It's time for another Fantasy Hoops Mailbag as we head into the All-Star break. This week, Ben Simmons, Christian Wood, the Sixers rotation, Bradley Beal and Jalen Brunson vs. Stephen Curry in dynasty all make the cut.
What's going on with Ben Simmons? What's your opinion about the rotation in Brooklyn? Is Gabe Vincent a hold after the All-Star break? What's your outlook on Jarred Vanderbilt and Malik Beasley after their trade to the Lakers? - Illgobbo (@Illgobbo)
Answer: In a world of uncertainty I can always count on mailbag questions from @illgobbo. So here are my four (or so) answers.
1. I don't know what's going on with Simmons, other than his shipmates all abandoning him and leaving him alone on a deserted island. I know that he's a former No. 1 overall pick who is making almost $35M this season, I know that he's been back in action for four games, and I know that he's averaging 4.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 0.8 blocks in those four games. I also know that he's 0-for-1 from both the free throw line and three-point line in those four games, he's played just 16 and 13 minutes in his last two games, and this is simply another lost season in a long line of lost seasons for Simmons. I told people not to draft him and nothing about any of this surprises me. If fantasy managers weren't convinced that he's washed coming into this season, they
It's time for another Fantasy Hoops Mailbag as we head into the All-Star break. This week, Ben Simmons, Christian Wood, the Sixers rotation, Bradley Beal and Jalen Brunson vs. Stephen Curry in dynasty all make the cut.
What's going on with Ben Simmons? What's your opinion about the rotation in Brooklyn? Is Gabe Vincent a hold after the All-Star break? What's your outlook on Jarred Vanderbilt and Malik Beasley after their trade to the Lakers? - Illgobbo (@Illgobbo)
Answer: In a world of uncertainty I can always count on mailbag questions from @illgobbo. So here are my four (or so) answers.
1. I don't know what's going on with Simmons, other than his shipmates all abandoning him and leaving him alone on a deserted island. I know that he's a former No. 1 overall pick who is making almost $35M this season, I know that he's been back in action for four games, and I know that he's averaging 4.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 0.8 blocks in those four games. I also know that he's 0-for-1 from both the free throw line and three-point line in those four games, he's played just 16 and 13 minutes in his last two games, and this is simply another lost season in a long line of lost seasons for Simmons. I told people not to draft him and nothing about any of this surprises me. If fantasy managers weren't convinced that he's washed coming into this season, they probably are now. It's sad, really.
2. The rotation in Brooklyn kind of stinks, frankly. And it wasn't hard to see it coming after the trade deadline came and went with several additions and no subtractions. Having more than two capable players at any position on any team is usually a fantasy nightmare and that's what we're looking at for the wings in Brooklyn. I'm most sad to see Cam Thomas take a hit, as he was killing it and looked like the future of the franchise a week ago. But he's been relegated to just 18 and 20 minutes in his last two games, respectively, and the numbers have fallen as a result. I'd still hold him if you've got him but you may have a tough decision to make at the All-Star break.
Mikal Bridges and Spencer Dinwiddie look like the new stars of the team and everyone is getting minutes every night: Dorian Finney-Smith, Cameron Johnson, Bridges, Royce O'Neale, Joe Harris, Simmons and Thomas. Edmond Sumner, who was sort of on fire, doesn't even play now. Everyone on the Nets is expendable in fantasy outside of Bridges, Dinwiddie and Claxton, although I'd try to have a reasonably long leash on DFS, Johnson and Thomas, as well.
3. Lowry is about to turn 37 years old and we don't know when we'll see him again due to his knee injury. Many of us have been asking (for years) why Vincent wasn't starting over Lowry when he was healthy and now we don't even have a timetable for when Lowry might play again. I dropped him last season while he was on a personal leave and never looked back and I'm almost certain his current managers can do the same. And Vincent has been pretty solid over his last four games, averaging 14.3 points, 2.8 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.3 steals and 3.0 three-pointers over his last four games. I'd like to see more assists and fewer fouls from him, but he's a player I'm grabbing and holding right now.
