All-Star Break: Rest of Season Fantasy Basketball Rankings

Nick Whalen and Brandon Kravitz discuss the top fantasy basketball news items of the day and debate which players are most deserving of All-Star reserve spots. The guys take live viewer/listener questions over the second half of the show.

0:00: Intro + golf talk
8:00: Joel Embiid injury + Is the 65-game minimum working?
18:30: Knicks’ rotation post-Randle injury
21:10: West All-Star reserves discussion
29:00: East All-Star reserves discussion
32:15: Trade Kevin Durant?
34:55: Is Paul Reed a must-add?
36:55: How much time will Julius Randle miss?
38:40: Trade LeBron for Murray/Cade (points league)?
40:40: Maxey vs. Jalen Johnson
41:30: Ben Simmons vs. Kuminga
43:20: Andrew Wiggins… back?
44:20: Giddey vs. Tre Jones
45:15: Expecting a Clarkson or Sexton trade?
46:40: Fox + Lively for Maxey?
47:45: Hold Trey Murphy?
49:15: Top-3 trade deadline stash players

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#FantasyBasketball #NBA #NBAFantasy #FantasyBasketballRankings #Sleepers #Busts #Mustdraft #Breakoutplayers #Mustadd

Welcome in to the Roa wire fantasy basketball pod we’re presented by Underdog we’re presented by FanDuel I am Nick whan joined as I am every Wednesday morning by our guy Brandon Kravitz down in Orlando uh Brandon a lot to get to today will we’ll talk about some Fallout

From last night’s five game slate obviously touch on Joel embiid give you an update on where his MVP odds stand uh let’s say they’ve taken a tumble in the last 12 hours uh then we’ll give you a preview of a big Wednesday night slate talk some Allstar and of course take

Live viewer questions over the second half of the Pod so get those questions in the chat we will hit those over the final 2025 minutes or so of the podcast got to take care of some business first Underdog fantasy number one platform for NBA bestall and DFS player pickup

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Talking to begin the episode Brandon let me ask you how are you what’s going on in your life I am doing great um coasting along I feel like the month of January has lasted uh three full months oh uh I can’t tell you exactly why I

Think it’s just you know you try and ramp yourself back up it takes a couple of days maybe even a couple of weeks and um and then before you know it the month is over so this is uh this is where I’m at that is that that’s my old man take

Of uh I think as you get older you just feel like you feel like sometimes these months just drag along and uh you’ll see you’ll get there I you know how old are you I I can’t be that much younger than you I’m 38 okay I’m 31 so all right yeah I guess

I guess technically if we’re going you know by by that scale technically an old man there’s probably people watching being like no not at all um I YouTube you look like a young 38 I would have guessed like 34 that’s great thank you I appreciate

That but no I feel good the weather has been amazing here in in Florida so I mean the fact that I’m I’m wearing a sweater uh I get to I get to rock these about you know four times a year so um always a good time yeah man I I escaped

To Arizona last week uh actually right after so yeah man we uh played a lot of golf out there played 54 holes in two days which was fantastic um play played like the worst two holes of my life to start and I I had like mini panic like

Did I just forget how to play golf like it was like embarrassingly bad like I’m you know pulling out my seven iron and hitting the ball like 35 yards so maybe that’s what happens when you haven’t swung in a month and a half you get off

A plane the range is closed and you just have to walk up to the first te when you’re paired with two strangers and and just Tee It Up and and see how it goes um but yeah we I’ll tell you off air Brandon I will just say we were paired

Up with the wildest Twan Duo I have ever played with in my life um like in a fun way or in a can I be with anybody else kind of a way uh in a fun way I guess uh for them in a in a dangerous way in some ways for us

It was it was nuts I mean they were they were nice guys but let’s just say they were they were doing some things on the course that I would not ever partaken or advised so that made for an interesting experience but uh the next day was a lot

More chill you know we played we got paired up with like this 70-year-old guy who spent his whole life working as a land surveyor in Alaska could not have been more chill could not have been more of just a classic golf guy um where do

You stand on that I know you’re not as big of a golfer as me but I am a staunch I do not want to be paired up like I wouldn’t I would never be that guy that’s like oh you know you run into somebody and you’re like oh just join

Our group like no I I want to either be by myself or with my friends I am with you 100% it is one of and and this is probably not good not a good reason to to stay away from the course especially in the state that I live in where they

Are readily available and the weather is usually accommodating for it when it’s not raining but that’s one of the things that keeps me away from the course I don’t have friends that I would routinely go golfing with so and I have no problem going by myself but I live in

Fear of being paired up for a day with somebody that I don’t know and by the way so the weather has been so great I did go out to the driving range last week I am not a golfer I own I have a a

Golf set it was handed down to me I have never purchased golf clubs in my life and I thought you know what these are pretty crappy I’m going to go into the clubhouse and see if I could get myself driver I’m GNA get myself a new driver you pay

$800 yeah I I said so how much is this one and the guy goes $5.99 and I’m like there’s no way saying $5.99 so I was like I meant for the just that club I’m not talking about the whole bag and he said yeah I don’t know

How you golf do it that is insane I know I know I don’t want to spend too much time on golf I I will I’m not I’m not like a big equipment guy I I’m not a you know upgrade the driver every year it’s a uh you know on a need

Basis I don’t I would love to you know someday be in that position where I can you know drop 10K on clubs every couple years but can I let me ask you something before we get to the very important basketball news is somebody who has purchased clubs you know I I think you

Probably do well for yourself but you’re not a millionaire you know you don’t you don’t know that that is true I don’t technically have no idea what you’ve got in your bank account but when you when you first went to go make that purchase yeah were

You just like forget it I know that this is this is going to cost a lot I’m G to deal with what I have to incur here and then live with it or did you like go the back Channel Craigslist Facebook Marketplace route how did you that be

