and even with the dollar amount being as low at it is this is money that the Mavericks can potentially take off of their books in the summer. As for Hardaway and Lee those two have contracts that won’t draw much interest, with the former signed through 2021 (he’ll make $18.15 million next season and $18.975 million in 2020-21) and the latter through 2020 (Lee will make around $25 million guaranteed over the next two seasons). And Porzingis isn’t going anywhere, even with his reported desire to be a free agent in the summer of 2020.
Harrison Barnes - Barnes is coming off one of his highest-scoring games of the season, as he scored 27 points in a loss to the Pistons Thursday night. The veteran forward’s contract isn’t particularly friendly, as he has a player option worth a little more than $25 million for next season (he also has an eight percent trade kicker). Even if Dallas wanted to do something with Barnes, it would be very difficult to find a trade partner at this point in the season. He hasn’t shot the ball well from the field overall (40.9%), but the veteran forward is a 38.9% shooter from three and a solid defender as well. If anything the Porzingis trade will impact the opportunities of a player like 6’11 power forward Maxi Kleber, who will be a free agent this summer but is a player who figures to be in the Mavericks’ plans for the future.
Dwight Powell - Like Barnes, Powell has a player option for the 2019-20 season. But unlike Barnes his number may be viewed a bit more positively by other teams, as the option is worth a little under $10.3 million. During the month of January Powell averaged 8.5 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 17.0 minutes per game, shooting 62.2% from the field. In Thursday’s loss to the Pistons, which Dallas played shorthanded in the aftermath of the Porzingis trade, it was Kleber and not Powell who moved into the starting lineup. Powell has value to the Mavericks as a reserve, and there could be an uptick in minutes due to the need to augment some roles in order to account for the loss of Jordan.
Houston Rockets
This season has been a difficult one for the Rockets from a health standpoint, as multiple key players have missed time due to injury. Add in the fact that the signing of Carmelo Anthony did not work out, with the Rockets eventually trading him to the Bulls, and it’s understandable why Mike D’Antoni’s team has not performed as well as it did last season. But Houston still has reigning MVP James Harden, and both Chris Paul and Eric Gordon have returned from injury in recent weeks. Houston has also made moves on the waiver wire, signing Kenneth Faried to help account for the injury suffered by starting center Clint Capela and bringing in veteran guard Austin Rivers.
One hole the Rockets have not been able to fill this season is that of the departed Trevor Ariza, a good defensive wing who was also a capable spot-up shooter to work off of Harden. If Houston were to make a move before the deadline, one would think that this is the area the team would look to address. But who could the Rockets potentially move in an attempt to strengthen its roster for the postseason?
Marquese Chriss - Chriss was part of the offseason trade that sent Ryan Anderson and De’Anthony Melton to Phoenix in exchange for he and point guard Brandon Knight. The hope was that a change of scenery would give Chriss’ career some life, but it simply hasn’t happened. With the Rockets declining his option for the 2019-20 season he’ll be an unrestricted free agent this summer. As he’s out of the Rockets rotation, Chriss is unlikely to have an impact fantasy-wise anytime soon.
Brandon Knight - As noted above he was part of the offseason trade with the Suns, and since getting back to full strength after recovering from a torn ACL Knight hasn’t been much of a factor for the Rockets. The seventh-year point guard’s name has come up in trade rumors recently, with Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer reporting that the Rockets have discussed a deal with the Grizzlies in which it adds a future first-round pick in order to sweeten the deal due to Knight’s contract. One would assume that any deal made would be in an attempt to strengthen the wing position, and Knight is a prime candidate to be moved since he doesn’t appear to figure in the Rockets’ plans.
Memphis Grizzlies
While the Anthony Davis saga has been the attention-grabber in the Southwest Division, the New Orleans isn’t the only franchise that could be looking at the end of an era. Memphis could be in a similar position, with mainstays Mike Conley and Marc Gasol both being mentioned in recent trade rumors. The Grizzlies are well out of the playoff picture, and in rookie Jaren Jackson Jr. the franchise has at least one player who figures to be a part of the long-term rebuild. So does Memphis move either Conley or Gasol, thus lowering the curtain on the “Grit-N-Grind” era? Or does Memphis not move either, instead looking to regroup in 2019-20?
Mike Conley - Conley was thought to have a shot at earning a trip to the All-Star Game for the first time in his career, but he ultimately fell short of that honor. Conley’s under contract through the 2020-21 season, but he has an early-termination option for the final year of the deal. Given how good he’s been over the years Conley can definitely help a playoff team, but the cap figure is something that needs to be taken into consideration. Should the Conley era come to an end in Memphis one would have to assume that a point guard would be heading in the opposite direction. That scenario would leave rookie Jevon Carter, who’s struggled mightily on the offensive end of the floor, in a supplementary role. Carter’s shooting just 26.4% from the field and 25.0% from three this season, averaging 3.3 points and 1.7 assists per game. Memphis also has veteran backup Shelvin Mack, who will be an unrestricted free agent this summer.
