Welcome to the first edition of the Fantasy Basketball Mailbag column. Throughout the season, we'll be here to answer your questions and try to help you take home the title in your league. Without further ado, let's get down to answering this week's submissions.
Kyrie Irving was recently dropped in my league. Is he worth a bench spot? If so, what percentage of your FAAB would you use? - @DaglesBagels
Despite it being well known that Irving doesn't plan to get vaccinated against COVID-19, some fantasy mangers drafted him anyways, hoping that he would ultimately change his mind as the start of the season approached. Well, he didn't, and it doesn't look like he's going to change his stance anytime soon.
I still think that Irving will eventually get the vaccine as the playoffs approach, but that might not help us all that much in fantasy. If you have a dead spot at the end of your bench, you could take a shot and add him. However, don't spend more than five percent of your FAAB to do so. Many leagues aren't allowing Kyrie to be stashed in an IR spot, so keep that in mind, as well.
I need to drop one of Tyrese Maxey, Josh Giddey, Ricky Rubio or Chris Duarte in my 13-team, 9 cat redraft league. Which one should it be? - @RoyShimron
This is a great problem to have in a 13-team league. Right off the bat, there's no way I'm dropping Maxey with the Ben Simmons situation still up in the air. He's logged at least 30 minutes in all four of the Sixers' game and has scored at least 14 points in three of them. Giddey can fill the stat sheet in multiple areas and could see his playing time increase as the season wears on, so he might be better off keeping on your roster, as well.
The player to drop here might simply come down to which stats you need the most. If you need assists, hold onto Rubio. He has at least eight in four of the five games that he's played. If you don't need assists and want to shoot for upside, then he might be the player to drop. Duarte can be a different-maker from behind the arc, averaging 3.0 threes through five games. However, Caris LeVert (back) is nearing a return, so Duarte might see his playing time start to decline. If you don't need his three-pointers, then drop him instead of Rubio.
Would you rather have Deandre Ayton or Dejounte Murray in a 10-team, 9 cat league? - @skhaann
This is a fun question! Ayton played well during the Suns' playoff run last season, building on a campaign that saw him average 14.4 points, 10.5 rebounds and 1.2 blocks while shooting 62.6 percent from the field. He even shot a career-high 76.9 percent from the charity stripe. The only real negative was that his usage rate dropped to 18.2 percent with Chris Paul in the fold.
Ayton was off to a slow start prior to exploding for 21 points and 21 rebounds against the Kings on Wednesday, but that's not the reason why I'm taking Murray over him. Murray is an excellent rebounder for a guard and averaged 7.1 per game last season. This season, he has at least nine rebounds in three of his four games. His usage rate has also increased to 25.3 percent with DeMar DeRozan no longer in town. Add in his lofty assists and steals averages and he could be a vastly superior fantasy option.
Is Miles Bridges a sell high? - @WESYAP
Bridges could be the perfect example of a player to try and sell high on. He's come out of the gate on fire, averaging 26.2 points, 8.0 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.8 steals and 3.0 three-pointers. He's been an asset with his efficiency, too, given that he's shot 52.7 percent from the field and 90.9 percent from the charity stripe.
The important thing to point out here is that Terry Rozier (ankle) has only played in one of the Hornets' five games and P.J. Washington (knee) has missed two games. Once both of those players are healthy, not only should Bridges' 25.5 percent usage rate decline, but he could also log fewer minutes.
I got an offer to get De'Aaron Fox and Cole Anthony for C.J. McCollum. Good sell high/buy low? Worried that Fox hurts my percentages, but I'm last in assists. This is a FGM, FTM, double-doubles and three-point shooting percentage league in addition to standard 8-cat. – DaAdstre via RotoWire.com
While getting Fox and Anthony would be an upgrade in the assists department, it would come at a significant cost in terms of percentages. Fox has never shot higher than 72.7 percent from the free-throw line, which is quite damaging from a position that usually helps fantasy managers in that department. Anthony won't be a detriment there, but he only shot 39.7 percent from the field last season and is shooting 41.3 percent through his first five games.
Lastly, is McCollum really even a sell high? His 48.8 percent shooting from the field might not be sustainable, but he has shot at least 45.1 percent in each of the last four seasons. Also, he's only averaging 3.0 assists after back-to-back seasons with averages of at least 4.4 per game. As Damian Lillard's shots start to fall again, McCollum should see an uptick in that department. If you want to trade him, you can probably get a better return than Fox and Anthony, especially considering your league's settings.