Really hard to make that jump yeah yeah I I am a bargain hunter so I did not I definitely did not pay full price but I I didn’t want I didn’t want like you know I bought a new driver last winter so you know you get the end of season

Sale you buy a model year behind right basically right after the new models come out they’ll drop the previous models by like 200 bucks so I think I paid 300 maybe 350 for a oneyear previous model driver a ping um and it it was worth it to me I mean I play

Enough golf that it was worth it um I’ve had my irons for a long time like you know seven eight years at this point so um you know that’s I have trouble spending a lot of money on on basically anything but golf is where I will I will

Make an exception to that rule um all right let’s talk to Joel and here we got a good question in the chat and this pertains to what we wanted to talk about um obviously if you were watching in the late window last night uh you saw Joel

Embiid writhing in pain shouting out in pain as Jonathan kaminga kind of jumped for a loose ball there were actually a couple of these you Draymond got tangled up with a beid earlier in the game kind of Dove at his knee I don’t think that was malicious you I know there were some

Tweets going around of like Draymond wasn’t going for the ball I actually think he was and be just kind of tipped it away at the last second uh so I I you know obviously Draymond doesn’t really get the benefit of the doubt but in that

Situation I I don’t think he was in the wrong uh but kaminga you know kind of landed on embiid’s knee just a one of those freak plays where to me it looked like you know embiid’s knee kind of got smashed into the floor he’s going to get

An MRI today we will see um it certainly to me it didn’t look that bad in person but you never know either way uh Joel embiid is very much in danger of dropping out of the MVP race and uh you know our guy Matt brings up an

Interesting question here is the 65 game minimum rule for NBA awards helping or hurting us in fantasy I feel like it’s forcing players to play hurt and play fewer minutes I I think everybody had that thought last night right where embiid ends up playing it almost feels

Like he was pressured into it right like all the tweets around uh the NBA World yesterday are like man if he misses this game he’s only got four left before he’s ineligible I don’t know how much that factored in for embiid you know obviously he’s missed time already this

Season you know he missed a couple games before this he won MVP last year I don’t know if it’s as important to him this year as as it was a year ago but this is an interesting kind of rub to this NBA rule which I I was in favor of right I I

Think you know the resting and whatnot had gotten so out of hand the last couple years that it felt like the NBA had to do something and you know one of the unintended consequences now is like if you’re a borderline player like embid who has the numbers to be the MVP are

You now pushing to stay in contention when maybe you shouldn’t be out there uh what what say you yeah uh I say good I mean I don’t want want to see anybody get hurt but what you just explained of a guy feeling pressure to go out and

Play good that is what you’re supposed to feel when you’re a professional athlete you’re paid handsomely to do it there are fans that are dying to see you in attendance and your teammates need you in every other sport we applaud that in the NBA we’ve gotten to the point

Where we go man it’s like caution over everything and I’m so tired of it I see it all the time so yeah it it’s unfortunate that we are in a season where the clear-cut MVP is Joel embiid and yet he probably won’t end up eligible for it that stinks maybe they

Can go back and and change the the requirement maybe 65 is too much um and disqualifies people that would still be worthy uh but overall the like the pressure that it puts on players I think is a good thing and the league is winning in that regard even if a player did get

Hurt I tend to agree with that and you know it’s not like Joel embiid came out in the first quarter and you know hobbling around and his knee’s clearly an issue like he you know he obviously he limped off after the the kaminga play but that was you know that I don’t think

That had anything to do with the previous knee injury he just happened to get his knee kind of landed on right like I don’t I don’t know if we can draw a through line on that one necessarily but you know it certainly felt like embiid you know he’s aware he’s on

Social media he’s aware of what people are saying about this I you know I I I don’t know that we necessarily need this hard disqualification like you cannot win MVP if you play 63 games like I just I wonder like how many people are GNA vote for embiid if he puts you know

Let’s say he finishes at 58 games played with these numbers and the 65 game rule is not in place like I I do think in general if you miss that many games you’re probably just not going to get votes anyway you know like obviously embiid you know he almost won Rookie of

The Year playing like 29 games his first year but that was a unique situation I think he was going up against like what Malcolm Brogden and like Michael Carter Williams or something um I I think with how competitive MVP is right now like if you have like if Giannis Luca SGA yic if

Those guys are all playing around 70 games and Aid plays 54 games I just I think it’s going to kind of work itself out anyway so we’ll see the NBA’s always been flexible with this stuff I don’t think this is just something that’s set in stone now forever but speaking of

Embiid’s odds a week ago plus 120 to win MVP after last night he’s now 15 to one I I wouldn’t bet it I would not bet it like the chances of him missing five more games the rest of the way you know could could happen in the next two weeks

Right and yeah I mean there’s no way you can bet Joel embiid right now he’s got there’s too much time left in the season you got the injury still set to get an MRI he could be disqualified with just this diagnos never mind whatever is to come in the

Future at the end of the year if their seating is set or they’re comfortable where they’re at they could bench him and get ready for the postseason uh he has what six games left to miss is that I believe that’s the number he can only missed six more five

Or six because he obviously he played last night that’s just not that many um we’re not even at the All-Star break yet right uh but this is this is the reason why the NBA wanted to set a specific number you’re right if you missed a certain number of games voters are going

To use that against you but they’re I think that the NBA is trying to say let’s not put the pressure on the voters here let’s get the players back out there because the I think we would all agree the number one issue the NBA has over the last couple of years is load

Management and they’re just trying to come up with different ways where they can mitigate that and they came up with this Rule and they came up with the you can’t uh you can’t bench to All Stars in a nationally televised game which is so goofy I know I

Mean never mind the fact that like the other day we had the nuggets and the 76ers go back to embiid embiid was announced inactive 15 minutes before tip off as was Ty Tyrese Maxi who isn’t an All-Star yet so technically the 76ers didn’t break the nationally televised

Rule but come on they did it’s just that technically by the letter of the law they didn’t I think I think the NBA not to get too far off track but they need to adopt more of an NFL rule where you know for a fact 90 minutes before