Marc Gasol - Gasol has a player option worth just under $25.6 million for the 2019-20 season, so if his name were to come up in trade talks that would be a point of discussion. While he isn’t much of a shot blocker, Gasol is one of the NBA’s best interior defenders, and he’s averaging 15.6 points, 8.6 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game. If Memphis were to trade the veteran center, that would be another clear sign that the intention for the future is to build around the aforementioned Jackson Jr.
Chandler Parsons - It’s safe to say that the signing of Parsons has not worked out, as he was limited by injuries before the two sides decided in the fall that parting ways would be best for all involved. It’s tough to envision a scenario in which Memphis will find a willing trade partner given Parsons’ salary, however. But whether it’s by trade of buyout after the deadline, Parsons won’t have an impact on the Grizzlies rotation from a fantasy standpoint.
Garrett Temple and JaMychal Green - Temple and Green are names to keep an eye on as the trade deadline approaches. Both players are in the final season of their respective deals, with Temple making $8 million and Green not far off at nearly $7.7 million. In the case of Temple he could be attractive to a team in search of wing depth, especially if a move can get him back to shooting the basketball as he did last season as a member of the Sacramento Kings (39.2% shooter from three). As for Green, he can also be helpful in that the 6’9 forward is a 39.6% shooter from beyond the arc. If he were to be traded that would give Memphis an opportunity to further evaluate Ivan Rabb, who over his last two games is averaging 12.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game while playing 25.5 minutes per.
Justin Holiday - Holiday, who was acquired from the Bulls in early January in exchange for MarShon Brooks, Wayne Selden and second-round draft picks in 2019 and 2020, is also in the final year of his current contract. With Memphis losing two draft picks in that trade, it’s likely safe to assume that the Grizzlies would want at least one pick in any deal for Holiday. Memphis isn’t all that deep on the perimeter at this point, but the chance to get an asset in exchange for Holiday may prove to be too much to pass up should the opportunity present itself.
New Orleans Pelicans
Anthony Davis informing the Pelicans that he would not be re-signing with the team set the NBA world ablaze last week, with the Los Angeles Lakers being the team most often mentioned. The Pelicans front office has a decision to make: is it set on moving Davis before the deadline, which could limit the franchise’s selection process when it comes to the deals being presented? Or does New Orleans wait until the offseason, which could lead to more teams (most notably Boston) getting involved? According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski the Pelicans weren’t impressed with the Lakers’ first offer, so it remains to be seen what Magic Johnson and company do.
But even with Davis’ demand to be traded New Orleans holds the cards here; the team doesn’t have to rush to move him, nor should it. And Davis isn’t the only player on the Pelicans roster who will garner some attention on the trade market as the deadline approaches, either.
Nikola Mirotic - Mirotic’s perimeter shooting ability at the four makes him an attractive trade option, and with an expiring contract the Pelicans may not lack for suitors. What complicates things here is that Mirotic, who’s averaging 16.7 points and 8.3 rebounds per game with shooting splits of 44.7/36.8/84.2, is currently out due to a strained right calf. He’s missed the last four games as a result of the injury, and with Julius Randle (ankle) also out of the lineup New Orleans has been playing without its top three front court options. That all has led to more minutes for Jahlil Okafor, with the former lottery pick averaging 20.0 points, 10.6 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per over his last five games. Even if Davis, Mirotic and Randle return and aren’t traded, New Orleans may be in a position in the standings where the team looks to continue to get Okafor more minutes after the All-Star break.
Julius Randle and E’Twaun Moore - It was reported earlier this week that, in addition to Mirotic, the Pelicans have also made Randle and Moore available for trade. As noted above Randle, who’s averaging 19.9 points, 9.3 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game, has missed the last four games due to a sprained ankle. As for Moore, he’s missed the last three games and is averaging 12.3 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game on the season. Moore’s shooting 41.7% from three, which could make him a player that teams in need of perimeter shooting take a look at. Wesley Johnson, who’s in the final year of his deal, is another player to keep an eye on when it comes to players the Pelicans may look to move before the deadline.
San Antonio Spurs
Last summer was a period of significant change for the Spurs franchise. Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green were traded to Toronto in exchange for DeMar DeRozan and Jakob Poeltl, Tony Parker signed with the Hornets as a free agent, and Manu Ginobili retired. Add in Dejounte Murray’s season-ending knee injury, and one can be blamed for thinking that this would be a transition year for the Spurs. But Gregg Popovich’s team is right in the thick of the playoff race, trailing Portland by 1.5 games in race for fourth in the West. DeRozan and LaMarcus Aldridge lead the way for a team that is currently fourth in the NBA in offensive rating.
Will San Antonio make a move? Or will it stay put, as there aren’t a lot of attractive contracts from a trade standpoint on the roster. And given the franchise history it’s more likely that the Spurs don’t do anything, as that’s been the case since 2015.
Dante Cunningham and Quincy Pondexter are both in the final season of their respective contracts, with the former’s spot in the front court rotation depending largely upon the matchup. Cunningham averaged just 7.5 minutes per game in January, playing double-digit minutes in just three of his 12 appearances. As for Pondexter, he played an average of just four minutes per game last month. Not sure either one is moved at or before the deadline, and even if they were neither would have much of an impact on the Spurs from a fantasy standpoint.
