Fantasy Basketball: How Does Blake Griffin Deal Affect Fantasy Landscape?

The first domino of the 2018 NBA trade deadline dropped on Monday night. Blake Griffin, a member of the Clippers since he was drafted 1st overall in 2009, is now headed to Detroit. Here is the full deal:

This one was a surprise across much of the league since Griffin’s name wasn’t even mentioned in trade rumors. Detroit had holes, and they determined that shoring up the four was more important than adding a point guard.

The pick that Detroit is sending west is protected for picks 1-4 in each of the next three years, but is unprotected in 2021. It wont matter. Detroit wont be drafting that high anytime soon.

This deal creates a Pelicans north with Griffin pairing with Andre Drummond. However, Griffin and Drummond are a little different that Cousins and Davis. Griffin is the offensive force. Drummond is one of the best rebounders of this generation. Both are pretty good defenders.

For fantasy purposes, we could see a little less offensive output from Drummond, but not enough to consider selling him at a bargain price. Griffin’s production should be about the same. Drummond is nearly the same as DeAndre Jordan except he has more offensive chops. We may see a slight drop in Griffin’s points, but not enough to consider moving him unless you get a great deal out of it.

The real news of this deal for fantasy purposes is what happens on the Pistons and Clippers with so many pieces moving. We will break it down by team.

The Pistons really don’t lose a whole lot here from the fantasy standpoint for the rest of the season. Reggie Bullock is doing a really good job filling in for the injured/ineffective Avery Bradley. Bradley moving wont do anything but increase Bullock’s stock.

I like adding Bullock in even standard leagues right now. We have seen younger players really flourish when they aren’t looking over their shoulders at who may take their minutes anymore. If Bullock is out there, go get him!

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This will also open up a few more minutes for Langston Galloway and maybe Dwight Buycks. However, neither are very useful outside of deeper leagues. The Galloway situation is one that is worth keeping an eye on. He is already stealing minutes from Ish Smith. Now Galloway is the primary backup at both guard positions.

Griffin will take the place of Tobias Harris, so not much changes up front. Since Griffin plays so many minutes, this could actually put a damper on Anthony Tolliver‘s value. Tolliver should see minutes backing up Stanley Johnson still.

With the way Tolliver is playing, he may be able to take Johnson’s job outright. However, this will mostly depend on if Detroit decides it needs more offense or defense. This will likely take a while to sort itself out. Tolliver is a decent prospective add in deeper leagues, but should mostly be left alone unless you are in desperate need of three pointers.

Griffin and Drummond wont see much change to their fantasy output, so don’t sell them on the cheap or overpay for them. With Marjanovic out of the picture, expect Eric Moreland to see more minutes. Moreland is already worth adding in deeper leagues thanks to his hot streak. He may be worth an add in moderate sized leagues as well.

This is where things get interesting. Griffin was the face of the franchise, and he even was when Chris Paul was still around. Now they will need a new face. Something tells me that it wont be DeAndre Jordan. My guess is that it is someone that isn’t even on the team yet. This wont be the last move the Clippers make. I would imagine that they try to move Lou Williams and DeAndre Jordan before the deadline. Things are about to get really interesting in L.A.

However, I am still going to break this down with the way it currently stands. There is no guarantee that Williams and Jordan get dealt.

If Milos Teodosic is still available, he is probably worth an add in any league right now. Even if Williams doesn’t get dealt, Teodosic is finally starting to get comfortable in the NBA, which means he is producing numbers that are useful in standard leagues. Especially if you need assists.

Lou Williams is due for a big uptick in production over the short term, but I still wouldn’t give up a lot for him. Chances are if Williams is dealt, he will go back to a sixth man role. You would be paying for two great weeks, followed by two solid months. It’s up to you to decide what that’s worth in a trade.

If Tyrone Wallace is available in any league, he needs to be added now if you need points. Wallace is going to be one of the leaders of the team in scoring going forward.

I still am not much of a fan of Avery Bradley here either. Bradley is worth an add if you need all-around production, but you are probably better suited chasing down specialists in whatever category you need.

The value of Wesley Johnson and Sam Dekker go down with Brice Johnson and Tobias Harris coming in. Harris will start at the four, and he could be worth targeting in a trade since I expect a moderate increase in points. However, Harris will still be an inconsistent producer, so don’t overpay.

I do like DeAndre Jordan a little more now. Harris is not the caliber of player that Griffin is, so we should see a little more production out of Jordan. If you can get him at a normal price, he may be worth it. Just keep in mind that Jordan could wind up in a less friendly situation within a fortnight.

Boban Marjanovic is worth a prospective add in leagues with deeper benches or in larger leagues. The Clippers likely brought him in to take over for Jordan if/when he is moved.

Next: 2018 Fantasy Football QB rankings

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