Kickoff who is available and who is not none of this oh he went around he did shoot around five minutes before tip off and we decided that he’s not good to go in a freak accident okay but you got to get away from that it’s just yeah it’s

It it’s tough it’s tough for people in in our world and you can’t shy away from it if you’re going to show us gambling ads during your product then you kind of have to cater to that audience fantasy and sports betters are kind of left out

In the Lurch when it comes to this stuff yeah you’re right and you know of course if Kevin Durant slips on the floor five minutes before the game starts and twists his knee like in that situation of course he’s not going to play but no I I I would not be surprised

If you know a few days from now we get the you know some of nominal fine for the Sixers for the way they handled the embiid situation at least Maxi was on the injury report I think I think the big issue is that embiid was cleared from the report Nick nurse said pregame

Yeah I think he’s gonna play you know uh I have no reason not to believe that like I I don’t I don’t even think Nick nurse was complicit in this I I think he actually thought embiid was gonna play and then you know like you said 15

Minutes before tip off he ends up being scratched so yeah at least got to put him on the report you got to put the possibility out there that he could not play um we will see again MRI coming for for Joel and beid today if we get any

News you know the next half hour or so we’ll of course pass that along by the way if I can break in before we move on I I I found an interesting stat I was curious just did a quick Google search on this the least amount of games played

By a player to win NBA MVP uh you’d actually have to go back to a time where we didn’t think this was an issue at all 1998 or maybe that was a strike here maybe that was the reason yeah okay that makes sense 49 games played by Carl

Malone okay scratch that of recent memory there you’ve had two players that have not hit the 65 game threshold that have won MVP Giannis in 2019 and LeBron James in 2011 everybody else has played at least 65 games yeah well and 2011 was also a strike year right where the

Season started late and I think it was a 66 Game season oh there you go yeah right yeah so Yannis is so really it’s one an embiid one last year he met the threshold that rule was in existence he played 66 games last year so yeah maybe

Um this is and this is important information to know when you start to form your own opinion of what the NBA should do 65 looks like a pretty good number because we just don’t have a lot of examples of guys winning the MVP outside of strike Seasons apparently uh

Play less than that even the honest example I think that was the co shorten season when they played 72 games right so I mean there’s just there’s really no for it in a in an actual 82 Game season oh jeez yeah you’re right right yeah so

There great Rec by the way well look I uh I follow the NBA let’s let’s just say that um good point here too before we move on by Matt that tyres halberton could lose 40 million in bonus money uh which I agree with Matt I mean I we saw

It last night I mean this was kind of a crazy move Pacers were down big to Boston they rally back in the third quarter it was like a three-point game and then we get an announcement with a minute left in the third quarter that halberton is on a minutes limit and will

Not play the rest of the game Pacers ended up keeping it close uh you do Wonder of course do they win that game if halberton plays and it sounds like that’s going to continue h for at least a few more games and you got to you know

In order for halberton to get that $40 million bonus he needs to make all NBA and you can’t make all NBA if you don’t play at least 65 games and you also the other caveat here is you have to play at least 20 minutes per game in those 65 so

There’s there’s kind of like a minutes uh threshold that’s tied in into this as well um anyway enough load management talk uh I want to talk about the Knicks real quickly they’re down two starters uh they’re down Julius Randall I I would think at least through the All-Star

Break you know I think it’s actually as far as good timing to dislocate your shoulder you know when you got an eight-day break uh built into this timetable kind of a good time for it to happen um you would hope he’ll be back in late February they’ve been without OG

And anobi for these last two nights as well played a back toback on Monday and Tuesday came away with two wins over Charlotte and Utah uh we we saw them you know start precious to Chua next to Isaiah hartstein Josh Hart moved into the starting lineup Dante divon chenzo has

Been on fire these last two games 28 against Charlotte and then nine three-pointers last night in that win over Utah um and as we expected you know Jaylen Brunson has has obviously been the heart and soul of this team all season but without Julius Randall stepping up to an even larger degree and

Um you know AA is somebody I was telling Alex on Monday I paid up for him in Stak League I you know I think I put five or six bucks in out of a $100 budget which is dwindling for me as this year goes along I’m really hoping that pays off

You know if I can get a month of a pre sua you know giving me 12 points and and eight rebounds and a couple blocks per game I think that’s going to be super valuable and played 40 minutes last night yeah Tom Tibido bigs are always

Going to be a factor um just the way that they play that kind of clang and bang style and precious sucha is a big physical body that can take advantage of situations like this surprised the rebounding totals haven’t been higher but I love what you’re seeing in terms

Of the scoring department and I don’t blame you um helping to keep a red hot Knicks team the float it’s amazing sometimes you get these teams that they just catch fire and it almost doesn’t matter who is in and out of the lineup they have uh they just have it rolling

Right now in New York and they’re solidifying their spot they’re they’re playing so well they’re they’re probably going to end up a top four team in the east at the end of the day yeah they have not missed to beat man and you know I think when you lose

Someone like Randall you’re not a better team but I think they could be a better defensive team without him and you I think the the benefit to losing a player for like a month as opposed to a season ending injury is you get more Reps for

Some of these guys you’re going to need later in the season right it’s like I I don’t know if it’s necessarily a bad thing it’s like all right PR auua this is your time you’re playing 35 minutes a night for the next month Josh Hart you’re doing the same he played 43 last

Night I mean that part of that is just tibs being tibs but you know you’re getting guys a little little bit more seasoning you know obviously they they’ve had to you know hand some more minutes to Jericho Sims miles McBride has been in the mix Quinton Grimes

Playing more minutes as well and I think that could pay dividends later in the year um you know when when it when push really comes to shove um let’s talk a little Allstar here Brandon and we had the starters announced this past week Thursday Giannis embiid Tatum Halbert

