It's time for another mailbag column and they've been fun for me to compile this season. You don't have to wait for me to ask for questions. Just hit me on Twitter at any time and fire away. And while they should probably be basketball related, if you wanted to ask me about another sport or a random topic, I'd be happy to answer those too. Let's go!
Would you risk trading for Zion Williamson right now? - The Importance of being Earnest (@upinmytree)
Answer: A doozy to kick things off. As someone who didn't draft Zion anywhere this year (after being burned to badly last year) I was quite enjoying his resurgence and seeing his name pop up in MVP chatter with the Pelicans being one of the better teams in the league. He was pretty much everything as advertised this season: fun to watch, high motor and energy level, playing with confidence and putting up All-Star numbers.
The problem is it's a hamstring and, as we've seen, those injuries can take a long time to heal and are relatively easy to aggravate. The good news is that he should (theoretically) be back in a month which would give him most of February, March and half of April to get back to form and keep producing solid fantasy numbers. And he would potentially be healthy and ready to roll through the fantasy playoffs. The other good news is that Zion's price tag should be relatively cheap given that he's
It's time for another mailbag column and they've been fun for me to compile this season. You don't have to wait for me to ask for questions. Just hit me on Twitter at any time and fire away. And while they should probably be basketball related, if you wanted to ask me about another sport or a random topic, I'd be happy to answer those too. Let's go!
Would you risk trading for Zion Williamson right now? - The Importance of being Earnest (@upinmytree)
Answer: A doozy to kick things off. As someone who didn't draft Zion anywhere this year (after being burned to badly last year) I was quite enjoying his resurgence and seeing his name pop up in MVP chatter with the Pelicans being one of the better teams in the league. He was pretty much everything as advertised this season: fun to watch, high motor and energy level, playing with confidence and putting up All-Star numbers.
The problem is it's a hamstring and, as we've seen, those injuries can take a long time to heal and are relatively easy to aggravate. The good news is that he should (theoretically) be back in a month which would give him most of February, March and half of April to get back to form and keep producing solid fantasy numbers. And he would potentially be healthy and ready to roll through the fantasy playoffs. The other good news is that Zion's price tag should be relatively cheap given that he's out for a month, so you could potentially add him without dismantling your team and be a real force for your league's playoffs.
The bad news is the Pelicans' playoff schedule. They go 2-2-2 in Weeks 17, 18 and 19 and then finish out the season 3-4-3-3-4-4 to end the season. Most leagues are done by the final week or two so you're really only looking at one or two four-game weeks and some three-game weeks in the heart of the playoffs.
My final answer is that if your team appears to be locked into the playoffs and you think that Zion could put you over the top and possibly help you win your league, then you make the trade. But there's plenty of risk in doing so, especially if he rushes back too soon and then gets hurt again.
If you want to swing for the fences and try to win a chip this year, adding Zion could be just what your team needs. But you'll need a little luck and for Zion to finish out the season strong if it's going to happen. I don't think I'm going to be looking to add Zion while he's out, but it doesn't mean that it's a bad idea.
I traded Bradley Beal to get Jalen Green and I'm not looking back - Unclerukusnorelation (@Unclerukusisme)
Answer: I support that move 100 percent. Beal is a somewhat-injury-prone, fourth-round player who has already missed 16 games and, right on cue, aggravated his hamstring injury on Tuesday and night and didn't return to the game after missing his previous three. That probably means more time on the shelf for Beal in the short-term and while Green is wallowing around being a Top 200 player, he's at least going out there and playing every night.
The scoring, three-point shooting and free throw percentage are fine but he doesn't exactly dazzle in rebounds, assists, steals or blocks and is shooting just 41 percent from the floor this season. But given what a headache Beal has been and will likely continue to be, I'd honestly rather try to figure out a way to win with Green than to deal with Beal the rest of the way. I just wish you'd gotten a Top 100 player for him instead of a guy lingering around 200.
If Green can start getting some steals and improve his shot selection going forward, it would do wonders for his fantasy value. So there's at least some hope there. And guys who scored 20-plus points a game aren't all that easy to come by. You'll sleep better at night.
Is there a team or two truly entering the Victor Wembanyama sweepstakes? The Pacers and Jazz are winning too much. - Hoopstrainer (@hoopstrainer)
Answer: Thus far, teams haven't been going into full tank mode for Wemby quite as ferociously as many of us thought they would, but there are still plenty of teams in the hunt. The Hornets, Pistons and Rockets each have just 10 wins this season, putting those three in the early driver's seat. The Spurs have 12 wins and the Magic have 13, rounding out the Bottom Five.
The 16-win Lakers don't own their pick so it doesn't matter where they finish, and the Thunder also have 16 wins after blowing out the Celtics on Tuesday. Don't underestimate Sam Presti's tanking skills and don't be surprised if the Thunder start shutting people down at some point. But, as of now, it kind of feels to me like the Rockets and all that unbridled youth are going to find a way to keep losing and end up being in Position A when it comes to getting their hands on the prize.
