Week 6 Fantasy Basketball Trades: Buy Low on Stephen Curry, Jordan Poole and Walker Kessler

After putting together a story on some sell-high fantasy basketball players, it’s only fitting to mention some buy-low options too.

My buy-low guys are Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry, the headline-grabbing Jordan Poole of the Washington Wizards and Utah Jazz big man Walker Kessler.

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Stephen Curry Fantasy Outlook

It’s weird to put Curry’s name in a buy-low trade option story, but a lot of his numbers are down, and he’s not valued nearly as highly as where he went in drafts.

Curry had an average draft position of 7 in head-to-head leagues, while having an ADP of 8 in category/roto leagues. The FantasySP trade value charts currently have Curry at 19th.

In his 16 games played this season, Curry is averaging 33.3 minutes, 29.7 points, 4.9 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 0.8 steals and 0.2 blocks while committing 3.8 turnovers and 1.9 fouls. His points are slightly up, but all those other numbers are down. His rebounds are down by 1.2, while he’s got 2.2 less assists than a season ago.

Curry is still shooting 47.9% from the floor and 43.5% from 3-point land. His trade value being down isn’t really his fault, but you can capitalize on it.

Curry is still one of the best players in the game and is a star on the court. You’re not going to get him for super cheap, but it’s possible you could flip your second or third selection in the draft for him. If that doesn’t work and you have some decent depth, pair a couple players together to try to land Curry. 

Jordan Poole Fantasy Outlook

Poole, Curry’s old teammate, is now the heart and soul of the Wizards. He is in headlines and viral videos just about every day it seems, but he’s not lived up to the lofty expectations of his high ADP.

Poole’s ADP was 31 in H2H leagues and 39 in category/roto leagues. Our trade value charts have him way down at 108th right now.

Poole has started all 17 games this season and is averaging 29.3 minutes, 17.4 points, 2.7 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.2 steals and 0.4 blocks while committing 2.9 turnovers and 3.1 fouls per contest. It’s wild to see his points per game three less than last year with the Warriors - Kyle Kuzma is the team’s leading scorer at 23.4 points per game.

A reason Poole’s points are down is because he’s shooting 39.8% overall, down from 43% last season. Poole is 29.8% on his triples, down from 33.6% last year. Apparently playing next to Curry can help you out - who would have thought?

Many fantasy owners expected Poole to average in the mid-20s for points, and they might be fed up with his start and ready to move on. He doesn’t fill up the stat sheet, and if he isn’t scoring, his value isn’t going to be high. 

This is the perfect time to swoop in and obtain Poole for a low price. His shooting percentages should rise as he gets familiar with his new teammates. Even if they don’t, you are still landing a player capable of 30+ point nights, and that’s never a bad thing.

It’s tough for me to judge exactly what fantasy owners might want for Poole. I’d check our trade value charts and send out a feeler deal with a player ranked near Poole. It might be best to package a couple players for Poole, and then you can use the extra roster space to add a player that fills out the stat sheet a bit more.

Walker Kessler Fantasy Outlook

Kessler was a surprise to many in his rookie season last year. There were high hopes around Kessler to start the season, but he’s produced similar numbers so far and dealt with an injury.

Kessler had an ADP of 63 in H2H leagues and 65 in category/roto leagues. Right now, Kessler is 140th in the trade value charts. Sure, a lot of that has to do with the injury, but he should also see some pretty big increases to his numbers going forward.

In his 11 games, Kessler has started eight and averaged 24.2 minutes, 9.1 points, 8.2 rebounds, 2.5 blocks, 0.6 assists and 0.2 steals while committing 1.1 turnovers and 2.4 fouls. He’s shooting 54.3% overall (way down from last year’s 72%).

In his three games since returning from the injury, Kessler has scored in double figures twice (missing it by a point in the other game). The two double-digit games matched his numbers from the first eight contests combined. Kessler has had eight or more rebounds in those contests and combined for 10 blocks (including six in the team’s most recent game).

Kessler played 21 minutes in his first game back, then 25 minutes in game two and nearly 28 in game three. With more game action, Kessler should see his averages improve, instead of merely matching what he did as a rookie.

I don’t think Kessler is the 140th-best fantasy player, so you won’t get him that cheap, but you won’t have to overpay for him either. You should be able to snag him for cheaper than his ADP values show, and I’d do it now before he really starts to turn the corner.

Best of luck in your trade endeavors!