Fantasy Basketball: A Dozen Dimes, Week 16

Welcome back to our weekly transactions article, where we dish out 12 dimes of advice fantasy hoops advice, including the top adds, drops, buys, and sells for this upcoming week and beyond.

These are generally listed in relative order of importance. If you're looking for even more advice, check the "related news" section underneath to cycle through other recent editions of this column. We try not to repeat ourselves too much from one week to the next, so you might find more ideas you like from previous weeks that are still valid.

All fantasy rankings are courtesy of BasketballMonster.com.

Okay, let's get down to it.

Sell Dwight Howard

What in the world has gotten into Dwight Howard?

He has been vintage Dwight lately, registering double-doubles left, right, and center, while blocking everything that has come down the lane.

Over the last two weeks (seven games), Howard has been the seventh-ranked player in nine-category leagues, averaging a gargantuan 18.1 points, 15.7 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 1.1 steals, 4.1 blocks, and 2.1 turnovers in 34.6 minutes per contest, while shooting 57.5% from the field and 66.0% from the free throw line.

D12's resurgence at 32 has been fun to watch, but we need to get a few things straight.

First and foremost, Dwight's recent flirtation with first-round value doesn't feel sustainable because his normally putrid free throw shooting has kept him outside of the top-80 in each of the last five seasons, and his 54.7% mark this year has held his overall ranking down to 219th on the season as a whole.

Throw in the fact that Howard's been shockingly healthy this season, not missing a single game up to this point, and the 20-28 Charlotte Hornets might very well be sellers at the trade deadline. You have a perfect sell-high moment on the 14-year big man. Don't let it pass you by.

Add Dejounte Murray

San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich benched 17-year veteran point guard Tony Parker last week in favor of Dejounte Murray. That was likely a difficult decision, considering the fact that the 35-year-old Parker has started 98.5% of the 1,169 games he's played for the Spurs, but Murray has made Pop look smart with how well he's played in his five games since assuming the starting job.

Over that span, Murray has been the 29th-ranked player in nine-category leagues, averaging 12.4 points, 0.2 threes, 8.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 2.2 steals, 0.4 blocks, and 2.2 turnovers in 28.5 minutes per game, while shooting 51.0% from the field and 91.7% from the free throw line. He won't score many points or hit you many threes, but the assists, steals, and sterling percentages are everything you'd want in a fantasy point guard, and the rebounds are a very nice bonus from the position.

Murray is getting scooped up fast across the industry, but he's still out there in 50% of Yahoo leagues and 55% on ESPN. If he's somehow still available in your league, grab him immediately.

Add Kyle Anderson

Kyle Anderson hasn't been doing a lot of scoring lately, totalling only 11 points over his last three games, but he's been doing enough of just about everything else to still be putting up top-50 value over the last two weeks.

Over that eight-game span, he's only averaged 6.4 points and 0.6 triples per contest, but he's ranked 47th in nine-category leagues on the strength of his 6.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 2.0 steals, 1.3 blocks, and 1.5 turnovers in 28.3 minutes per game, along with a 45.2% mark from the field and perfect 8-for-8 from the line.

Anderson should be owned in more than 40% of Yahoo leagues and 25% on ESPN, so if your fantasy team is set for scoring, you should consider picking him up. Kawhi Leonard's return is nowhere in sight, so Anderson will continue starting in his place and filling up the stat sheet for the foreseeable future.

Add Danilo Gallinari

Danilo Gallinari has only played 11 of a possible 49 games for the Los Angeles Clippers this year, most recently missing the team's last 25 games due to a partial glute tear. He's targeting Tuesday for a return, however, and that should have your attention.

Gallinari obviously comes with a fair bit of injury risk, but he's ranked in or around the top-50 in nine-category leagues in six of his last seven years on a per-game basis, and adding a guy like that to your squad at this point in the fantasy season could be a game-changer. He's consistently been a good source of points, threes, rebounds, free throw percentage, and low turnovers throughout his career when healthy, and should have every opportunity to contribute on a Clippers team with playoff aspirations if he's truly good to go this time.

