DYNASTY : BUY LOWS & SELL HIGHS. Part 2.
What does it mean to Sell High?
Selling high means trading a player who you think is peaking at a level that isn’t sustainable for whatever reason and whose value might drop soon. Selling high is somewhat risky, as there is a chance that the player maintains their value or that the value you receive fails to deliver; however, selling high is a way for savvy GMs to squeeze out every ounce of value from an asset at its peak.
What does it mean to Buy Low?
Buying low is seeking out players who are being undervalued, such as those coming off of down years or young players who have not been given significant minutes yet. Buying low is an opportunity for GMs to get ahead of the curve by securing an asset that they believe has room to grow. An example of buying low would be securing Jalen Brunson prior to coming to New York, where there were worries about his ability to fit into the Knicks’ offense. Brunson has since become the first option on a blossoming Knicks squad.
At the end of the day, Dynasty Teams are supposed to be FUN, and we encourage you to have as much fun as you can while constructing your version of a championship contender.
Sell High:
Mikal bridges, G/f, Brooklyn nets (evan)
Mikal has long been a favourite son of the fantasy basketball community, showcasing efficient scoring from the wing position along with elite defensive stats throughout his time in Phoenix. Mikal’s standing in the fantasy space continued to rise along with his stock around the NBA after a mid-season trade to Brooklyn where he became ‘the man’. Before the trade last season, Bridges averaged 17.2ppg, which skyrocketed up to 26.1ppg once he got to Brooklyn while amazingly increasing his TS%. As part of this jump in scoring, Mikal boosted his contributions in 3 pointers made and upped his free throw rate, helping fantasy managers with his near 90% clip from the line. Outside of his scoring, his rebounds remained steady while his assists, steals and blocks dropped off a bit.
So, we’ve got a fan favourite, on a new team where he is currently the number 1 option and doing well, why should you be trying to sell high on Mikal? There’s a few key factors outside of the obvious one that everybody loves Mikal and will likely pay overs for him. The first is that Mikal seems to have a reputation around fantasy circles that he’s a young, up and coming star with ample room to grow and expand his game… Mikal will be 27 at the start of the season. How many other 27 year olds are talked about as young, up and coming? While what Bridges showed us in Brooklyn was awesome, I’m not convinced there’s much growth left in his game beyond what we saw. This is likely his prime, now might be your last chance to sell Mikal with growth in the mind of the buyer before people realise how old he actually is.
The other main factor is that despite what Bridges was able to show individually in Brooklyn, the team was an underwhelming 12-15 with Bridges leading the charge. Brooklyn has no incentive to be a bad team as they have no control of their own future draft picks and their best player is 27 years old. Watch for Brooklyn to make moves and try to build a roster alongside Mikal that can actually compete. The issue with that is that as that roster builds, Mikal’s usage likely starts trending back down. Will it trend all the way to Phoenix levels? No, but there’s a very likely plateau in his production coming with a strong possibility of a dip as well. Will he still be a fantastic fantasy contributor? Absolutely. Is this his all time peak in fantasy value? I’d say yes.
2026 1st Round picks (Josh)
As a general rule, I recommend holding onto future picks unless you are sure that you will be competitive in the coming years. After deciding whether or not you will be competitive, it is important to consider how deep your league is. Contending in a twelve-team dynasty league still means that your first rounder is, at minimum, a top-12 pick; however, the deeper your league becomes, the less impactful a late first rounder will be as draft picks become statistically less likely to succeed the further down a draft board you go.
With this said, even competing teams should be able to find inflated levels of value for 2026 1st rounders due to the amount of hype and attention this draft class is receiving courtesy of Cameron Boozer and Cooper Flagg. These two players are heralded as the two best prospects in high school, despite both being rising juniors. There is a chance that Flagg reclassifies and ends up in the 2025 NBA draft but maybe just as likely is potential 2027 NBA draft number 1 pick AJ Dybantsa reclassifying into 2026. So there is going to be between 1 and 3 incredibly coveted prospects in the 2026 draft.
While I do hold these prospects in extremely high regard, it is important to consider that if your title window is open over the next few years, your odds of landing one of these players during the draft through your own pick are very, very low. As a result, why shouldn’t you capitalize on the hype by acquiring win-now players that further boost your title odds?
The Washington Wizards (Evan)
Fantasy managers are clamouring to get their hands on any and every Wizards player they can find right now, as they see a team firmly headed for a down season with plenty of shots and opportunities for a bunch of players who couldn’t dream of that type of usage on a team trying to win. The issue here is that an NBA game is still 48 minutes long with a finite amount of possessions and shots to go around, and this situation in Washington is not a long term thing.
