5 Tips for Trading Players in Fantasy Basketball

How do you know what a good trade looks like in fantasy basketball?

For the majority of trades, there is one person who is benefiting and one person who is getting the short end of the stick.  Even though both parties think the trade may be fair, it's not for one of them.  For instance, about two weeks ago, James Harden was slacking, and my friend got tired of his nonexistent first-round production.  Knowing I was a Rockets fan, he came to me first.  I told him I'd give David Lee for Harden, straight up, and he almost accepted.  He wanted to see what else he could get, so it ended up becoming a 3-for-3 trade, sending Kyle Lowry, DeMar DeRozan and David Lee to him in exchange for James Harden, Samuel Dalembert, and DeJuan Blair.  I immediately dropped the latter two.  So here I am, sending three real good players in exchange for one player who has been struggling and two players who I just dropped, because to me, Russell Westbrook, James Harden, and LeBron James are a power trio and I could pick up two guys on waivers who were producing better than Blair and Dalembert.  So now you're wondering where I'm headed with this, and basically, I'm just going to give a few pointers on trade advice for fantasy basketball.

1. Never buy high.  Don't try to trade for a player when they're hot.  If they never cool down, chances are their owner won't trade them anyway, and you'd be getting taken advantage of if you came to an agreement.  For instance, don't try to trade for Westbrook now that he's almost hit a triple double in his last five straight games, but instead, wait for Westbrook to 4-22 from the field with 2 assists and 5 rebounds with 7 turnovers before you make an offer.  Obviously, this kind of performance is rare and this is an extreme example, but you catch my drift.

2. Multi-Player deals are the key. You'll never get the better deal on a one-for-one trade.  It just won't happen.  Nobody is going to give up their precious star for somebody who is producing worse than your target.  That's why you have to convince them with other players.  So, for instance, you want Steph Curry, and you want to trade John Wall for him.  Needless to say, nobody will part with Curry in that deal unless they're a die-hard Wizards fan, which is unlikely.  So take Curry and your friend's two worst players and offer up Wall and two guys you picked up off waivers that have had a few good games recently, and maybe he'll take a look and say, "Well Curry is better than Wall, but just by a little, and these two guys haven't been producing well for me, so sure, why not."  Now I'm not saying this works like a charm, but try it.  It's a lot more efficient than asking a one-for-one.

3. Know who's injured or sitting out.  Occasionally, players get injured and sit out for a few weeks, giving huge boosts to other players.  Let's take Andrea Bargnani for example.  Bargnani was barely doing anything, and then Chandler gets injured and Bargnani's minutes go up -> he becomes productive.  However, when Chandler comes back, Bargnani will become irrelevant.  When you piece Chandler's return with the resurgence of Amar'e Stoudemire, you don't want Bargnani on your team.  However, right now he's averaging 15 points and 5 rebounds in 31 minutes of action, a good bargaining chip for a big trade.  Throw him in the mix, and people will see his current production and may go for it.  He's currently the 23rd ranked power forward in the NBA (according to ESPN), but he won't be for long.  So pay attention to things like that.

4. Look at minutes.  As simple as it may sound, a player needs to be on the court to produce.  If he's not getting minutes, he won't bring you what he could.  Among the top 10 fantasy producers, they average 35 minutes per game.  You need those kinds of minutes in order to reach potential, and there's no point in having someone on your team who won't reach that potential.  Don't ever trade for somebody averaging less than 30 minutes per game.  That means they're either splitting the time with another player in that position, or they're coming off the bench, neither of which you want.

5. Consider the number of possessions.  When you watch a game, who is the offense run through?  Let's take the most extreme example in Carmelo Anthony.  He leads the league in shot attempts per game at 20.8, but he touches the ball on every possession.  In addition to his 39 minutes, he's a part of every offensive play during those minutes.  If he's a part of that play, then that's a much higher chance he will either score or get an assist on it.  Even better is LeBron.  What makes him so valuable is that he's a good passer and commands the ball on every play.  When was the last time you watched a Heat game where LeBron didn't touch the ball on a play?  Exactly.  Steph Curry, Chris Paul, and Luol Deng are prime players who control the possessions.  Let's look on the flip side.  Harrison Barnes and Corey Brewer average over 34 minutes per game each, yet average less than a lot of players on waivers. Why, if they're getting so much playing time?  In Barnes's case, on the Warriors, there are players like Steph Curry and Klay Thompson that the offense goes through every time.  You know that during the possession, Steph will have the ball.  Barnes, on the other hand, won't the majority of the time.  Much similar to Barnes, in Brewer's case on the Timberwolves, his ceiling is limited because of Ricky Rubio and Kevin Love.  Rubio runs the offense and it will touch Love 80% of the time.  So don't just focus on minutes, but watch a game and see how the offense works.

I hope this helps everyone out and you can get some bargains on some top players.