He's available in 40% of Yahoo leagues and 75% on ESPN, and is a must-add, must-start player upon his return.

Buy Jayson Tatum

Jayson Tatum has been a revelation during his rookie season, ranking 63rd in nine-category leagues with averages of 13.4 points, 1.4 triples, 5.5 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 0.9 steals, 0.8 blocks, and 1.4 turnovers in 30.9 minutes per contest, and an ultra-efficient shooting split of 48.1% from the field, 44.2% from deep, and 81.5% from the line.

It's not every day that a rookie shoots that efficiently from everywhere, nor that one puts up such a well-rounded, fantasy-friendly line with no notable flaws, so if you drafted him late this year or picked him up quickly off the waiver wire, good on you.

If you missed out on him, however, now's your chance to buy low.

Over Tatum's last four games, he's managed to score in double figures only once while averaging 8.8 points, 1.0 triple, 6.5 rebounds, 1.0 assist, 0.8 steals, 0.3 blocks, and 2.0 turnovers, and shooting 33.3% from the field, 28.6% from long range, and 75.0% from the stripe.

His rankings of 299th over the last week, 246th over the last two, and 205th over the last month suggest he may have hit the rookie wall, but we trust Tatum to find his way out of it soon enough. It's been a bit of a rough patch, but he's been shockingly consistent outside of his last seven games or so, and his 30-plus minutes per contest in a starting role hasn't wavered in the slightest during this lull in production.

Send out an offer or two and see what it would take to acquire him before he turns things back around.

Sell Andrew Wiggins

There have been a lot of "Sell Andrew Wiggins" blurbs in this column over his four-year career, but we especially like to check in during his hot streaks to remind you that you should always be trying to sell Andrew Wiggins.

Wiggins' fantasy popularity is largely based on two things: his scoring ability and the fact that he's a former first overall draft pick. He had an average draft position of 47.3 across the industry this year, according to FantasyPros.com, despite the fact that he hasn't cracked the top-100 in nine-category fantasy value even once over his four seasons, due to a lack of versatility in his stat line outside of the 20-or-so points per contest.

Over his last five games, he's been characteristically scoring in bunches, averaging 24.8 points per game, and even shooting a commendable 49.0% from the field (up from 18.2 and 43.9% on the season). Even so, that's only been good enough for a ranking of 91st in nine-category leagues over that span, since there's nothing else to write home about in his 1.2 triples, 4.4 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 0.6 steals, 0.8 blocks, and 2.4 turnovers per contest, and 72.7% mark from the charity stripe.

And even his spike in scoring lately has a lot to do with the absence of All-Star Jimmy Butler for four of the Timberwolves' last five games. Wiggins only ranks 154th on the season overall and this little patch of flirting with the top 100 is likely a peak. If you can get anyone that's a consistent mid-round value or higher based on Wiggins' name and his recent scoring binge, do it immediately.

Add John Henson

John Henson is settling into a fairly consistent groove, scoring in double figures and registering exactly one block in each of his last five games.

Over that span, he's been the 88th-ranked player in nine-category leagues with averages of 11.0 points, 6.6 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.0 steal, 1.0 block, and 1.6 turnovers in 28.5 minutes per contest, and a shooting split of 60.0% from the field and 72.2% from the line.

He's not going to put up many monster lines, but his minutes are finally starting to look reliable, and he's always good for some rebounds and blocks, sprinkled with a good field goal percentage and low turnovers. He's available in 60% of Yahoo leagues and 75% on ESPN, and serves as a great low-end center option in standard leagues.

Add Darius Miller

Darius Miller had a bit of a dud on Sunday, but over his five games prior, he was putting up mid-round value and hitting a ton of triples.

Over that five-game span, Miller was the 72nd-ranked player in nine-category leagues, averaging 13.4 points, 3.2 threes, 4.6 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 0.8 steals, 0.2 blocks, and 1.4 turnovers in a healthy 32.3 minutes per contest off the bench, while shooting 50.0% from the field and 83.3% from the free throw line.

