Fantasy ramifications of Rockets sending James Harden to Brooklyn
Yahoo Sports' Dalton Del Don explains the advantages and disadvantages of James Harden heading to the Nets.
Video Transcript
DALTON DEL DON: James Harden is headed to Brooklyn. Let's talk some fantasy upgrades and downgrades. First, the upgrade. Harden, the man himself, he'll be sharing the court with Kevin Durant now and possibly Kyrie Irving, but he looked unmotivated to say the least during Houston's rough start. Harden's usage rate was down, and he was averaging nearly 10 fewer points per game compared to last.
So a move to Brooklyn should be a nice boost, especially with the team running such a fast pace under Steve Nash. And the key here is Kyrie's uncertainty as no one seems to know when or even if he'll return to the court. Harden's fantasy value no doubt gets a boost with this news. Since it was mostly draft picks coming the other way, most of the other fantasy upgrades involve Rockets here, including John Wall, Christian Wood, Eric Gordon, and even Boogie Cousins, who will all see big increases in usage.
Meanwhile, Victor Oladipo's fantasy value likely stays similar after a deal to Houston, and the same could be said for Caris LeVert's move to Indiana. As for fantasy downgrades, man, Kevin Durant. He's looked fantastic during his return from an Achilles tear, and I was ready to argue he was the number one fantasy player with Kyrie's status unknown. But him reuniting with Harden is definitely a small drag to his still very high fantasy value.
And, finally, Jarrett Allen and Andre Drummond are now sharing minutes at center in Cleveland, so both take a fantasy hit as well. Wow, what a blockbuster.