Fantasy Basketball Update: Top Trade Targets Include Darius Garland, Jalen Johnson

Fantasy Basketball Update 1/10

Notable Injuries

• Tyrese Haliburton out 2-4 weeks with hamstring injury.
• Chris Paul out 4-6 weeks with fractured hand.
• Ja Morant out for the SEASON with a torn labrum suffered in practice. 

Top Waiver Wire Targets

• Benedict Mathurin is the biggest riser with Haliburton out. He should see a lot more usage for the next few weeks.
• T.J. McConnell also stands to benefit from the Tyrese injury and already helped lead Indiana to a controversial win over Boston.
• Immanuel Quickley (rostered in 58.7 of leagues). 
• Malik Monk (rostered in 50.1 of leagues).
• Vince Williams Jr. (rostered in 3 of leagues). 
• Isaiah Hartenstein (rostered in 36.8 of leagues). 
• Grayson Allen (rostered in 27.9 of leagues). He just dropped 31 points on January 5th, and his shot looks exceptional. 

Want to dominate your fantasy basketball league? Sync your league with the Fantasy Assistant to get rankings, waiver help, trade suggestions, optimal lineups, and more, and check out our NBA Trade Value Chart to make sure you win your trades!

Top Fantasy Basketball Trade Targets

Darius Garland, Cleveland Cavaliers

The Cavaliers have multiple injured starters right now. I recommend buying low on Darius Garland, but being cautious about Evan Mobley. Knee injuries for big men are the scariest thing and right now the Cavs are rolling thanks to great performances from Jarrett Allen. This allows the Cavs not to rush back Mobley. 

Darius Garland has a Broken jaw and is still out indefinitely, but he is one of the best IR spot players to hold onto right now. An ascension in fantasy playoffs could be in order for Garland owners.

Jalen Johnson, Atlanta Hawks

Dejounte Murray could be traded this deadline to a multitude of teams, and Jalen Johnson stands to benefit and become the #2 or #3 to Trae Young and a player like Pascal Siakam, who could be on his way to Atlanta in exchange for Murray. If Siakam is then moved elsewhere, more opportunities for Johnson means more benefits for fantasy owners trying to build around the edges.

Strategy Tips

It’s also key to think about the impacts of other likely trade deadline moves. Zach LaVine being moved would leave Coby White as a top-30 fantasy option ... depending on who returns in any such deal. And any team LaVine goes will certainly have a shake-up in their usage distribution.

Fantasy managers should now target players that will have extreme usage in the second half of the season. With the new 65-game rule for players to receive All-NBA Awards and qualify for yearly awards such as MVP, DPOY, and ROTY, you will see games played down the stretch at a much higher rate than last season. However, the top teams will still rest players when they can and play players fewer minutes, so fantasy managers will need to invest in players on teams chasing playoff spots. Players in past seasons like Kyle Kuzma, R.J. Barrett, Julius Randle, and Domantas Sabonis have won leagues by never being out of the playoff race but also never being the #1 seed. Players in this situation will not sit out, and, needing to chase elite playoff positioning, will often play 36+ minutes a game.

Get aggressive fantasy managers, the time to win is now, go get your guys.