4. As for Vanderbilt and Beasley, they are both super intriguing. Especially the longer LeBron James sits out and the further the Lakers fall out of the playoff race. The 13-seed Lakers are 26-32, 2.5 games out of the No. 10 seed and 4.5 games behind the 6-seed Clippers for the last guaranteed playoff spot. They're not likely to make the playoffs and once they finally give up and shut LeBron and Anthony Davis down, both Vando and Beasley could go nuts. Beasley is already kind of fun and had 22 points and six triples in just 21 minutes on Monday. That was one of his best scoring games of the season and his peripheral stats weren't great so I need to see him do it a couple more times before I jump on board.
How do you see the rest of Bradley Beal's season playing out? - Sca11 (@sorinsca)
Answer: The actual question was in reference to Tuesday night's game so I took some liberty with it, especially since it came from my own kid. Sorin has had Beal all year and is starting to figure out what many of us already knew - Beal's injury history and propensity to miss games isn't all that fun. He played in 40 games last season and in 60 and 57 games in the previous two. He's sitting on 34 games right now and if he doesn't miss another one he'll finish at 57 games played. The Wizards have six back-to-back sets left this season, which are always a red flag for Beal, and the Wizards still have to hold off the Bulls, Pacers and Magic to get into a play-in situation. If Beal plays 50 games this season you should be thankful.
Does T.J. Warren make Josh Okogie irrelevant in Phoenix? - Sebastian (@nastibasti)
Answer: My initial instinct was to say that Warren's arrival ruins Torrey Craig, who had six points, three rebounds, three assists, a steal, a block and two three-pointers on Tuesday. Okogie had 19 points, six rebounds, three assists and three triples in that one and they both topped 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, Warren played just seven minutes and coach Monty Williams said after the game he plans to keep starting either Okogie or Craig once Kevin Durant returns from his knee injury and makes his Suns' debut. So this isn't as much about Warren as it is Durant. Warren shouldn't be much of a threat to either of them but once KD is playing for Phoenix, both Okogie and Craig will take a substantial hit.
You can ride them as long as you can until Durant is ready to play, or drop either one of them for a hot free agent. And if you made a speculative move on Warren I don't think he's going to pan out as much more than a role player.
What are your thoughts on Devin Vassell the rest of the season? - BC @kodak_vision
Answer: I was so high on Vassell coming into the season and he was on my "My Guys" column list that I've written for the last several years. But he's played in just 29 games this season, is out through the All-Star break and still doesn't have a target date after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his left knee. And the fact that the Spurs are tanking, have lost 13 straight games and are already prepping for next year doesn't bode particularly well for Vassell.
Hopefully, you have him stashed on your IR and aren't using a roster spot on him. The numbers are solid (19.4 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.6 turnovers) but I'm not holding my breath for him to come back strong, or come back at all this season. If it happens and he is productive, it will be a nice surprise.
What could be Christian Wood's role the rest of the season with Maxi Kleber coming back after the break and the possibility of the Mavs signing LaMarcus Aldridge? - Unc Whop Whop (@JCanales13)
Answer: In my humble opinion, the Mavs have three reliable offensive weapons right now: Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving and Wood. Josh Green, Tim Hardaway and Reggie Bullock are all talented but inconsistent scorers, and Kleber is averaging just 6.2 points and 3.5 rebounds this season. I don't think he's going to hurt Wood much, if at all. And, eventually, I think the Mavs are going to have to go back to starting Wood and bringing in the non-scorers to play some defense after they build as big a lead as they can.
As for Aldridge, we last saw him play in the NBA last April and he scored zero points in both of his final two games. He averaged 12.9 points, 5.5 rebounds and 22 minutes in 47 games last year and he's going to be 38 years old in July. He can certainly contribute and play some defense, but I think it's going to take more than Kleber and LMA to ruin Wood.
Stephen Curry or Jalen Brunson in a dynasty points league? - Andrew (@AndrewDeets21)
Answer: Brunson is currently a fourth-round fantasy player this season, while Curry -- when he's actually playing -- is still a top-10 talent. Looking at it on paper suggests that you want Curry, but he's going to be 35 years old in March and hasn't played in 70 games since the 2016-17 season.
Meanwhile, Brunson is tearing it up for the Knicks, is just 26 years old and could be one of the premier point guards in the league next season. Because it's dynasty, I think I'd rather have Brunson and the extra years he has left than to deal with Curry again for the next three-to-five years.