But in the end, tanking is only half of the battle and the ping-pong balls will have the final say. At least there won't be any envelopes with bent corners to potentially deal with this year.
Who are the biggest beneficiaries of the Zion Williamson injury? - Jeff (@j_sny_31)
Answer: Naji Marshall, Trey Murphy, Larry Nance (neck) and Jaxson Hayes are the guys who might have the best chance for success with Zion gone for the next month. Jonas Valanciunas should also get a boost and Willy Hernangomez might have a few shining moments.
Marshall had 17 points, eight rebounds, three assists, a steal and a three-pointer on Dec. 23 without Zion, and then had 22 points, six rebounds, four assists, a block and four 3-pointers on Dec. 26 -- also without Zion. He's averaged 16.4 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.8 three-pointers in five games without Zion thus far, and he's next up on the depth chart.
Meanwhile, Hayes has shown some flashes and Nance will make some noise once he's healthy, but Marshall is the pick up here.
Give me a Luka Doncic vs. Michael Jordan in his prime fantasy breakdown - Nick Abisi (@theruns46250)
Answer: Nick is one of my oldest friends and I'm pretty sure he asked this question with visions of me getting out the calculator and some old newspapers from the 80s to come up with a three-page answer. But I'm onto him and not doing all that.
MJ is the GOAT (in my mind) and the run we've seen Luka go on is one that we've only seen guys like MJ, Kobe, LeBron and Wilt pull off. And that 60-point, 20-rebound triple-double that Luka had on Dec. 27 is something no other human has ever accomplished. Yes, I'm worried about Luka hurting himself and potentially his career, but he's still only 23 years old. I don't think we've ever seen a player who passes the eye test like Luka does this early in his career and if he can stay healthy, he has a real chance to go down as the greatest player of all time.
And with half the season still in front of him, we can only imagine what he might have up his sleeve for his next trick. I'm biased, as I've been leading the Luka bandwagon since Day 1, but he's in line to have a season for the ages and might even win the MVP despite having a supporting starting cast that many would call laughable, outside of Christian Wood. Long live Luka!
On a side note, Nick is predicting that Luka might score 100 points against the Celtics on Thursday night. I seriously doubt that is happening, but I'm setting the DVR right now, just in case.
Is John Collins going to get traded? - Kael pasimio (kaelpasimio)
Answer: I'm just a fantasy analyst and have never been an insider as far as trade rumors go. All signs would point to the Hawks trying to move Collins and his name has been bandied about for a year now. Some would argue that the Hawks are even actively trying to trade him. But Trae Young and Nate McMillan aren't getting along well, the 9-seed Hawks are underperforming in the East and Collins is having a decent season, although his lack of scoring continues to disappoint.
Where there's smoke, there's fire and the Hawks may need to try to make some moves to position themselves for the future. And there are a lot of NBA teams out there who believe they can get more out of him than the Hawks have. My guess is that yes, he's going to get traded at the deadline, but that may not be a bad thing for his fantasy managers. And while we're in Atlanta…
Are there any coaches on the hot seat who, if fired, would unlock some fantasy value? - Callum Murdoch (@CallumMurdoch)
Answer: The Hawks' Nate McMillan has been talking about stepping down and has lost a lot of his luster that he brought with him to Atlanta when he was fired by the Pacers back in 2020. The Hawks are underperforming, Trae Young is shooting a career-low 41 percent and his three-pointers (and percentage), rebounds, steals and scoring are all down this season. He doesn't appear to be on the same page with McMillan while the rest of the world watches Luka Doncic run circles around him after the two were famously traded for each other five years ago.
If McMillan leaves Atlanta (I think it will happen) Trae will suddenly be rejuvenated, Collins will become more productive and Onyeka Okongwu, who has been filling in admirably for Clint Capela (calf) will be unleashed. A new coach could also do wonders for De'Andre Hunter, and Bogdan Bogdanovic could also really take off. The Hawks seem to need a new voice in the locker room and would welcome a coaching change, regardless of who they bring in. And if it happens, the team could really turn it around in the second half.
Steven Adams is having a rebounding outburst. Buy or sell the Big Kiwi? - Looselips67 (@Looselips671)
Answer: Adams is, in fact, on a rebounding tear, nabbing a season-high 23 boards Sunday and hitting double-digits in six of his last seven games. He has three straight double-doubles and has recorded three steals and four blocks over his past two games. In those two he's averaging 10.5 points, 22.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.5 steals and 2.0 blocks.
Prior to this three-game explosion the Big Kiwi had scored in single digits in five straight games and was logging rebounds between the seven to 14 range. That's a much more realistic stat line for Adams and his recent explosion screams 'sell high' to me.
