Assessing Popular Fantasy Basketball Trades: James Harden for Donovan Mitchell, Julius Randle for DeMar DeRozan, Jalen Johnson for Jalen Williams and More

Utilizing the waiver wire is one way a fantasy owner can improve their team, but making trades can be even more beneficial because of the amount of talent you can swap.

Let’s assess several of the most popular one-for-one fantasy basketball trades. These are all taken from the FantasySP Fantasy Basketball Trade Analyzer.

Explore the best in-season tool to manage lineup/start decisions including waiver pickups, projections, trade suggestions, trade value charts, rest of season rankings, power rankings, and tons more with Fantasy Assistant. Use our fantasy basketball trade analyzer and the Trade Value Chart to break down trade scenarios.

Trade Tyrese Haliburton for Anthony Edwards?

We’ll start with a trade involving two big-name players. 

Haliburton is averaging 17.8 points, 8.7 assists, 3.6 rebounds, 1.2 steals and 0.5 blocks across 34.6 minutes this season. He’s shooting 43.7% overall, 34.9% from 3-point land and is an 85.3% free throw shooter.

Edwards has averages of 24.8 points, 4.1 assists, 5.5 rebounds, 1.3 steals and 0.5 blocks across 35.4 minutes. He’s shooting 44.2% overall, 41.1% from deep and 80.5% at the line.

The trade analyzer is based on the FantasySP Trade Value Chart. There, Edwards has a player rating of 29.56, while Haliburton is at 27.68. That means the trade analyzer favors the Edwards’ side of this deal.

Scrolling a bit down the trade breakdown, the Fair Trade Rating for this deal is 93%, meaning it’s a pretty even deal. I also like Edwards more, mostly because he’s a better scorer, but I can see fantasy owners wanting a more well-rounded player, and Haliburton gives them that.

Determining whether or not to hit accept on this deal depends on how your team looks overall. It makes a bit more sense to me if this trade was made in a category league, but I can also see the appeal in adding either player in a points-based league.

Trade James Harden for Donovan Mitchell?

This is another trade between two big names.

Harden is averaging 22.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, 8 assist, 1.5 steals and 0.6 blocks across 33.5 minutes a game. He is shooting 39.2% overall, 34.8% from deep and 89.1% at the line.

Mitchell is at 23.6 points, 4.6 rebounds and assists, 1.5 steals and 0.3 blocks across 31.1 minutes a contest. Mitchell has a 45.8% mark overall, 41.3% clip from deep and is an 81% free throw shooter.

Mitchell leads the way on the player ratings, with a 28.91 mark. Harden has a rating of 27.21.

The Fair Trade Rating is 94%, so again, this is a pretty even trade. I could also see accepting this trade either way.

Mitchell is the player I prefer, but Harden’s well-rounded numbers make him a pretty good fantasy asset too. Mitchell’s efficiency is not something to gloss over, and those shooting percentages definitely give him a boost.

So again, I’m fine accepting this trade either way. Assess what your fantasy team needs most and react accordingly.

Trade Keegan Murray for Miles Bridges?

This is a pretty interesting trade idea between a couple of forwards.

Bridges is averaging 17.9 points, 7.7 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 0.6 steals and blocks across 30.2 minutes this season. He’s shooting 42.1% overall, 27.7% from deep and 89.4% at the line.

Murray sits at 11.6 points, 7.4 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 0.7 steals and 0.8 blocks across 35.1 minutes a game. Murray is shooting 41.3% overall, 28.6% from deep and 87.2% at the line.

Bridges looks like the clear winner here, but games played is another stat that needs to be mentioned. Murray has played in 32 games, while Bridges is at just 19. When both are healthy, Bridges is the significantly better player, but Murray rarely misses games, while Bridges has missed his fair share of games over his career.

Bridges has a player rating of 20.35, while Murray is at 17.37. The Fair Trade Rating is at 84%, but I think things are a bit closer in reality.

I still prefer Bridges in this deal, but also could understand swapping him for Murray. What I really think this deal needs is an additional player on each side. If the second player attached with Murray was a bit better than the one with Bridges, then that would even out the trade and make it much easier to hit accept on.

Trade Jalen Johnson for Jalen Williams?

Let’s continue by discussing a pair of Jalens.

Johnson is averaging 19.9 points, 10.2 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.1 blocks across 36 minutes a night. Johnson is shooting 50.9% overall, 33.1% from deep and 74.8% from the free throw line.

Williams is at 21.2 points, 5.9 rebounds, 5.1 assists, 1.7 steals and 0.7 blocks across 31.8 minutes. He is shooting 47.9% overall, 35.8% from 3-point land and is an 81.2% free throw shooter.

These are two fairly young and budding stars in the league, so it makes sense to compare the two. Williams has a slight edge in player ratings (27.09-26.44). That leads to a 98% Fair Trade Rating.

I think this trade is very close, and would be thrilled just to own one of these players. I prefer Johnson by just a little bit, but really, this trade comes down to personal preference. Both guys play a lot and could help fantasy teams to titles.

Trade Paul George for Desmond Bane?

At first glance, this looks like trading a star for a good fantasy player, but in reality, Bane has been the better player so far this season.

Bane is averaging 15.7 points, 6 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 1.2 steals and 0.4 blocks across 27.8 minutes. He’s shooting 46.3% overall, 35.4% from 3-point land and 85.5% from the line.

George is at 15.5 points, 5.6 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 2 steals and 0.5 blocks across 31.1 minutes. George is shooting 40.5% overall, 31.5% from deep and 78.7% from the line.

George came into the season battling an injury, and has played five less games than Bane so far. That injury actually helped Bane be drafted above George on average. 

Right now, Bane has a 24.94 player rating, while George sits at 23.19. That leads to a 93% Fair Trade Rating.

I prefer Bane in this deal, but I think a lot of fantasy owners would want George more because he’s the bigger name. It’s a very close deal and one that makes sense from either side of things.

Trade Julius Randle for DeMar DeRozan?

We’ll end with a couple more big-name players.

DeRozan has averaged 20.6 points, 3.9 rebounds and assists, 1.4 steals and 0.4 blocks across 34.7 minutes a game. He is shooting 48.9% overall, 30.5% from 3-point land and 85.5% from the line.

Randle is at 20.2 points, 7 rebounds, 4.4 assists, 0.7 steals and 0.2 blocks across 32.7 minutes a contest. He’s shooting 47.8% overall, 36.4% from deep and 82% from the free throw line.

This is another really close trade, with Randle holding the edge in player rating (26.13-25.71). It calculates out to a 98% Fair Trade Rating.

I usually prefer the player with the more well-rounded numbers, and that’s Randle here. Depending on which positions these players are eligible for in your league, I could again see reasoning to accept on both sides of the deal.

Both are currently top-40 fantasy players on the Trade Value Chart, with DeRozan living up to his ADP and Randle outperforming his so far. They are guys that will complement your fantasy stars and help push your team to fantasy glory later in the season. It’s really all about personal preference again.

Be sure to try out the trade analyzer as you look to make some trades of your own. Check back soon for another article analyzing some popular trades!