Tobias Harris was the most important player dealt yesterday

The NBA’s trade deadline has now come and gone, and with it, we finally have some trades to talk about. This year, as predicted, was quiet relative to years past, but there were a few last second transactions that should impact at least a few widely owned players. Since the trade deadline in fantasy land has probably passed for many leagues, this will be our final issue of the Buy/Sell article, and because of its timing, most of our picks will have to do with recently accepted NBA trades. With that being said, it’s been a pleasure writing these weekly articles for you all and I hope your fantasy season ends with a win!

BUY

Tobias Harris (PF/SF – DET)
In what was probably the most significant trade of the year, the Orlando Magic, on Feb. 16, traded Tobias Harris to the Detroit Pistons for Ersan Ilyasova and Brandon Jennings. Detroit held onto Marcus Morris, but by bringing in Harris, they could have essentially bumped Morris down a bit on the depth chart. Considering both players play similar positions, it’s unlikely that both will carry the same playing time, and considering what they gave up to get Harris, it’s obvious they plan on using him immediately. He’ll probably find a place in the starting lineup as soon as he’s able to play, and while there’s a good chance both Harris and Morris could see plenty of time on the court together, it’s the former who looks to have a better chance of benefiting from this trade. With the relatively down year Harris has experienced so far, his stock has taken a noticeable hit from where it stood preseason when his ADP was at 57. Regardless of what position (probably power forward) or where in the depth chart Harris ends up, it’s safe to say he’ll be a near lock for starters minutes going forward and hopefully can benefit from a change of scenery and a more favorable offensive scheme. The time is nigh to make a move before any boost to his value becomes more apparent.

Aaron Gordon (PF/SF – ORL)
Over on our waiver wire weekly article, Gordon had recently become a fixture as it took longer than it should have for the young man to get picked up in a majority of leagues, but over the All-Star break, his ownership rate finally broke 50 percent. That was actually a pretty exciting moment as, while the point of these articles is to try and provide the best possible advice, it was beginning to get ridiculous that more owners hadn’t caught on to his potential. Maybe it was his phenomenal effort in the slam dunk competition that did it for that stubborn majority, but whatever the reasoning, it’s probably safe to say Gordon won’t be returning to the majority of waiver wires for the rest of the season (if ever again for the following many years). His stock has certainly been rising over the past month or so, but after Orlando decided to deal Harris to Detroit, things are looking even better for the budding star. Having received Ilyasova and Jennings in return for Harris, Orlando essentially cleared the way for Gordon to grab more playing time and become more of a focus on the offensive end of the floor. Considering how his recent surge in rebounding has come at the expense of his scoring, this trade is the kind of deal owners would have asked for if they had had any say in the matter. Given that Gordon is still lacking in experience as a starter, further road bumps are sure to come his way this season, but they will become less frequent and painful. It’s likely that his owners are well aware of his potential, but if you can get him at a relatively reasonable price, like one that mirrors his current production with less consideration to his newly and positively updated ceiling, then by all means make that deal!

Markieff Morris (PF/SF – WAS)
With an ADP of 79 and a current player rating of 229, it’s safe to say that Markieff Morris has been a bust so far this season. After the Suns traded away his twin brother, Marcus Morris, Markieff’s production hit a brick wall. To say he and former Suns head coach Jeff Hornacek didn’t see eye to eye is an understatement and Morris certainly didn’t hide his feelings on the issue. When Hornacek was fired, and interim coach Earl Watson took over, Morris saw an immediate turnaround to his season. He had only played in 32 games leading up to February and had only recorded double-digit points in 15 of those contests. So far in February (after Watson took over), Morris has averaged 20.6 points, 7.6 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 1.4 blocks, one steal and 0.8 three-pointers in 34.8 minutes. Those numbers, while probably unsustainable in Washington, are still encouraging because it shows he hasn’t yet lost his potential. It also shows that with a more trusting coach, Markieff Morris can still produce, and may very well benefit from his change of scenery more than any other player this season. Assuming things do go well, expect his playing time to teeter around 30 minutes per game as a Wizard, making him a player worth targeting. He may not be a buy-low candidate, but if his current owner sees his departure from the Watson lead offense as something to worry about, his price could be right. There’s definitely some risk in making the move, but hey, sometimes you gotta take that chance!

HOLD

Brandon Jennings (PG – ORL)
As Reggie Jackson‘s backup in Detroit, Jennings wasn’t going to be putting up standard league relevant fantasy numbers anytime soon, so any trade that got him out of there had the potential to benefit him from a fantasy standpoint. Having been traded to Orlando allows for the potential of a major increase in production as their current point guard, Elfrid Payton, hasn’t been terribly consistent. That isn’t to say, however, that Orlando isn’t interested in Payton’s future. On the contrary, it’s likely that this trade says nothing about their faith in Payton’s potential. It pretty much comes down to whether the Magic believe they can still make a realistic and worthwhile push for the playoffs. At 3.5 games back from eighth place, Orlando’s general manager, Rob Hennigan, certainly believes his team still has a chance. If the Magic can manage to make a dent in that deficit soon, they’ll be more likely to go with whoever gives them the best chance of winning, rather than focusing more on the development of their younger players. That could mean that, while Jennings will come off the bench at first, he could end up stealing the show. One thing that makes this situation difficult to predict, however, is that even if they do make and continue a playoff push for the better part of the rest of the season, Jennings isn’t a lock to be the man that leads that push. Payton has shown, at times, that he’s capable of leading the Magic now, and ended the first half of the season on a high note. If you want to take a risk, go ahead and propose a trade to acquire Jennings or, on the flip side, make a deal to send Payton packing. The best move, for now, however, is probably no move at all. If you have either player, it’s best to sit on them and see what happens. If, however, you find yourself in a league where Jennings is still unowned, which currently happens to be the majority of leagues, it’s probably wise to pick him up and then sit on what could be a nice late season steal.

SELL

Marcus Morris (PF/SF – DET)
Marcus Morris has been enjoying a career year with the Pistons, certainly fairing better than his twin brother has since the two were split up, but things could start to slow down for the forward. For practically the same reasons Tobias Harris is currently worth buying, Marcus Morris is worth selling. Harris is more talented than Marcus, maybe not by a lot, but enough to have a negative impact on the value of the latter. Even though Detroit had to give up Ilyasova and Jennings to get Harris, neither player did much to cut into Marcus’ playing time, and Harris very well could. It’s likely that both players will spend time playing next to each other, but with a very real chance of Harris eventually commanding more time, Morris could very well have hit his season-high in terms of fantasy value. It’s hard to imagine the addition of Harris helping Morris to gain more attention on the offensive end of the floor, so now is probably a good time to shop him around and see what you can get in return.

George Haw is a correspondent at FantasyPros. To read more from George, check out his archive and follow him@georgeWarfieldH.