The 2020 NBA Draft arrives Wednesday night, but there's been plenty of action in the days leading up to the draft.
The Lakers and Thunder kicked off the NBA's trade window Sunday night, with Oklahoma City sending Dennis Schroder to the defending champs. Monday is when the major deals began to flow in, headlined by the Thunder's continued fire sale, which sent Chris Paul to Phoenix.
Later, the Trail Blazers flipped two first-round picks for Robert Covington, while the Bucks made a pair of win-now additions.
Here's how each major deal could impact the fantasy basketball landscape.
Chris Paul to the Suns
Phoenix gets: Chris Paul, Abdel Nader
Oklahoma City gets: Ricky Rubio, Kelly Oubre, Ty Jerome, Jalen Lecque, 2022 first-round pick
Fantasy Analysis: Full breakdown
Jrue Holiday to the Bucks
Milwaukee gets: Jrue Holiday
New Orleans gets: Eric Bledsoe, George Hill, three future first-round picks, two future first-round pick swaps
Fantasy Analysis: Holiday will presumably start at point guard for the Bucks, and Milwaukee figures to be the best team he's ever played for. Holiday has been to the playoffs just four times in his 11-year career. Mike Budenholzer has a tendency to keep his starters' minutes low, though it remains to be seen if Milwaukee's bench will be good enough for that strategy to be as effective as it has been over the past two seasons.
Regardless, Holiday figures to see a slight reduction in usage playing alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton, Brook Lopez and Bogdan Bogdanovic. Over the past five years, Holiday has ranked between 17th and 49th in fantasy on a per-game basis, and it's more probable that he'll be at the back end of that with Milwaukee.
Eric Bledsoe and George Hill's projected roles with the Pelicans are murky. Lonzo Ball and JJ Redick remain on the team, taking up plenty of backcourt minutes. Ball and Bledsoe seem like a less-than-ideal fit to be on the court together, though Ball's improved three-ball and his size can allow him to play some shooting guard. Considering Bledsoe was seeing just 27.0 minutes per game with the Bucks last season, it seems like he could end up retaining a similar role and fantasy value, though that could mean Ball takes on fewer playmaking responsibilities. Of course, there's also a chance the Pelicans re-route Bledsoe to a more point-guard-needy team.
Hill and Redick will likely remain mostly valuable in deeper fantasy leagues.
Bogdan Bogdanovic to the Bucks
Milwaukee gets: Bogdan Bogdanovic
Sacramento gets: Donte DiVincenzo, Ersan Ilyasova, D.J. Wilson
Fantasy Analysis: All signs point to Bogdanovic starting next to Jrue Holiday in the Bucks' revamped backcourt. Since he's expected to be a starter, there's always the chance for Bogdanovic to have a career year, but he's also never been surrounded by so many other scoring and playmaking options. Given his relatively high floor -- due to his expected role and versatile skillset -- even pessimistic fantasy managers can assume he'll be worth a pick around the 100 spot -- near where he's finished during the past two seasons. Optimistic fantasy managers could draft him a couple rounds higher banking on upside.
In Sacramento, DiVincenzo could hold a similar role to his sophomore campaign, seeing sixth-man minutes on the wing behind, presumably, Buddy Hield and Harrison Barnes. DiVincenzo makes for a late-round flier in standard fantasy leagues, though his upside is relatively limited since he's not a polished offensive player, with most of his fantasy value coming through steals. Ersan Ilyasova and D.J. Wilson figure to be irrelevant in almost all fantasy leagues.
Robert Covington to the Trail Blazers
Portland gets: Robert Covington
Houston gets: Trevor Ariza, 2020 first-round pick, 2021 first-round pick (protected)
Fantasy Analysis: Covington figures to be Portland's starting small forward, so he should occupy a role similar to the ones he held down in Minnesota and Philadelphia. Over the past four seasons, Covington has ranked between 25th and 46th in fantasy on a per-game basis. Most fantasy managers won't draft him as high as the second round given his limited upside as a three-and-D player, but we should expect him to finish around the same range this upcoming season.
Assuming he remains in Houston, Ariza could either start or see sixth-man minutes. He averaged 28.2 minutes per game last season, ranking 136th in fantasy (per-game) behind 8.0 points, 4.6 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 1.5 threes and 1.3 steals.
With both Russell Westbrook and James Harden wanting out of Houston, the Rockets could look like an entirely different team by the time the season rolls around. That could change Ariza's projected role, as well. Last time he was with Houston (2017-18), he ranked 87th in fantasy while seeing 33.9 minutes per game. It remains to be seen how many minutes the 35-year-old can consistently handle in a condensed, 72-game season.
