Week 6 Fantasy Basketball Trades: Sell High on Brook Lopez, Evan Mobley and Jerami Grant

Discussing Brook Lopez, Evan Mobley and Jerami Grant as potential sell-high fantasy players.

It’s the sixth week of the NBA season, and if you haven’t made a trade yet, you are probably itching to. Let’s take a look at three players you could sell high on right now.

Those players are Milwaukee Bucks’ Brook Lopez, Cleveland Cavaliers’ Evan Mobley and Portland Trail Blazers’ Jerami Grant.

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Brook Lopez Fantasy Outlook

Lopez had an average draft position (ADP) of 85 in head-to-head scoring leagues and 75 in category/roto leagues. The big man is off to a strong start this season, and the FantasySP trade value charts currently have Lopez 81st.

You might be wondering how you can sell high on a player that’s performing similarly to his ADP. Let me explain.

Lopez has started all 18 games and is averaging 29.1 minutes per contest. He’s also averaging 13.2 points, 5.1 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 0.9 steals and 2.8 blocks, while committing 0.9 turnovers and 2.2 fouls. His points and rebounds are down from a season ago, but his blocks and steals are a touch up.

His shooting percentages have dipped. Lopez is at 50.6% overall and 34.1% from 3-point land. His free throw percentage is up, but his attempts are down.

The points average for Lopez is solid considering he’s got to deal with Giannis Antetokounmpo, Damian Lillard and Khris Middleton as better scoring options, but it’s a bit deceiving too. Over a two-game stretch, Lopez was on fire and combined for 67 points. If you take those games away, his average is about 10.7 points per game. 

Speaking of the other scorers on the team, that’s another reason why I’d try to move Lopez now. Antetokounmpo and Lillard are still learning to play together, and are going to suck up most of the attempts and points on a nightly basis when they start clicking. Middleton has been on a minutes restriction and sitting out from time to time, so if he ever gets a full complement of minutes, Lopez should see a drop in his numbers.

Lopez is a fine player for his age, and his defensive numbers are special, but in time, those defensive numbers are going to have to carry him from a fantasy perspective, so I’d suggest selling him while his value is high. Check out the trade value charts and see if you can find a big man that’s a better rebounder, so you have a stat to fall back on in case his scoring is capped.

Evan Mobley Fantasy Outlook

Mobley had an ADP of 46 in H2H leagues and 48 in category/roto leagues. Right now, his trade value is 26.41, which is 24th in the NBA.

Mobley is having a similar season to a season ago. He’s averaging 33.3 minutes, 16.3 points, 10.9 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.9 blocks and 0.8 steals per game, while committing 2.8 fouls and 2.2 turnovers per contest.

All his numbers are pretty much the same as a season ago, with the biggest jump being a two-rebound increase. His overall shooting percentage has bumped up to 56.7%, partly because he’s taking less 3-pointers than a season ago.

Unlike in the case with Lopez, I don’t see regression coming for Mobley. This is simply about capitalizing on his strong start. His numbers look very similar to last season, and I don’t see any dramatic increases coming this season. 

If you picked Mobley near his ADP, he was maybe your second big man taken. If your other big is off to a strong start, and you missed on a guard early in the draft, this could be your chance to get one.  Mobley has some big-time names around him (DeAaron Fox, Kyrie Irving, Donovan Mitchell and Jalen Brunson to name a few), which could fix your guard issue instantly. It might take another piece on your part to get the trade done, but it’s one that could definitely help you out.

If your draft didn’t go as planned, maybe you could use Mobley to acquire a couple solid fantasy assets. Don’t let Mobley’s hot start fade - trade him and make your fantasy team a more competitive one.

Jerami Grant Fantasy Outlook

Grant had an ADP of 97 in H2H leagues and 86 in category/roto leagues. He’s currently the 55th-ranked player in the trade value charts.

Grant has started all 17 games for the Trail Blazers and he’s having arguably his best season yet. Grant is averaging 35.9 minutes, 23.4 points, 4 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 0.9 blocks and 0.8 steals, while committing 2.4 turnovers and 2.1 fouls.

Grant is one of the veterans on the young Portland team, and so far, he’s been the team’s top scorer. He’s getting three more field goal attempts per game than last year - a product of the team trading away Lillard - so that helps him score more despite shooting a worse percentage.

Grant is making a lot of money and is tied to Portland for the next couple seasons. I mention that because if he was on a cheaper contract, he’d be a hot name before the trade deadline.

As the young Blazers mature, it would make sense for the team to start putting more on their plates, which would take away from Grant’s overall numbers. Another big thing to keep in mind is that Anfernee Simons is out with a thumb injury and should return to action in a couple weeks. Simons averaged more points than Grant last season and will take away from Grant’s numbers when he’s back unless Grant shoots a better percentage.

With how great Grant has been so far, I’d cash in on his trade value now instead of waiting. The closer we get to Simons’ return, the more news there will be on that, and it might hurt Grant’s trade stock quite a bit. There’s some really good fantasy assets ranked right around Grant now, and I’d try to nab one of them instead of hoping Grant can still produce at this level with Simons back.

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