Assessing Popular Fantasy Basketball Trades: Darius Garland, Jimmy Butler, Tyrese Haliburton, Damian Lillard, Jamal Murray and Derrick White

The early portion of the fantasy basketball season can be kind of slow going. Fantasy owners are seeing if the picks they made pay off right away, or what moves might need to be made in order to compete for a fantasy title.

Enough of the season has passed now to know how players are probably going to perform and be averaging for most of the season, and that means fantasy trades are starting to pick up.

After looking at some buy low and sell high candidates last week, I dove into the FantasySP fantasy basketball trade analyzer and want to assess some popular one-for-one trades. Let’s get into it!

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Trade Darius Garland for Jimmy Butler" data-toggle="modal" data-target="#player-pop-up" href="/nba_player_news/Jimmy_Butler/">Jimmy Butler?

This is the most popular one-for-one trade, so let’s start with this!

Butler is averaging 19.4 points, 6.1 rebounds, 5 assists, 1.3 steals and 0.4 blocks this season. He’s shooting 55.2% overall and 35.7% from 3-point land.

Garland has averages of 20.3 points, 2.4 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 1 steal and 0.3 blocks. He’s shooting 48.5% overall and 41.8% from deep.

On average, Butler is doing a bit more than Garland, but one big stat I left out was games played. Garland has appeared in 26 games, while Butler is at just 19. In fantasy basketball, games played are a big deal, and Garland being more available definitely tightens this trade up.

The FantasySP Trade Value Chart has Butler at a rating of 24.77, while Garland is at 22.38. The trade analyzer works off those ratings, so Butler is the preferred side of the deal.

I agree that Butler is the better fantasy player between the two. If my fantasy team has gotten off to a hot start, then I’d probably just hold on to Butler.

But if I was an average-or-worse fantasy team so far, I’d probably be more inclined to want Garland on my team. Garland has played in nearly every game this season, and that fantasy production is going to benefit your team more than a player who has missed time already and has a little history of missing a decent amount of games every season.

This is one of those trades where you really need to assess your fantasy team and isn’t one I can definitively call just by looking at the two players. These two also play different positions, so that also might sway your opinion on the players depending on how the rest of your fantasy roster looks right now.

Trade Tyrese Haliburton for Damian Lillard?

This is another really tight fantasy trade at first glance.

Lillard is averaging 25.7 points, 4.5 rebounds, 7.5 assists, 1 steal and 0.2 blocks per game this season. He’s shooting 45% overall and 37.1% from 3-point land.

Haliburton has averages of 18.1 points, 3.4 rebounds, 8.6 assists, 1.3 steals and 0.6 blocks this season. He’s shooting 42.6% from the field overall and is 35% from deep.

Haliburton has played 27 games to 22 for Lillard, but the difference in total numbers is heavily in favor of Lillard. Haliburton has been pretty underwhelming after being a top-10 fantasy pick for most - Lillard has been fantastic for going around pick 30.

The trade chart has Lillard’s player rating at a 27.62 right now, while Haliburton is at 26.83. These players are extremely close in value, and that makes this a really fair trade, both for the trade analyzer and for me.

Lillard was one of my buy low trade candidates because I thought he was undervalued by many. A trade like this (where he’s being flipped for a top-10 pick) means some fantasy owners are starting to recognize the fantasy value Lillard currently has.

I personally like Lillard more than Haliburton as a fantasy player, and that’s because Lillard is such a better scorer. Even if some of Lillard’s other averages were to fall, he’s still going to be a better fantasy asset than Haliburton.

This trade is definitely close enough to accept on either side though. It really all comes down to which player you like the best.

Trade Jamal Murray for Derrick White?

My first thought was that Murray was the better side of this trade by a decent margin, but the numbers say otherwise.

White averages more rebounds and blocks, while shooting better percentages. He’s averaging a point less a game and just over a rebound less, while being pretty close in steals.

White’s averages are 17.4 points, 4.8 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 1.1 steals and blocks while shooting 45.5% overall and 40.2% from 3-point land. Murray has averages of 18.4 points, 3.9 rebounds, 6.1 assists, 1.4 steals and 0.6 blocks while shooting 42.5% overall and 34.8% from deep.

Murray was drafted around pick 45, while White went around pick 60. That helped Murray start the season with a better player rating, and he still has the advantage over White (23.42-20.11). While White has seen steady growth to his player rating over the course of the season though, Murray’s has spent more time going down than up, and that makes this trade closer that it appears in the ratings.

I still prefer Murray as a fantasy player, but given some of his struggles and percentages, I also wouldn’t mind White over him depending on league settings. They both should be eligible for the same fantasy positions, so this really comes down to which player you like more in the long run. 

I like Murray (and the Nuggets) to get going here soon, but White and his team seem to be the safer fantasy player to believe in for the time being. If you don’t need Murray to be an elite fantasy option right now, I’d prefer to stash him for the long haul, but if you need help now in order to push for a playoff spot, then White is the direction I’d go instead.

Trade Jamal Murray for Darius Garland?

We’ll cap things with two players we’ve already hit on here - consider this a bonus tidbit.

Their player ratings are separated by about a point, with Murray currently being the best option. The averages favor Garland ever so slightly, and the shooting percentages swing things more in Garland’s favor.

It all adds up to a very fair trade overall. Murray was the higher draft pick, and I tend to stick with my picks for as long as I could and believe a slow starter will get things turned around in time. I like Murray ever so slightly in this deal. 

If you aren’t sold on Murray and are worried about his trade value continuing to fall, then flipping Murray for Garland is a pretty good idea. You are going to get similar fantasy numbers in return, but the shooting percentage increase could actually mean you get the better fantasy option (if your league utilizes makes/misses or percentages).

Just like the other trades in this article today, this trade is close enough to find good reasons for making the deal either way. It really all comes down to personal preference.

Assess your trades thoroughly before hitting accept, and if you are interested in acquiring one of these players mentioned but don’t have one of the other players, be sure to use the FantasySP trade analyzer and trade chart to make sure you are getting a fair deal.