And Lillard in the east no major surprises there although I I thought it would be Brunson over Lillard I thought narrative Wise It’s really felt like rson had the better season I thought he was more deserving to be honest um but you know it’s Damen Lillard you can’t

Really quibble too much about that in the west LeBron KD jic donic SGA again no surprises there although you know I listened to a ton of PODS and and read a bunch of stuff as you do I was surprised how many people are like yeah I I think

LeBron might not even make the game you know it’s like if he had not been voted in uh which you know he was the leading vote getter for like the it feels like the 20th year in a row um I think there were people that were prepared to lead

Leave him off given where the Lakers sit in the standings but um we knew we knew in the west specifically the battle for the starting spots would be insane you know obviously kawh Leonard super deserving uh I think he’s a shoe in uh you know to make it as a reserve but

It’s going to be really really interesting to see where those spots end up going I mean we’re gonna have like six seven eight guys in the west who I would say in a quote-unquote normal year or maybe a more diluted NBA would be shuin for this yeah the uh the snubs

List article are going to get a lot of clicks this year cuz we going have some good ones I think in both conferences but certainly in the west uh the NBA media nerds and I’ll put us in that group too have to remember what the All-Star game is all about LeBron James

As long as he is playing well will be an All-Star until the day he retires as he should be he is what the All-Star game is all about and that’s why I’m not going to quibble too much about him being a starter but if you wanted to get

Technical with it then his teammate should be the the um the starting front Court player that represents the Lakers not him Anthony Davis has played more games he’s got better averages he’s a better Defender um so Davis to me would be the starter but it’s LeBron James so

I think we should all quickly get over that what happens with some of these bench guys and do and for the similar reasons even though it’s year one of his career can you find a way to wedge Victor wanyama into the All-Star game it’s it’s probably they’re probably not

Enough spots but I mean his numbers are ridiculous and his popularity is off the charts so when you start to combine those things uh statistically it’s not crazy and in terms of the notoriety that would it would bring to the game which is what it is all about at the end of

The day um I wonder if he becomes part of that conversation he’s in the conversation no question I just think it’s too competitive this year for somebody on literally the worst team in the Western Conference to get in I mean he has the numbers he’s been as advertised I think

In some ways he’s been better than advertised if there was ever a rookie who was going to do it and in general like even the best rookies have a really tough time making the All-Star games like you know LeBron had as much hype as anybody coming in he didn’t make the

All-Star Game his rookie year I don’t think it’s happening I I just I I don’t think you can justify it on a 10 and 307 which is not Wan yama’s Fault by any means I I think he had to be I think he would have had to be voted in and he was

He was eighth in the fan vote in the Western Conference and look you know it’s LeBron yic KD it’s like those guys are going to outvote him no matter what but I just I I think it’s too competitive um you know you look right now it’s like Minesota they have three

Deserving Allstars I think they I think they might only get one you know I think Edwards makes it I don’t know I mean goar will get some votes he could be maybe the last guy in I don’t really think towns has the a ton of support

Right now U you know Jamal Murray is deserving in Denver I don’t think he gets in either OKC you know there’s been some Jaylen Williams Allstar buzz you know obviously Chad holgren is is in the mix as well I don’t think either of those guys make it I think kawhai and

Paul George are deserving uh I mean kawhai for sure and you know I think Paul George has actually been super underrated so far this season I think both of those guys get in I think you have to choose one of the Kings guys it’s probably sabonis for me yeah I I I

Hope both of them make it I think they’re both deserving but then you get into you know Devon Booker kind of feels like he’s gonna get a spot Anthony Davis is gonna be a reserve you know Markin in shenon and then the really interesting one to me is Stephen Curry I will be

Shocked shocked if Stephen Curry is not selected as a reserve but this is the shakiest case he’s had in his in really in his entire career dating all the way back to like 2012 yeah uh but it’s still Steph Curry and he is he is helping he is the only

Reason why that Golden State Warriors team is still afloat look at what he was able to do last night knock down eight threes it’s not like this guy’s going anywhere so Curry’s a I think Curry is a lock to be an Allstar Anthony Edwards I’d put him in that conversation as well

Um do you get both Clippers guys in because then that opens up a spot Paul George and Kawhi Leonard probably both Allstars Devin Booker it would be a lock and Anthony Davis and so you really only have about two spots to quibble about when it comes to all those other names

That you just mentioned yeah so my locks would be Davis Kawai George Curry and Edwards and that’s that’s more when I say lock that’s like what I think will happen not necessarily who I would pick although I would have those guys um so you’re right it’s it’s really two

Spots for you know I mean we haven’t even talked about James Harden who I think is absolutely deserving and you know the Clippers surging to 30 and 15 and you know knocking on the door of the three seed in the west I think helps his case again I don’t think the Clippers

Get three but wouldn’t surprise me again Harden deserving so you get you got two spots for you know Harden Kyrie Fox sabonis Booker Murray shenon if you want to throw wanyama in there you can towns goar I you know I don’t think jiren Jackson really has a case obviously

Nobody in Portland has a case um you know New Orleans is an interesting one because you know they’re they’re sitting in eighth right now they’re five games over 500 I just I don’t I don’t think anybody’s had a a good enough individual season you know Zion’s been good

Ingram’s been good mccoll’s been good B juice has been good I just I don’t know if any of those guys have the statistical case right yeah and you I mean the NBA would love to get Zion in the All-Star game but there’s the there’s just way too much competition

For that it is tough because do you do you look at this through the lens of it’s just simply the most deserving and that’s it that’s the period end of sentence or is it most deserving with the most fan appeal this is still an All-Star Game this is not an all NBA

List and that’s where I go back to somebody like Wim Yama if you’re trying to tell the story of the first half of the season and do it with the biggest stars that have played well enough to where it’s not a joke if you let them in

Like it would have been if Jeremy Lynn was an All-Star back when he went off with the Knicks right that’s where I’d have a hard time leaving Wim Bama off if I were among the folks that vote for this um but but sabonis um I think sabonis should be in

