25/26 Trade Deadline Analysis

*Note: This page will be updated as the trades come in. The projections are also updated after each trade.

Jaren Jackson Jr. to the Jazz

To Utah: Jaren Jackson Jr., John Konchar, Jock Landale, Vince Williams Jr.

To Memphis: Walter Clayton Jr., Kyle Anderson, Taylor Hendricks, Georges Niang, three first-round picks

• This trade is an absolutely devastating development for Jackson squads. The best-case scenario for Jackson going forward is that he plays somewhat limited minutes and is in and out of the Jazz’s lineup. The most realistic scenario is that he is limited for the next few weeks before being shut down. This trade will not change the Jazz’s goals for the season. Sell Jackson for whatever you can. Aim for a top-75 player and see if you get any interest. You may not. At this point, I would be willing to settle for most top-100 players. I would not recommend trading for Jackson, even if you are a borderline playoff team that needs help now and can’t afford to worry about March. With the Jazz currently having just the sixth-best odds of winning the lottery, the shennangians could start immediately.
• Jackson and Landale coming in is bad news for Jusuf Nurkic’s short-term value. Nurkic was a lock to eventually be shut down, but it did seem like he had at least a couple more weeks of useful lines in him. Now, both his short-term and long-term value look very weak. Hold until Jackson and Landale debut, and then move on.
• Landale is worth keeping an eye on. He’s not a lock to get shut down and there are going to be a lot of minutes available in the Jazz’s frontcourt in March. For now, he’s a drop, but he could be an add again in a couple of weeks.
• Konchar and Williams are unlikely to be prioritized in Utah late in the year, but both are worth watching, with Williams being especially interesting. The Jazz are going to be throwing out some very funky lineups in March and April. Kochar can be a nice source of boards and steals whenever he plays decent minutes and Wiliams can do good work in most of the guard categories on nights when his minutes are getting into the high 20s.
• The Grizzlies moving Jackson signals that a rebuild is coming. Ja Morant is now very likely to be either traded or eventually shut down if the Grizzlies can’t find a taker. Ty Jerome now has a good chance of being a major difference-maker down the stretch. He is a run-don’t-walk add in all leagues. Jerome is an elite per-minute producer who can be a top-100 player in a mid-20s role. In a 30+ MPG role, he will be a monster. Scotty Pippen Jr. will also be worth a flier in deeper settings once he’s healthy. Pippen will be behind Jerome, but if Ja is out of the picture, he should play enough to be at least a strong deep league option.
• This trade is also a nice development for the value of Cedric Coward. Coward should be one of the Grizzlies’ top options down the stretch. He is also a must-roster in all leagues. He could be a top-100 player in friendly builds the rest of the way.
• The Grizzlies are now extremely light on bigs. They do not have a healthy center on their roster. Santi Aldama, Taylor Hendricks, and even G.G. Jackson could see some time at the five. A trade for a center is likely coming, and if it doesn’t, expect the team to sign someone. Aldama is a must-roster in all leagues. Jackson is not a bad flier in 14+ team leagues. If his minutes get into the high 20s, he’ll be a solid source of points, threes, and boards. Hendricks had a promising rookie year, but hasn’t done anything since his injury and is just a watch for now. This trade could spell the end of Zach Edey’s season. With the goal now being to pick up as many ping pong ball combinations as possible, the Grizzlies have no reason to risk Edey’s health down the stretch. He’s fine to hold in one of your IL spots if he is not costing you games, but if he is, I would feel comfortable dropping the Canadian.
• Clayton could get a look eventually, but with Jerome still around and Pippen likely to return soon, his chance likely won’t come until late in the year. He is also just a watch.

Standard League Pickups: Ty Jerome, Cedric Coward, Santi Aldama

Deep League Pickups: Scotty Pippen Jr., G.G. Jackson

Watch List: Walter Clayton Jr., Taylor Hendricks, Jock Landale, Vince Williams, John Konchar

 

Nikola Vucevic to the Celtics for Anthony Simons

To Boston: Nikola Vucevic, second-round pick

To Chicago: Anthony Simons, second-round pick

• As far as landing spots for Vucevic go, this is one of the better ones. He’ll lose value in Boston, but at least he’s not going to be a strict backup, like he would be on some playoff teams. The move to Boston will cost Vucevic some touches and likely minutes as well. With the very solid Neemias Queta around, Vucevic will struggle to hit the 30 MPG mark. That will drop the Bull out of the top 35 and will make him more of a mid-round piece. That would be a nice result for those who gambled on Vuecvic on draft day. Top-35 numbers until February and mid-round numbers the rest of the way is very solid value at Vucevic’s ADP.
• This trade is obviously bad news for Queta, but we shouldn’t drop just yet. The Celtics have four games remaining in Week 16, so Queta should be at least somewhat valuable while we wait to see how the minutes split with Vucevic works out. For Queta to stay in the standard league conversation, Vucevic will need to spend some time at the four. Something like a 28/20 split in favor of Vucevic won’t be enough to make Queta more than a so-so deep league piece.
• Sam Hauser is still a hold. While Vucevic could spend some time at the four, the double-big lineup won’t be something Boston is able to deploy against every team. As long as Hauser’s minutes remain in the high-2os, he’ll be a 12-team must due to what he can do from deep.
• This move makes the Jayson Tatum stash a little more attractive. A week ago, it sounded like we weren’t going see Tatum this year, but trading for the expiring Vuecvic suggests that a Tatum return is in play. I wouldn’t drop anyone even somewhat safe for him, as any return is likely to come very late in the year, but if your league does play into April, and you have a free IL spot, there’s no harm in grabbing Tatum and seeing where things go. You can always drop later if you run into injury issues or if we get another discouraging update.
• This trade makes Jalen Smith a run-don’t-walk pickup in all leagues. If he ends up in a 30 MPG role, he could be a top-50 player who flirts with the early rounds in friendly builds. However, I wouldn’t lock him in as a league-winner just yet. The Bulls now have a surplus of guards and could elect to move one for another big.
• Simons will have minimal value in Chicago. He is joining a Bulls perimeter rotation that now includes Josh Giddey, Coby White, Ayo Dosunmu, and Tre Jones. Isaac Okoro will likely continue to see some run as well. Simons currently has no path to standard league relevance and is just a shaky deep league hold.

