The trade deadline was setting up to be a disappointment, but came through big time in the end. Most of the players traded aren’t relevant to today’s slate, but will be relevant in the next few days. The most relevant trade-related losses for today are Clarkson and Nance for the Lakers and Payton for the Magic. The main loss today though is Kristaps Porzingis, who is out for the rest of the season.
Kyle O’Quinn (4400 DK, 4000 FD) and Michael Beasley (6300 DK, 6200 FD): With Porzingis and Kanter out for the Knicks, there is a lot of usage and front-court minutes available to be distributed. With Willy Hernangomez traded, O’Quinn is the only center option that has played minutes this year, so I expect him to get a lot of them tonight. Michael Beasley will of course be the main beneficiary of the Porzingis injury, and his price hasn’t risen quite high enough yet. Probability of positional top 3 value – O’Quinn: 59.1% DK, 81.4% FD, Beasley: 36.2% DK, 48.95% FD.
D.J. Augustin (3600 DK, 4100 FD) and Shelvin Mack (3600 DK, 4500 FD): Clearly Orlando didn’t like Elfrid Payton, shipping him out of town for just a second round pick. Mack has been getting a lot of minutes at the wing in recent games, but now I expect him to pick up more as the back-up point guard, assuming he doesn’t start. Previously Payton and Augustin had split the PG minutes 60%/40%, but now I expect Augustin to have a much larger role on the team. Probability of positional top 3 value – Augustin: 44.6% DK, 34% FD, Mack: 28.8% DK, 14.75% FD.
