This week's mailbag includes questions about the roles of Cam Thomas, Kenyon Martin Jr. and Josh Green, what to do with Jabari Smith, Bradley Beal's trade status, my future as a podcaster, and, of course, a random football question.
Who do you prefer between Jalen Williams (OKC) and Kenyon Martin Jr. (HOU) rest of season in a 10-team, H2H league? - Barkhan (@BarkhanTiger)
Any thoughts on KJ Martin if Gordon is traded? - Tony castella (@TonyNdal)
Answer: First off, Kenyon Martin Jr. and KJ Martin are the same guy, although it is confusing as to exactly what to call him. While I love Williams and have him rostered in several places, I always fall back to the Rockets' nearly perfect fantasy playoff schedule. And then, a few seconds later, I remember that the Thunder basically have the same schedule. The Rockets go 4-3-4-4-4 and the Thunder go 4-4-3-4-4 in weeks 20-through-24, so be sure to check your team's playoff schedule and make the move that's best for you.
The difference between the two is that the Rockets are tanking and the Thunder are not. That means KJM could play until the end while several of his talented teammates are resting (or traded), while Jalen may have to compete with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Josh Giddey (and others) for touches until the end.
The other difference is that Williams is a 12th-round value right now and Martin is an 18th-round value this season. The rankings are a little
This week's mailbag includes questions about the roles of Cam Thomas, Kenyon Martin Jr. and Josh Green, what to do with Jabari Smith, Bradley Beal's trade status, my future as a podcaster, and, of course, a random football question.
Who do you prefer between Jalen Williams (OKC) and Kenyon Martin Jr. (HOU) rest of season in a 10-team, H2H league? - Barkhan (@BarkhanTiger)
Any thoughts on KJ Martin if Gordon is traded? - Tony castella (@TonyNdal)
Answer: First off, Kenyon Martin Jr. and KJ Martin are the same guy, although it is confusing as to exactly what to call him. While I love Williams and have him rostered in several places, I always fall back to the Rockets' nearly perfect fantasy playoff schedule. And then, a few seconds later, I remember that the Thunder basically have the same schedule. The Rockets go 4-3-4-4-4 and the Thunder go 4-4-3-4-4 in weeks 20-through-24, so be sure to check your team's playoff schedule and make the move that's best for you.
The difference between the two is that the Rockets are tanking and the Thunder are not. That means KJM could play until the end while several of his talented teammates are resting (or traded), while Jalen may have to compete with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Josh Giddey (and others) for touches until the end.
The other difference is that Williams is a 12th-round value right now and Martin is an 18th-round value this season. The rankings are a little closer over the last month, but Williams still gets the edge. The bottom line is that it's too close to call and I don't know that you can go wrong with either one. But I think that if you're trying to hit a home run, Martin has a slightly better chance of blowing up once Eric Gordon is traded, the Rockets bench some studs and the Thunder keep barreling toward the playoffs.
Is it time to drop Jabari Smith? - Dajuice2122 (@Dajuice2122)
Answer: Here we are again, taking the Rockets' schedule and tanking goals into consideration. Smith has quietly scored in double digits in three straight games and is averaging 12.7 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.3 three-pointers in 33 minutes per game over that stretch. Those are steps in the right direction and if the Rockets do pull the plug on the whole thing, Smith could have a fun run in March and April.
But, to your point, he hasn't done much to help fantasy teams this entire season, and just because he hasn't been awful in his last three, he still has a long way to go. Including the fact that during that three-game run, he has zero steals or blocks. But they may be coming.
Cut him if you want, especially if you can get a hot free agent that can drastically improve your team, but don't be surprised if he goes on a silly-season run at some point.
Cam Thomas… how long will it last? - Kenny Williams (@ksw2011)
Answer: Well, he did it again on Tuesday, dropping 43 points in a tough loss to the Suns that included a missed free throw on purpose at the end. He's now scored 43, 47 and 44 points in his last three games and if you're scoring at home, that's a cool 44.7 points per game to go along with 4.7 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 4.7 three-pointers in 36 minutes. He also became the youngest player in NBA history to record three straight 40-point games, with Allen Iverson the only other player to do it before the age of 22.
He caught some big breaks with Kevin Durant out through the All-Star break with his knee injury, Kyrie Irving getting shut down before he was traded, and Spencer Dinwiddie and Dorian Finney-Smith not playing on Tuesday. And with Durant out until further notice, you simply have to get Thomas anywhere you can and ride him until the wheels fall off.