Both of the Clippers guys so it really comes down to that like that go bear spot there there’s really one spot for me where I have no idea what they’re going to do and it would be between uh Rudy bear um sabonis dear Fox Victor wanyama Lori marinin like though that

Would kind of be my group I think I don’t think marinin quite has the case um you know as fun as a jazz have been for the last month I if few games of late too yeah I would I would rather see Fox with sabonis in I think those guys

Are are deserving I don’t think he could really knocked the team record the stats have been incredible I mean it it just it really feels like both of those guys are having All-Star caliber SE season so that’s where I would lean the East to me I’d like to say it’s a little more

Straightforward but I I still think those like those last two spots are also going to be interesting you know I think like Jaylen Brown’s in Jaylen Brunson absolutely has to be in then you’re at seven Donovan Mitchell eight Maxi nine that is where I draw the line as far as

Guys that have to be in after that you know did the heat get somebody is it out of Bio is it Butler uh you know both both guys have kind of missed time I would probably lean out of Bio it feels like Miami get won um you know Paulo

Banko I think I think he’s got a chance here U you know I think if we had taken the vote like a month ago he would be a lock um but I think he’s got a pretty good chance you know demard de rosen’s in the mix Trey young I have no idea

Like he he he finished pretty high uh in the you know the initial voting he was fourth among yards number two number two in the fan rank number six in the player in the media rank so that’s ultimately what did him in but um you know Trey Young’s still very popular despite being

A little more polarizing and in NBA circles and then you got you know Scotty Barnes Pascal seaka as a couple of guys who could sneak in as well yeah I I think Pao gets in as as somebody that is um like it’s it’s easier to slide him in without debate

With that Julius Randall injury when I was looking at this we’ve talked about this a lot on my sports show in Orlando um how does Pao get in because there’s there is that clog with the seven bench spots Julius Randle getting hurt I think open that door wide open and and then

Yeah you have that debate about the heat guys Jimmy Butler is the bigger star I still think that matters so I’ll use the same argument Jimmy Butler is one of the it guys in the NBA he’s had a good enough year to this point to be an

Allstar without making a mockery of it so you put him in Tyrese Maxi has been amazing this season so if he’s healthy um you go ahead and throw him in there as well Trey Youngy I mean Trey young got the fan vote that has to matter that

Stuff has to matter but I mean I think dejonte Murray has been a better player this year um but that that stuff when you’re when you’re into coin flip mode the fan vote I think should matter a lot and if fans want to see Trey young then

Trey young should be in the All-Star game Power the fans Nick I don’t know what to tell you okay yeah yeah I don’t I don’t think the team success thing is going to be as big of an issue in the East because you know I think it’s pretty pretty

Obvious like who’s going to make it from the good teams and like you said Randle might you know Randle could get in and then you know that spot rolls over and becomes a replacement so it’s you know kind of a wash as far as somebody like B Caro you know whether he’s actually

Technically in or just is the replacement for Randall um but you know it’s like Indiana’s not getting more than one I don’t think the Sixers have a case for anybody besides embiid and Maxi you know Jared Allen is in that discussion you could could say maybe

Brook Lopez for the Bucs I don’t I don’t really think either of those guys get in I think Al Allen probably would get in over Lopez um and you know obviously Miami doesn’t necessarily feel deserving of two and you know Orlando love France Vagner don’t think he’s quite going to

Be an All-Star this season um all right let’s uh let’s answer a few questions here keep those coming in the chat guys we will uh continue to hit these as we finish up the Pod Mal says trade KD question mark we’ve got a lot of you know should I trade Durant should I

Trade Davis should I trade LeBron you even Steph Curry has come up in that discussion some of these who’ve been injured in recent years for the most part you know across the league I think this has been like a best case scenario Health season for a lot of guys

Who’ve been shaky in recent years like kawhai Paul George they’ve played as many games as possible I think LeBron’s only missed like four or five games on the year last night was only Anthony Davis’s third Miss game of the entire season uh KD’s only missed seven you

Know he hasn’t had one long absence it’s been two games here two games here three games there um and he hasn’t missed a game you know since January 5th I I would probably continue to try to ride this out with KD I mean if you if you’re

Trading him like any Elite player you got to be getting a pretty big package back right like you’re either trading him straight up for another top 10 guy or you’re packaging you know two borderline elite players and you’re sending out Kevin Durant um I I would

Just say you know if you’re putting him out there if you’re a Kevin Durant owner and you’re you’re initiating that trade aim high aim high do not do not start with like a oh I think they’ll accept this like you know go maybe go a level up make somebody say no yeah completely

Agree with that I I do think Kevin Durant is saving himself a little bit for the playoffs when you get to where he is in his NBA career you know what the regular season is it’s just one giant tuneup and this team is good enough to win the championship with the

Talent they have so I see a Kevin Durant that he’s playing and he’s actually played more games than the other two in the big three he’s played more games than Devon Booker he’s definitely played more games than Bradley Beal but when they’re all out there I think he’s

Comfortable taking a backseat role and that can impact things in the fantasy department but you know you don’t need to go selling that to the person that you’re trying to trade with so Nick is right he’s still Kevin Durant you gota you gotta have somebody that’s willing to pay the premium for

Him uh our guy deia uh over in Indonesia he said you know what what up Nick and Brandon shout out from Indonesia I appreciate the the global reach of the road wire fantasy basketball pod uh first of all he said his golf set was handed down from his dad no way he’s

Paying for a new set he’s just a casual on occasion golfer only yeah golf is crazy expensive dude you want like a nice full set we’re talking like 5K so I’m with you on that that’s 5K had noidea I had no idea 38 years old this

Is the the year that I learned it cost that much to own a new set of clubs we’re talking well you could get a nice set for cheaper than that but if you want you know if you want the new Titleist set yeah it’s going to cost you

