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NBA Trade Deadline: My 5 Favorite Trades For Fantasy Basketball

By Dave Fuqua

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Feb 6, 2015; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Goran Dragic (1) dribbles against the Utah Jazz at US Airways Center. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

Sorting out the NBA Trade Deadline for fantasy purposes.

Thursday was one of, if not the most, active NBA Trade Deadlines I have ever witnessed. It seems like around 1 p.m. CST the flood gates opened and a bevy of trades just started flowing. We will begin trying to sort out all of the fantasy relevant trades and help you break down and be able to take full advantage of the new roles that players will have going forward.

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With all of the moves that happened, there will be a lot of impact to players that we can somewhat predict and some that we will have to just watch and hope we get it right. Unfortunately no one has a crystal ball and can accurately say for sure what is going to happen, but we will do our best to figure it out.

We will also start watching the buyout market as that will have a mild effect on players’ fantasy values as well. We will soon have some veteran players that will be bought out from their teams and landing on teams that are trying to contend for the title this year, and that always effects players fantasy value. Usually the biggest effect in the buyout market is for players that are used in deeper leagues, but we will do our best to help you out there as well.

Now let us get to my five favorite trades and the beginning of breaking them down for fantasy purposes.

Next: We Knew He Was Getting Traded

Feb 6, 2015; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Goran Dragic (1) dribbles against the Utah Jazz at US Airways Center. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

This is my favorite overall trade for fantasy purposes. I don’t know how much Dragic will be able to handle the ball with Dwyane Wade in town, but I suspect his averages should go up a little bit. Of course, Phoenix absolutely blew everything up and we will touch on some of the other parts for Phoenix later on. Not only will Dragic go up, this could actually free up Eric Bledsoe to completely run the point.

I suspect that now with the injury to Bosh they will rely upon the scoring of Dragic even more. He really seems early on to be one of the big winners of the trade deadline chaos. Check out Mike Marteny’s analysis here.

Next: But We Did Not Expect Them 'Both' To Get Traded

Feb 14, 2015; New York, NY, USA; Phoenix Suns guard Isaiah Thomas (3) dribbles the basketball during the 2015 NBA All Star Skills Challenge competition at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

This is my favorite trade of the whole group of deals yesterday. Maybe that is because I bought low on IT2 in several of my leagues and have been encouraging you guys to do the same for a few weeks right here and here. The Celtics are said to really like Thomas, and tried to land him this off-season. Danny Ainge has a good eye for talent, and will look to move Marcus Smart to the off guard position where Thomas should roll with the starting PG job.

Check out Mike Marteny’s analysis here.

Next: This One Did Not Make Much Sense Either

Feb 24, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers guard Michael Carter-Williams (1) is defended by Milwaukee Bucks guard Brandon Knight (11) during the first quarter at the Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports

This is a pretty good trade for both of the main guys here. I think that Carter-Williams will lose some value because his usage rate should drop enough to matter. However, with that drop he should bring up his efficiency, and with any luck for his owners, that will keep his value close to where it was. The initial thought is; how could it not be good to get off of that 76ers team, but sometimes situations like that are great for fantasy.

For Brandon Knight my hope is that he will do a little bit better. The log jam in the Suns back-court no longer exists, so Knight and Bledsoe should get the lion’s share of the minutes and should co-exist nicely together. The prospects of this should be an exciting thing to watch for fantasy purposes.

Check out Mike Marteny’s analysis here.

Next: We Will All Know This Next Guy Soon

Dec 17, 2014; Denver, CO, USA; Houston Rockets guard Isaiah Canaan (0) during the game against the Denver Nuggets at Pepsi Center. The Rockets won 115-111 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports

I have to admit I needed all the dust to settle for a few minutes before I realized that Canaan was going to be the sole point guard left in Philadelphia. I must also say I have no idea what the 76ers hope to gain by all of this. It seems to me like they are just in constant tank mode, and every time they get a decent piece, they trade it off for more draft picks. Well, whatever they are doing, it very well could lead Canaan to be a fantasy all-star for the rest of the season, so go get him.

Check out Mike Marteny’s analysis here.

Next: And To Finish With A Feel Good Story

Jan 21, 2015; Sacramento, CA, USA; Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Garnett (2) directs the defense during the first quarter of the game against the Sacramento Kings at Sleep Train Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports

I really just added this trade in for the feel good aspect of it. Even though I am not a Kevin Garnett fan, it is kind of cool to see him going back to where it all started. I am not sure if the T’Wolves realized that they probably could have landed K.G. without giving up Young, but it is what it is.

I don’t really see much changing from a fantasy perspective for either player, but I suppose this could rejuvenate Garnett some. I am not adding Garnett in any league and I am not going after Young in a trade until I see how he does in his new threads.

Check out Mike Marteny’s analysis here.

Next: Will Pablo Prigioni Be Fantasy Relevant In Houston?

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