The NBA universe was still processing everything from Anthony Davis’ trade request on Monday when Woj dropped this bomb on Thursday afternoon:
Kristaps Porzingis left the Knicks with the impression that he prefers to be traded, league sources tell @ramonashelburne and me. Knicks are expected to commence discussions on moving him ahead of next Thursday's deadline.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 31, 2019
Within the next hour, Kristaps Porzingis — the man who was once viewed as the Knicks’ savior — was gone.
Porzingis was clearly unhappy in New York, so the Knicks decided to move all their chips into the middle of the table to make a run at Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving this offseason. While Knicks fan are still processing all of this, daily fantasy basketball players are dealing with a different set of questions.
Let’s break those questions down.
What does this mean for the Knicks?
The Knicks acquired Dennis Smith Jr., Wesley Matthews and DeAndre Jordan from the Mavericks in exchange for Porzingis, Tim Hardaway Jr., Courtney Lee and Trey Burke. That said, Jordan and Matthews are both buy-out candidates, so there’s no guarantee that either will play a single game as a member of the Knicks.
The real prize for the Knicks is Smith, who they have been smitten with since passing on him with the eighth pick in the draft two years ago.
Smith struggled to adjust to life next to wunderkind Luka Doncic this season and should benefit massively from a change of scenery from a fantasy perspective. He will likely see all the minutes he can handle in New York and has a decent shot to lead the team in usage. Smith has averaged 1.13 DraftKings points per minute when playing without Doncic and J.J. Barea this season, and he could be looking at a similar level of production with the Knicks.
Credit: Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports. Pictured: Emmanuel Mudiay
The arrival of Smith will likely be the end of the Emmanuel Mudiay era in New York. Mudiay has his flaws as a basketball player but has actually been a pretty decent fantasy asset this season. He averaged a Plus/Minus of +3.37 over the past three months but will likely see a drastic reduction in playing time moving forward.
Getting rid of Hardaway also opens up a decent amount of playing time on the wing. He led the team with an average of 32.6 minutes per game this season, which should lead to more playing time for Allonzo Trier and Damyean Dotson. Both players have flashed at times this season, which could make them interesting options moving forward.
What does this mean for the Mavericks?
The Mavs are obviously thrilled about the thought of playing Doncic next to Porzingis, but that dream might have to wait until next season. Porzingis is still recovering from an ACL tear that he suffered last season, and it’s possible that he doesn’t suit up in a single game this season.
That leaves a big hole in the Mavericks’ frontcourt after losing Jordan. Salah Mejri earned the start at center on Thursday night but was limited to only 19 minutes of playing time. He was productive in those minutes, scoring 19.25 DraftKings points, but he doesn’t seem like a candidate to play much more than that on a nightly basis.
Dwight Powell might be the more intriguing option. He’s been a strong producer when playing without Jordan this season, averaging 1.02 DraftKings points per minute, and he logged 24 minutes in on Thursday. That’s a big increase from his average of 16.5 minutes per game this season, so he could definitely have some fantasy appeal moving forward.
Maxi Kleber should also see a boost in playing time, but he hasn’t been as productive as Powell on a per-minute basis. He led the Mavericks big men in minutes yesterday but only managed three shot attempts and 19.5 DraftKings points.
Hardaway will likely occupy Matthews’ old spot in the rotation, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see Hardaway play a similar role for the Mavericks. He hasn’t been as proficient as Matthews from 3-point range this season, making just 34.7% of shots from downtown, but he could see an uptick in efficiency playing for a better offensive team.
Either way, a decrease in fantasy value is almost certainly coming. Hardaway posted a career-high usage rate of 25.7% during his first 46 games this season, and it will tough for him to duplicate that mark in Dallas.
Of course, the big question for the Mavericks is what does this mean for Doncic?
Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports. Pictured: Luka Doncic
Doncic hasn’t played a ton of minutes with Jordan, Smith and Matthews off the court this season, but the early returns are promising. He’s posted a usage rate of 30.4% in that situation, resulting in a team-best average of 1.30 DraftKings points per minute. He’s also served as the Mavericks’ primary creator in games without Smith, increasing his assist rate by +7.1%, and he’s increased his rebound rate by +2.4% with Jordan off the court.
Asking a 19-year-old to lead the team in points, assists and rebounds is obviously a tough ask, but it’s definitely on the table with Doncic. He has the potential to be a fantasy monster over the second half of the season.
What does this mean for Friday night?
The Mavericks were forced to play extremely shorthanded on Thursday, and the Knicks are going to be in a similar position on Friday night against the Celtics. None of the three players that they acquired are expected to be ready to play, and the Knicks are also still without the injured Mudiay and Frank Ntilikina. Ultimately, they’re going to provide a lot of value.
Trier will likely enter the starting lineup, and he’s averaged a respectable 0.88 FanDuel points per minute over the past month. He’s been priced up pretty aggressively on DraftKings, but his $4,000 salary on FanDuel comes with a Bargain Rating of 99%.
Mario Hezonja is also a candidate to see an increased role — we currently have him projected for 30 minutes in our NBA Models — and he’s averaged an outstanding 0.95 FanDuel points per minute over the past month.
The Knicks aren’t as thin in the frontcourt, but they still offer plenty of value there. Luke Kornet is expected to return to the lineup and has been an awesome fantasy asset recently. He’s way too cheap at $4,300 on DraftKings given his Bargain Rating of 99%.
Finally, Noah Vonleh and Kevin Knox probably won’t see much of a bump in playing time, but both players should command a higher usage rate with Hardaway and Mudiay out of the lineup.
