Fantasy Basketball: 10 Players to Target on Tanking Teams

Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets

Currently ranked 47th in Yahoo's O-Rank, Nikola Jokic is a really good fantasy player as it is. However, he could be that much better given a better opportunity.

The Denver Nuggets are 14-23 and currently sit 11th in the Western Conference. They're really young and are unlikely to make a splash down the stretch this season. So, there's a good chance they'll be mildly tanking.

For Jokic, it's not all about the tanking. With a logjam in the frontcourt and a need for help elsewhere, the Nuggets are likely sellers at the trade deadline. From recent games, it seems like Jokic is the guy in Denver. Jusuf Nurkic, Kenneth Faried, Darrell Arthur or some combination of the three could be headed elsewhere by February 23rd.

If he was to receive more than his season average of 24.6 minutes per game, his value would jump from a late fourth-rounder to an early third-rounder, according to Basketball Monster's player rankings.

That's according to Jokic's per-36 numbers. Sure, it's unlikely the 21-year-old would play near 36 minutes a game, but given a heavier workload he would average 19.1 points, 11.1 rebounds and 5.5 assists. Jokic is also efficient, shooting 58.6% from the field and 80% from the line, making him a particularly attractive trade acquisition for fantasy owners seeking help in those two categories.