NBA Category Strategy: Trade Deadline Preparations

The NBA season resumes Thursday, hours after the trade deadline. The Bulls, Spurs, Jazz and Wizards play three games this week. Because of a postponed game from last month, the Wizards play three consecutive days. The team may exercise caution with Bradley Beal and Nene Hilario, two players who have shaky injury histories. Jared Dudley may no longer be on the roster by Thursday night, making him a risky investment if you're banking on a three-game week. The Spurs began their eight-game Rodeo Road Trip last week and won't return home until March 2.

The Kings and Rockets play once ech this week, and the remaining 24 teams compete twice.

The Clippers and Wizards are the only teams to play twice on nights with fewer than five games. Wesley Johnson, as discussed last week, is a solid option for daily moves leagues.

Hassan Whiteside is suspended for one game, knocking his total down to one game this week unless he's traded. Whiteside is slated to return for Saturday's contest against the Wizards.

The trade deadline is Feb. 18 at 3:00 p.m. EST. Any players traded must pass a team physical before joining their new team, and that will throw rotations out of whack. The trick is to not be swayed by outlier performances until the entire roster is active. To use an outdated reference, when Rudy Gay was acquired by the Kings in the 2013-14 season, their bench had been depleted. Coach Mike Malone was forced to use a seven-man rotation, and Derrick Williams had the best game of his career with 31 points, five rebounds and five steals in 35 minutes. Once Gay played his first game with the Kings a week after the trade, Williams became an afterthought.

The players suggested this week don't require immediate attention if you're up against your transaction limit. I urged you last week to retain as many player-adds as possible for the upcoming week in head-to-head leagues that merge Weeks 16 and 17 into one matchup. Not all leagues required stingy behavior, but in preparation for Thursday, you'll want to know who on your team you're willing to drop in case the deadline thrusts reserves into prominent roles. You may also luck out should other managers in your league drop proven players for a chance at rostering a potentially useful player like Chris McCullough or Mario Hezonja.

POINTS
Archie Goodwin (PG/SG)
Brandon Knight (groin) may ultimately return, but until any updates surface, I'd roster Goodwin. Under interim coach Earl Watson, Goodwin is averaging 18.8 points on 50 percent shooting in 38 minutes per game. Latching onto Goodwin now may pay off should the Suns shut down Knight for the second straight season. Additionally, if Markieff Morris is traded, his team-high 17.4 shot attempts per game over the last five shall be dispersed among the remaining starters. Jeremy Lin and E'Twaun Moore require attention given the recent injuries to Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (shoulder) and Jimmy Butler (knee), respectively. Lin will become a more prominent member of the Hornets' rotation now that P.J. Hairston likely returns to the starting lineup. In the four games Butler recently sat, Moore led the Bulls with 34 minutes per game and averaged 15.3 points in those contests. Neither guard is of primary concern given this week's trade deadline.

REBOUNDS
Alex Len (C)
Len offers hope should the Suns move Markieff Morris and focus on cultivating their youth. In five games under interim coach Earl Watson, all of the starters except center Tyson Chandler are averaging more than 34 minutes per night. In those five games, Len is second to Chandler with 8.0 rebounds in just 19 minutes per game. Bobby Portis, another player whose role may improve with an active trade deadline, offers short-term assistance due to Taj Gibson's rash of injuries, including, but not limited to, a strained left foot and sore left ankle, Pau Gasol's sore left hand and Nikola Mirotic's appendectomy that cost him 15 pounds. Should the Bulls trade one of Gasol or Gibson, or either of them is forced to miss time due to injury, Portis potentially slides into the starting lineup. If nothing else, Portis is relentless on the glass.