Crazy Adia also asks on the basketball side of things is Paul Reed now a must grab I you know I would obviously like to to wait for news on embiid if this ends up being nothing and he’s back in the lineup later this week you know

Their next game is tomorrow at Utah then they play Saturday against Brooklyn they do have a four- game week coming up uh the following week uh but yeah if especially if you’re in a somewhat deeper League you know 12 team or above probably you know I mean Paul Reed

Historically it’s like unless Joel embiid’s out he can pretty much be ignored um he almost never plays enough minutes when it beats out there for him to matter but when it beats out I mean we’ve seen you know he had that big game against Denver over the weekend 30 and

13 with two steals that was really the game of his life probably the best game he’s ever played yeah the numbers haven’t been like fantastic in in the other games that embiid’s missed like even factoring in that 30 and 13 game in 10 games that Paul Reed has started this

Season he’s averaging 12 and a half points 6.7 rebounds two assists 1.2 steals 1.3 blocks very good you know definitely good enough that you want him out there but it’s not like he’s just a guaranteed like you know 20 and 13 without embiid every single night so uh

If you’re thinking Joel embiid’s Gonna Miss time and of course we don’t know quite yet uh I would say yeah you know I think in most leagues he’s gonna go he’s gonna be scooped up so if you don’t grab him somebody else well yeah I mean he’s definitely worth being grabbed but keep

Your expectations in check if you’re just going and I know that was a nationally televised game maybe we we all paid a little bit more attention to that one collectively against Denver um that high spot on ESPN but that is not who Paul Reed is 21 shot attempts in

That game the highest total he had reached in any other game this season was 12 um so the there’s just a volume Factor that’s not typically there I don’t know what got into those guys in Denver they almost won that game but um just keep your expectations in check but

Yeah if embiid is gonna miss real time I think you have to you have to consider him a pickup uh Pedro said the Randle status is weeks not months but should we expect at least four weeks I I would say yes I mean we’re we’re not injury experts per

Se but we we’ve seen a lot of injuries over the years uh you know that’s kind of how I I came up at Roa wire is just you know monitoring the the news wire you kind of get a sense for this stuff um you know it’s never a onetoone

Comparison as far as all right dislocated shoulder that equals x amount of time but yeah I I think four weeks sounds about right and that’s factoring in the All-Star break keep that in mind so you know this week would be one week next week would be two weeks three weeks

Would be the week before the All-Star break when the Knicks only have two games and then that fourth week would be coming out of the All-Star break when they also have two games you know teams resume play on that Thursday the 22nd um so I think best case he’s back on the

22nd at Philly uh you know worst case maybe it’s it’s like he’s back for that fifth week at the end of February um but I don’t I don’t think we’re talking months here uh for Randall you know I think teams you know sometimes they could be a

Little optimistic when they hand down a timetable but I I think you know if this was going to be a two to three month thing I think they would have told us so I’m I’m gonna you know base my opinion off that information and and my guess is

That he’s back you know before the end of February so either that you know 22nd 24th 26 somewhere in that range yeah good news is that dislocated shoulder is one of those injuries that once it’s healed it’s healed you know it’s uh it’s not one of those things where you need a

Big ramp up period um like some of those soft tissue injuries so I would I would say a month definitely prepare yourself for a month that sounds about right yeah I I think I think that’s about uh what I would expect as well um all right good question here from ABE

He’s talking about a points league and he asked uh quick question LeBron James for Jamal Murray and Cade Cunningham who wins that deal so anytime we get a points league question uh on Mondays Alex likes to point out just do the math right I mean points leagues can be a

Little bit more simple um you know all leagues are different as far as you know what what point values you assign for each stat category um but in category leagues you know you’re worried about percentages and stuff like that um in points leagues it’s just kind of add up

The fantasy points so so far this season LeBron James this is going off of the Like official nba.com scoring he’s at about 48 fantasy points per game in points leagues Kate Cunningham at about 38 Jamal Murray is at about 38 as well almost exactly the same production as

Cade so in that scor format that would tell you that Murray plus Cade is more valuable than LeBron I’m skeptical though um because you know I we’ve seen enough evidence now over the years that LeBron is good for it um Jamal Murray is great in his role

But this is very much Nicole jokic’s team and Murray’s stats can kind of Rise and Fall with what the team needs from him and Kate Cunningham plays on a Pistons team that we can’t trust at all moving forward with how they’re going to manage their business so yeah I’m a

Little bit nervous about what you’re taking on when you have LeBron who based on the ranking I’m looking at total points he’s eighth in the in the league in in terms of fantasy points scored this year I’m just not trying to trade that away right now uh I know he’s going

To have his days where he doesn’t play but uh it’s LeBron James and if he’s if he’s healthy he he’s he’s playing all right well we’ll disagree on that one I would take that trade I think get a points League I would do it in a category League I would think a little

Bit more deeply um smk 13 says hello from Australia what do you guys think about Maxi for Jaylen Johnson yeah I know Maxi’s cooled off a little bit obviously he’s injured right now Jaylen Johnson looks great um I would still rather have Maxi I I think

He’s he’s got a little more upside going forward you know we’ll see if the Hawks make a change at the deadline you know there’s a world in which Jaylen Johnson you know kind of becomes the the number two and maybe that’s a little bit closer

The rest of the way but I I would still prefer Maxi yeah definitely want to keep Maxi on my squad and and more of an offensive load that’ll be on his shoulders if Joel MB ends up having to miss some extra time so uh he is like we

Just talked about a Bonafide Allstar this year um legitimately love Jaylen Johnson and what he’s been able to do this season but Tyrese Max he’s the guy should I drop kaminga to take Ben Simmons off my IR today 10 team head-to-head Yahoo points League uh Matt

Is currently in first nice props to you Matt and I’m in a close match up with a second place team I was streaming that spot before I picked up kaminga so it’s basically who would you rather have kaminga or Ben Simmons and you know obviously in deeper leagues both of