Sure, the Nets could make more trades and Thomas could take a hit, especially when Durant finally plays, but I don't care. Thomas just went on one of the greatest three-game runs in history and it's clear the kid can play. And the Nets would be wise to keep feeding him the ball. So, yes. He can keep it up and should continue to play well through the break. And I'm not putting it past him to stay relevant for the rest of the season.
Congratulations are in order if you were savvy enough to pick him up just before the explosion, or lucky enough to get him once it started.
Do you see Bradley Beal being traded before the deadline? - Ricardo Llorens (@llorens_ricardo)
Answer: The Wizards reportedly don't have much interest in trading him, Beal has a no-trade clause in his contract and just signed a whopping new five-year $251 million deal last summer. While I do think it's possible Beal could be moved, I'm not expecting it to happen. The Wizards' playoff schedule isn't great at 3-4-3-4-3 and his injury history hasn't been fun either, which is probably another red flag that might keep other teams from trading for him. I think Beal is staying put.
Drop P.J. Washington or Gordon Hayward for Josh Green (9-cat)? - BC (@kodak_vision)
Answer: Simply put, Washington has been much more valuable than Hayward this season and has played in 25 more games. It's not close. Drop Hayward, especially since the Hornets are tanking for Victor Wembanyama. Hayward's days are numbered.
Thoughts on Josh Green's role when Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic are in the lineup? - Steve Scott (@Misfit_Steve)
Answer: With Finney-Smith out of the way, Green should be an important part of the rotation in Dallas and the presence of Kyrie and Luka should mean he's open a lot. Sure, shots and touches may not be as easy to come by when Kyrie and Luka are dribbling all over the place and taking fadeaway threes, but Green's arrow is pointing straight up and I'm holding him the rest of the way.
He had 29 points, six rebounds, two assists and three triples on 10-of-17 shooting in Monday's weird win against the Jazz but we'll find out what his role is going to be on Wednesday night, when the Mavs (hopefully) run Green, Luka and Irving out there together against the Clippers.
Who do I pick up if Cam Thomas and Josh Green are gone? - MJ (@mangomyke)
Answer: This has become a stock answer for me, but Deni Avdija has been pretty solid the last couple of weeks, outside of two complete duds when he didn't make a shot and scored just two points. But if you throw out those two games (this is fantasy, right?), his numbers over the rest of his last nine are pretty solid. He's averaging 16.3 points, 7.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.9 steals and 1.6 three-pointers over the remaining seven games. He's also a decent shooter from both the field and the line on most nights, although he did miss five free throws on Saturday and his shot has failed him (9-of-32) over his last three. I expect him to play well the rest of the way for a team that is currently on the outside looking in for the playoffs.
Tari Eason, Jalen Williams and Lu Dort are other guys I'm interested in adding right now and we should have some new names to add to the list once the trade deadline goes down next week.
Are you going to be doing any podcasts? - Devon Hunter (@bandesbris)
Answer: The thing I miss the most about my old job, outside of the small family we built with the hoops crew, is podcasting. I'm simply freelancing for the sites I'm working for right now but there has been chatter about more responsibilities and possibly some podcasting down the line. I'm not really in control of any of that and am just happy to have what I have. But if RotoWire or EPSN offer me the chance to jump on a podcast, I'm going to do it. And one way or another, one of my main goals for next season is to be involved with more podcasts.
Will the Steelers start throwing more? I'm emotionally and fiscally invested in George Pickens. - MikeyMikeyMike (@mikeycobaugh)
Answer: As I said last week, I love it when football questions show up in the middle of my hoops writing/reporting. I think it's fun and a lot of us play more than just fantasy hoops. I saved this one until the end so if you're strictly a hoops person, you can move on.
I don't claim to be a fantasy football expert, but the Steelers appear to be all in on Kenny Pickett and Pickens is already the No. 2 receiver on the depth chart, behind Diontae Johnson. DJ led the team with 86 catches and 882 yards, but didn't have a single touchdown this season. Pickens caught just 52 balls on 84 targets but averaged a team-high 15.4 yards per catch and had four scores, two of which came in his last three games. He'll be just 22 years old next season and will be entering his second year in the league. If Pickens doesn't blow up next season I'll be surprised (and sad).