Redraft leagues? Absolutely, go and grab all the Wizards you can and hope the ones you got end up taking all the shots. For Dynasty however, this might be a great opportunity to move guys like Tyus Jones, Kyle Kuzma, Jordan Poole or Daniel Gafford for players who might not produce at the same level this coming season but who should comfortably outperform those Wizards over a 3 or 4 year stretch.
There’s definitely an argument to hold onto these Wizards players and then sell them off to the highest bidder at the deadline, which is probably what I’d be looking to do with the more sure fire usage monsters in Poole and Kuzma. But before the season gets underway and people realise Tyus Jones isn’t actually going to put up prime CP3 stats, now might be a good time to sell some Wizards while they are a hot commodity.
BUY LOW:
CADE Cunningham, G, detroit pistons (Josh)
Like many players who miss the majority of a season following an injury, Cade Cunningham’s stock is lower than it has ever been, with him slipping in start-up drafts and some wondering if he deserved to go 1st overall in 2021 (he did). Despite this injury, Cade is still, without a doubt, a borderline top-10 dynasty asset.
Cade’s upside as a big playmaker who can score extremely well off the dribble and from the perimeter is undeniable. After the all-star break of his rookie season, Cade posted averages of 21.1 points, 6.5 assists, and 5.7 rebounds on 45/28/83 shooting splits. Going into the 2022-2023 season, Cade was demonstrating growth as a scorer and creator before losing the rest of his sophomore year to a stress fracture in his left shin. I expect his numbers to mirror the numbers he put up to end his rookie year, especially now that he is surrounded with more talent.
His in-real-life upside has meaningful fantasy ramifications too, as his well-rounded game is conducive to success in both category and points leagues. By the end of the year, Cade will once again entrench himself as a top tier player in dynasty leagues, and I recommend buying him this offseason before he does.
dyson daniels, G, new orleans pelicans (evan)
Dyson seems to be getting overlooked and forgotten in a lot of places right now which is understandable coming off a rookie season where he averaged just 3.8 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 17.7 minutes of action – but let’s not forget Dyson was the 8th pick in what is quickly shaping up to be a stacked 2022 draft class. He projects to have a strong 9 category skillset bringing to the table some scoring with strong rebounds from the guard position, assists and steals as his primary strengths. Dyson has great size for his position at 6’8 and his defence will ensure he spends plenty of time on NBA courts throughout his career.
Currently holding down the Pelicans’ starting Point Guard role is the ageing, mid range shooting artist CJ McCollum. While I don’t see Dyson taking over full duties at PG this season, I do see him forcing his way into a bigger role with 2 key things that CJ lacks: Defence and playmaking.
I believe Dyson will start to show more and more flashes of who can be in the league this coming season and I’d suggest you try and buy in now on the ground floor before those comparisons to Josh Giddey really start heating up.
brandon miller, F, charlotte hornets (josh)
In the build up to the draft, Brandon Miller was unquestionably looked upon as a top-four prospect, with many analysts having him ranked within their top-three. Now, after a rough summer league showing, Miller has been falling to the 5th pick in some rookie drafts, despite going 2nd overall during the 2023 NBA draft, and his stock has been trending downwards. However, the potent scorer has a combination of height and 3-level scoring potential that is extremely valuable in the modern NBA.
As a result, I would be ecstatic if Brandon Miller fell in my lap at pick 5. While both Ausar and Amen have insane upside, Brandon Miller is not only in a position to succeed long-term on the Hornets, where he can grow alongside LaMelo Ball and the rest of the team’s young core, but he also has the ability to contribute from day-one as a scorer, wing connector, and plus defender.
Wise owners capitalize on knee jerk reactions to Summer League. Franz Wagner laid an egg during his time in summer league and then went on to establish himself as a consensus top-50 dynasty player in just two years. Like Franz, Miller’s play style will be more successful when paired with strong playmakers and ball handlers.
He was placed into a role where he was uncomfortable at summer league, but being uncomfortable is where you can grow the most. Miller flashed the ability to make passes through tight windows, and should complement LaMelo, Miles Bridges, and the rest of the Hornets team as they vie for a playoff spot. In fact, during the Summer League, Miller was, at times, the best playmaker and distributor on his team.
His well-rounded game should help him contribute across the board as a scorer, rebounder, and tertiary playmaker. His stocks will likely be low this year, but he is a good defender with active hands and a good motor which should see those trend upwards over the coming years.
Disclaimer: Seeing someone as a buy low or a sell high does not mean you HAVE to sell or buy them. It just means there are factors at play that might make now the right time to make a move. If you push too hard to buy low or sell high you might negate the actual value by giving up too much or getting back too little. Check the market and gauge current value in your leagues, don’t force it.