These guys very roster B um you know Simmons if he plays like he did the other night uh even startable I mean Kam’s been been really good lately and he was good again last night against Philly 267 and two with three Steals and a block so I personally would stick with

Kaminga that is just me um I don’t really trust Ben Simmons at all to stay healthy you know again he looked great on Monday looked way better than I expected especially after the long layoff if he miraculously stays healthy he’s probably the better option in a points league but I’m I’m not really

Punting on kaminga right now man last seven games 25 point7 rebounds uh 1.3 steals about a half a block 61% from the field started to shoot much better from three as well so this is a tough question but I would I would stick with Kingo yeah hard to look away from Kingo

Right now and what he’s doing part of that starting lineup for Golden State team that’s trying to find life anywhere and it seems like they’ve found it and a guy that they invested a heavy draft pick in just a couple of years ago no chance I’m moving off of him like you

Said Ben Simmons maybe the least trustworthy player in the entire NBA what exactly are you chasing um that that Kinga isn’t giving you from from Ben Simmons that’s what I mean a few more rebounds maybe well I mean Simmons again if he plays like he did in a one

Game sample on Monday he’s a nightly triple double guy right I mean what did he have like just like uh 11 12 and eight or something like that I mean it’s it’s a debate uh it just matters how much you trust Ben Simmons and my

Opinion is that I I do not trust him uh David says is Wiggins finally back to his old self and good to pick up I mean he’s he is having his best week and a half of the Season by a mile uh put up 23 last night that was his best scoring

Output since mid December last five games 18 points four and a half rebounds two and a half assists a steal and a block I’d like to see a little more before we we just say that he’s like back but you know there were Rumblings early in the season that he he showed up

Out of shape you know maybe he had to kind of play himself into that condition I would say in like a anything bigger than a 12 team League yeah you could you could definitely pick him up and even even in a 12 team where he probably

Should be rostered at this point is is roster r is up to 66% on Yahoo yeah feels like a roster player but the the sample of him being really good again is very small so I would be willing to cut ties if he dips back to the seven4 and

One guy that he was not too long ago all right we’ll hit a few more of these I got like two or three more minutes we’ll go rapid fire here uh crowd silencer says would you trade giddy for Trey Jones 10 team points League said he just can’t be patient with giddy anymore

I think so yeah I mean if if if the Spurs you know they’re finally kind of doing the right thing with then having a real point guard out there it’s it’s changed the calculus they’ve been more competitive wama looked great ever since Tre Jones entered the starting lineup I

I think I would I would go with Trey Jones I think he’s given you about the production you’d expect since he’s been starting he’s playing almost exactly 30 minutes a game you know you could argue that giddy maybe has a little more upside but we just haven’t really seen

That this year yeah maybe gidy gets more run if Jaylen Williams is out for an extended period of time but I also don’t know what the timeline is on that I’m with you I like the the the shakeup that pop has gone with with this Spurs team

And um and you know the assists are going to be there that’s what he specializes in and and uh and he’s certainly got a big Target there down low will Clarkson or seon be traded at the deadline is it good to stash Keon George prior to the deadline asks Albert

I think it’s more likely that that Clarkson ends up being dealt I think he’s the guy they’d rather part with you know seon’s played well for really most of the season but especially the last month or so um I think both guys have a peel right um and it just totally

Depends what Utah wants to do they’re sitting in 10th right now and that’s going to be a dog fight for really those like eight nine 10 11 12 spots going down to the Warriors at 12 so if Utah you know I wouldn’t be surprised if they

Just stand Pat and and kind of run with this unit it’s not like you’re G to get a ton for Clarkson anyway um but I think it’s more likely of the two that Clarkson has dealt yeah and you know I’m looking at Jordan Clarkson’s contract situation

This is a guy that um would become an unrestricted free agent after next year of course that helps in the trade department and and could also help the overall value that you get back if you’re the Utah Jazz Colin sexon has played himself into a role where I think

He’s part of what they would like to build their team around that’s how well he’s been playing but Clarkson does feel like the odd man out and and yeah I guess that makes the second part of the uh the question uh up in terms of stashing Keon George because he would

Certainly be more of a factor yeah two more years left on Clarkson steel but it’s you know it’s two for 28 which is like a pretty big bargain at this point uh with with where NBA salaries are going so I don’t I don’t really see that as an albatross by

Any means um all right couple more and then we’re out of here Scarlett says Fox and Lively or Maxi so would you trade Fox and Lively for Tyrese Maxi in a nine category League um struggle with that one I think I would keep Fox and

Lively I think so too um yeah I mean Fox and Maxi are like almost a dead even matchup if you’re just looking at Fantasy value so far this season and you know Lively ranks a little bit lower than you’d expect um you the free throw percentage kind of drags him down even

Though it doesn’t take that many um you know he wasn’t blocking a ton of shots early on but yeah I think it’s close enough between Fox and Maxi like I think I maybe would rather have Maxi but if you’re saying that I have to give up

Lively to get him then I would just hold those two right and I would I would think without looking at it the that Derek Lively doesn’t take a lot of shots that are that are far away from the rim so he’s not you know he’s not hurting

You in terms of field goal percentage Yeah Lively by the way out tonight no Kyrie no Luca and no Lively for the Mavs as they take on the Timberwolves um all right two more Scarlet also says Trey Murphy is he a hold in nine category

Leagues uh the answer to me is how how deep is your league 14 and above maybe not um or may then I would say yes sorry 14 and Below or 12 and Below maybe not it’s been a little disappointing you know the PS just kind of have too many

Guys in some ways and you know he’s still playing a decent amount of minutes but you know the usage hasn’t really been there he’s kind of three-point dependent you know he’s took 10 threes uh against Boston on Monday so it’s like it’s just a matter of is he is he going

Two for 10 or is he going you know four for 10 or five for nine which is is in the r of possibility on any given night the shooting has been cold lately you know he’s under 30% in his last 10 games but I do think in general and and