With DeMarcus Cousins out for the remainder of the season with a full rupture of his left Achilles tendon, Miller will be one of the New Orleans Pelicans' role players tasked with picking up the slack. He's available in over 70% of Yahoo leagues and 90% on ESPN and is worth a flier to see if he can resume the hot shooting streak he was on leading up to Sunday.

Sell Jordan Clarkson

Jordan Clarkson has been on a tear over his last five games, ranking 23rd in nine-category leagues over that span for his averages of 24.0 points, 1.0 triple, 4.4 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 1.0 steal, and 2.0 turnovers in 31.5 minutes per contest off the bench, and shooting split of 55.4% from the field and 88.5% from the line.

There have been a few patches like that where it's been really fun to own Clarkson this year, but his recent surge has correlated directly with a seven-game absence for Lonzo Ball, who was starting to put it together before his MCL sprain.

It's not clear when Lonzo will be back, but Clarkson's value will take a major hit when that happens. He only played 21 minutes on Sunday, is apparently on the trading block, and has been linked to the Cleveland Cavaliers, who have a pretty clogged guard and wing rotation as it is. One way or another, Clarkson's value is at a peak right now, and if you can get a more consistent mid-rounder in exchange for him, jump on it.

Add Ed Davis

Ed Davis isn't likely to produce consistent value in fantasy leagues going forward, but it's hard to look past the top-50 value he's posted over the last week or so coming off the bench for the Portland Trail Blazers.

Over his last four games, Boss Davis has averaged 10.3 points, 10.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 0.3 steals, 1.5 blocks, and 1.0 turnover in 24.4 minutes per contest, while shooting 71.4% from the field and 78.6% from the free throw line.

That line is good enough to rank him 41st in nine-category leagues over that span. He's out there in over 90% of Yahoo and ESPN leagues and worth a flier for anyone in need of boards, blocks, and a field goal percentage boost.

Add De'Aaron Fox

De'Aaron Fox had the best fantasy performance of his young career on Sunday, scoring 26 points on 8-for-15 shooting from the field and 4-for-4 from the line, while chipping in six triples, three assists, and a block. His 283rd ranking in nine-category leagues on the season as a whole is not all that encouraging, but he's been trending upwards over the last couple weeks.

Fox has been the 122nd-ranked player in nine-category leagues over his past five games, averaging 15.8 points, 1.8 threes, 1.8 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 0.4 steals, 0.4 blocks, and 1.4 turnovers in 27.4 minutes per contest, while shooting 45.9% from the field and 82.4% from the free throw line.

It'd be nice to have more in the way of rebounding or defensive stats, but the points, triples, and assists are nice, and he's in line for plenty of minutes and touches on a Sacramento Kings team that's firmly in the tank and focusing on youth. Speaking of which...

Drop George Hill

Attempting to figure out the nightly rotation for veterans in Sacramento these days is a pointless endeavour.

Kings head coach Dave Joerger has implemented a policy on resting at least two veterans per game, and there's seemingly no pattern to how he chooses which of his older guys rides the pine in any given contest. That's making it increasingly difficult to own guys like Zach Randolph (as we pointed out last week) and George Hill (as we're pointing out now), since you never know when they're actually going to play and for how many minutes.

Hill has been very effective in spurts this year, even ranking 87th in nine-category leagues on a per-game basis since the calendar flipped to 2018, but he's becoming a headache to own. He's only played in seven of a possible 13 contests in January despite being relatively healthy, and it doesn't look like that's going to change anytime soon if he stays in Sacramento.

You could potentially justify stashing Hill for the outside chance that a potential trade to the Cleveland Cavaliers happens and opens up some more playing time for the 31-year-old, but his role in a crowded Cleveland guard and wing rotation isn't even a given, and the latest reports have the two sides far apart in negotiations. If you're in a standard-sized league, there's not a lot of upside to be had in holding onto Hill, so you're better off dropping him for a hot free agent at this point.