Standard League Pickups: Jalen Smith

 

Jaden Ivey to the Bulls and Kevin Huerter to the Pistons in a three-team trade

To Detroit: Kevin Huerter, Dario Saric, 2026 first-round pick swap from Minnesota

To Chicago: Jaden Ivey, Mike Conley

To Minnesota: Free roster spot to use in a future trade

• Detroit gets the additional shooting that they badly needed. In Detroit, Huerter is very unlikely to be more than a streamer or low-end deep league option. He’s likely to come off the bench and play minutes in the low 20s. He should pick up the minutes made available by Ivey leaving and could eat into the minutes of Ron Holland and Javonte Green as well. He may end up as a bit of a headache for Ausar Thompson managers too, but the impact on Ausar shouldn’t be major.
• Ivey joins an extremely crowded Bulls’ perimeter rotation. On a team with Josh Giddey, Coby White, Ayo Dosunmu, Anthony Simons, and Tre Jones, it’s hard to see a path to major minutes for the former Piston. Ivey is not someone who can be useful in a low-minute role, so in both category and points leagues, he is just a watch for now.
• Conley is on his last legs and likely won’t be in the rotation. He had zero value, even as a streamer in Minnesota.
• Minnesota will use the open roster spot they created through this trade to chase Giannis Antetokounmpo.
• Saric will not be in the rotation in Detroit.

Watch List: Jaden Ivey, Kevin Huerter

 

De’Andre Hunter to the Kings for Dennis Schroder and Keon Ellis

To Sacramento: De’Andre Hunter

To Cleveland: Dennis Schroder, Keon Ellis, Emanuel Miller

To Chicago: Dario Saric, second-round pick

• Hunter has the potential to end up in a sizable role in Sacramento with the Kings looking to move off some of their veterans. With the team now chasing ping pong balls, the forward could be one of the Kings’ top options in March. Despite the potential for some high-usage stretches late in the season, Hunter is just a flier in 12-team leagues. He comes with a low ceiling due to the nature of his game. Hunter is not going to do anything outside of points and threes regardless of how much he plays in Sacramento. He is currently producing a solid 19.2 PP36 and 2.3 3P36, but just 5.8 RP36, 2.8 AP36, 1.0 SP36, and 0.2 BP36 while shooting 42.3 percent from the floor. In 14-team leagues, Hunter should be added. In leagues of that size, it’s not quite as easy to find points, threes, and not much else options.
• Schroder should end up as the Cavaliers’ backup point guard. He cannot be a 12-team player in that role. At best, he’ll be a low-end 14-team league piece on nights when he comes off the bench. He should not be considered a must in 14-team leagues, but he will be a solid short-term streamer with Darius Garland still dealing with a toe issue. Ellis is just a watch for now. He will be the team’s fourth guard when the backcourt is healthy. In that role, he won’t be more than a steals streamer. Schroder and Ellis coming in should bump Lonzo Ball out of the rotation.
• This move is a mixed bag for the value of Jaylon Tyson. He’s going to get fewer minutes at the two, but this does open up some extra minutes at the three. The Cavaliers also got smaller, which ups the odds of the team having to rely on Tyson more. This move also ups the odds of Tyson getting squeezed once Max Strus is back, but that’s not a scenario we need to worry about just yet. For now, Tyson is a must-roster in all leagues and formats.
• Saric is being flipped to Detroit as part of the Ivey/Huerter deal
• Emmanuel Miller is on a two-way contract and will spend the majority of the season playing for the Cleveland Charge.

Standard League Pickups: De’Andre Hunter

Deep League Pickups: Dennis Schroder

Watch List: Keon Ellis

 

Vit Krejci to Portland for Duop Reath and two second-round picks

To Portland: Vit Krecji

To Atlanta: Duop Reath and two second-round picks

• This trade will have no impact on the Hawks’ rotation. Krecji had all but fallen out of Atlanta’s rotation before the trade. He played 27 minutes in his final game for the Hawks. However, that was due to a Jalen Johnson injury. Over the three games leading up to that contest, Krecji played a total of 18 minutes. The guard was behind both Corey Kispert and Luke Kennard in the rotation. Reath is very unlikely to be in the Hawks’ rotation and can be ignored in all leagues.
• Krecji is worth watching in Portland. He is an elite three-point shooter (42.3 3P%) who could end up as decent threes streamer if he can earn a low-20s role. That could happen with the Blazers bench being underwhelming. Krejci has needed just 22.3 MPG to average 2.2 3PG this year. The rest of his line will be very weak. The Krejci acquisition is bad news for Caleb Love, who was already likely to see his minutes decrease with Jerami Grant and Jrue Holiday healthy, and a Scoot Henderson return just around the corner. Love is fine to roster for now in 16-team leagues, but in anything shallower, he’s just a streamer.

Watch List: Vit Krecji