ASSISTS
Dennis Schroder (PG)
Any analysis on every site you've consumed has anointed Schroder as the primary assist target for the second half. Trade rumors have surrounded both Hawks' point guards, and should Jeff Teague or Schroder relocate, Schroder's bound to improve upon his current mark of 4.5 assists in 20.7 minutes per game. Brandon Jennings' name has been bandied about, and coach and general manager Stan Van Gundy did the smart thing by squashing all trade rumors. With the threat of Jodie Meeks (foot) missing the rest of the season, trading Jennings becomes a difficult ask. If I was forced to choose one, I'd select Schroder. If neither gets traded, Schroder's in a position to rack up more assists and play more minutes. Langston Galloway intrigues me as a consolation prize because during interim coach Kurt Rambis' first and only game, Galloway played 29 minutes off the bench, and Jose Calderon has been on the trade block since Phil Jackson arrived in New York.

STEALS
Gary Harris (SG)
Allen Crabbe (SG)
In a twist even my editor never saw coming, I decided to suggest two players owned in less than 19 percent of both Yahoo! and ESPN leagues. I think I've done a solid job of explaining why Harris is worth owning in previous editions of Category Strategy. He plays the second most minutes on the Nuggets, trailing Danilo Gallinari, and leads the teams with 1.2 steals per game. And he doesn't hurt you in any other categories. In Crabbe's case, his minutes have subsided over the past month with Gerald Henderson entering the rotation. I believe Crabbe's minutes will climb once Henderson is traded later this week, confirming suspicions that Henderson's increased role was merely a showcasing tactic to return the best haul. Both recommendations offer comparable stats and above-average efficiency, but I prefer Harris over Crabbe due to his stable role and consistent minutes.

BLOCKS
Clint Capela (C)
Capela lost his starting spot eight games ago and averaged 1.6 blocks off the bench in fewer than 17 minutes per game. Based on rumors that Dwight Howard may be dealt, Capela stands to gain the most in way of playing time and blocks. When Capela started at power forward alongside Howard, his blocks subsequently dipped because he was defending further from the basket. Fifty of Capela's 65 blocks have occurred with Howard on the bench this season, and even if Howard remains a Rocket, Capela's proficient enough as the backup center to compile one or two blocks in fewer than 18 minutes. If you value free-throw percentage, an area where Capela shoots less than 45 percent, take a chance on Brandan Wright (knee). Marc Gasol (foot) likely won't return this season, providing Wright, once he returns, ample opportunity as the starting or backup center. He'll need to get situated, improve his conditioning and compete with Ryan Hollins for minutes before most fantasy managers trust him. I think Wright's on track to return soon considering he participated in pre-game warmups during the Grizzlies' final game before the All-Star break.

THREE-POINTERS
Matt Barnes (SF)

Barnes was the first Grizzlie I attempted to add after Marc Gasol's fractured right foot. I assume Jeff Green is likely traded later this week, placing more responsibility on Barnes' plate. Coach Dave Joerger developed a habit of playing the hot hand with all four of Tony Allen, Courtney Lee, Green and Barnes when they were healthy. Barnes would play well enough to warrant over 30 minutes on most nights, but he occasionally played fewer than 20 due to any combination of the other three wings performing better. Barnes leads the Grizzlies with 2.0 three-pointers on 40.7 percent accuracy over the past month, and two-thirds of his attempts in that time were three-pointers. Brandan Wright's likely return from arthroscopic knee surgery may negatively impact Barnes' playing time if Joerger upholds the rotation.

Players like Doug McDermott, Jerryd Bayless, Jared Dudley and Bojan Bogdanovic also intrigue me this week. McDermott averaged 29.1 minutes and 1.6 three-pointers over the past five games, but his 44 combined assists, steals and blocks in 1,142 minutes is the lowest combined total among players with at least 700 minutes this season. I'll continue to push for Bayless because he's the most efficient three-point shooter on the Bucks at 43.6 percent, and his starting job was pilfered when he suffered a sprained ankle that cost him almost all of December. Dudley makes sense if you think he'll play all three games this week. Bogdanovic would likely move into the starting lineup when the Nets buy out Joe Johnson.