Scarlett says this is a 16 Team league I would hold him there and he’s gonna be picked up if you drop him for sure yeah this is a guy that does not get to the free throw line um an amazing um outlier over the last month he had a game against the Dallas

Mavericks about 15 days ago where he shot 12 free throws um but not not a guy that gets to the line and when he does he doesn’t shoot it at a high clip so that you know that would hurt you um and yeah just not what he was last year I

Think they needed him to step up and play a bigger role and that’s just uh not what is called upon this year because they’ve been they’ve been fairly healthy all right here’s a good one to end on from Pedro can you tell me your top three stash players based on guys

You feel are going to be traded uh so he gives us an example he said he’s holding Ana kungu of course hoping that Clint capella could be dealt I Capel is going to be really interesting um I think he should be traded I think it would make a

Ton of sense I you know it’s like what team would be interested it’s like would like who needs a big man right like would Golden State uh entertain that you know obviously they they’ve kind of been needy at Center um you look around at at some of the other teams out west it’s

Like I don’t think the Clippers could really bring him in but certainly they could use a guy like that you know OKC uh team that would that would maybe use some Center depth but yeah man I’m holding a Kong Wu in like every long-term League that I play in I

Absolutely love him I think that the time will come where that will pay off they gave him an extension for a reason so he’s he’s a pretty good place to start I think the Hawks and general are a pretty good team to look at for for later season value you know I think

Chicago would be another one like if Zack LaVine gets dealt you know the obvious name I guess would be dumu but like even when he’s played big minutes this year he’s been pretty disappointing you know he’s just kind of like a worst version of Jaden Ivy to me um but you

Know if you’re handing him 35 Plus minutes a game you know I think then he becomes valuable so he’d be on the list for me um you know the Jazz if they were to deal Jordan Clarkson I don’t you know it’s like I guess we we’d see more keontay George we

Kind of saw that early in the season we’ll probably see more agbaji we’ll see more tht I’m not really fired up about those guys yeah it’s you know it’s tough to come up with a list on the Fly of the of the stash candidates but um you know

Depending on on how deep your league is if if scoot Henderson is kind of on and off rosters a guy like that Malcolm Brogden I think is most likely going to get traded and then you’ll see skoot get a ton of minutes after that yeah um

Let’s see what else you have I would throw and this is you know deep leagues only you got to see it’s like you know Nick Smith who’s a you know first round pick uh big time high school Prospect you know somebody who kind of had like an up and down injured season at

Arkansas um if if the the Hornets turn into fire sale uh Team you know Gordon Hayward you know miles Bridges basically anybody but lamelo and Brandon Miller I think could be on the table for them you know that’s one of those guys that you could see maybe having a run at the end

Of the year but you know I think he’s probably a more effective real life player than fantasy uh so you’re digging a little bit deep there there just there really aren’t that many sellers that’s the thing right it’s like I think in the west we just talked about there’s 12

Teams that want to make the playoffs right now it’s like Memphis they don’t really have anything to sell and they’re basically down to their their young guys already you talked about Portland I think brogen’s the obvious one scoot I think has his moment at some point later

In the year I don’t think really the Spurs have much to sell you know Washington kind of stuck where they are Detroit I mean they’re already down to too Charlotte Chicago Atlanta Portland those are probably your big sellers in the NBA so if you just want to look at

Those rosters and see who would become available uh or or who would step up in uh in the absence of of who gets dealt you know you could look at that route the the problem that I have with getting too deep into the weeds with that sort

Of projection of who would step up in players absence when it’s not someone that’s obvious like Malcolm Brogden leaves they they drafted scoot early obviously they’re going to give him that role is you don’t know who’s coming back and so you could stash a guy that ends

Up getting usurped from the guy that they just traded for uh you just you never know how these rotations are going to Bear out so while it is a Savvy thing to do to look ahead I think sometimes we can uh we can overthink it a little bit

Yeah the last two names I’ll throw out before we go would be both Thompsons I I think you know Detroit is is a team that has for as weird as this roster is you know they have a couple guys that that you know Alec Burks for example Joe

Harris who’s not really even playing for them and then the most obvious one being bogdanovich you know if they were to part ways with him you know that’s 33 minutes A Night That become available and I think I think we do see a late season assar Thompson Resurgence and

Then Houston to me you know they’re on the borderline they could sell I don’t think they’ll be a buyer they could just stand Pat but you know you got I’m in Thompson you got camp Whit more you know both guys have have looked pretty good when they’ve had the minutes has looked

Great yeah right yeah and it’s like I don’t know they tra I don’t think they really trade Dylan Brooks one I don’t think there’s a market for him too he just signed a contract um you’re not you’re not trading Jabari Smith um I don’t think they’re trading Jaylen green

You know that was out there early in the season but he’s played better lately be kind of kind of crazy to punt on him in my opinion but um you know do they thin out that depth at all you know it’s like you know Jan Tate somebody like that uh

You know Jeff Green a veteran who’s been playing a decent amount of minutes uh even just removing like one of those guys from the Clutter I think could could help amen Thompson and even if they don’t make a trade I think we see more amen down the stretch especially if

Houston falls back and you they’re they’re just kind of hanging around the play in zone yeah you forget what kind of pedigree am men Thompson had right I think the injury early on clouded you know kind of felt like he got off of the slow start it was basically because he

Just didn’t play in November and December and you know there’s I think Skyhigh high expectations for this guys so both Thompsons are guys that I would keep an eye on as well Brandon good stuff is always man uh always appre appreciate love doing this pod with you

Every single Wednesday you can find us at 10:30 a.m. eastern right here on this stream uh you’re magic they’re on the road right now they’re they’re at San Antonio tonight uh they they play at Minnesota on Friday so I know you got a little bit of a time off as far as being

At the arena but enjoy those games man and looking forward to doing this next Wednesday yeah my uh my my life