With the NBA Trade Deadline approaching next Thursday, all eyes are on the teams and players at the center of trade rumors. Every deal has the potential to shake up fantasy basketball, impacting the value of both the players on the move and those on teams gaining or losing key personnel.
Separately, fantasy values continue to shift around the league even for players who aren’t traded. We still have injuries, changing rotations and other factors to consider.
With that in mind, below is a list of five players to target in fantasy trades and five to consider trading away, based on their current trends and projected outlook for the rest of the season.
Players to trade for
Amen Thompson, SG/SF/PF, Houston Rockets: Thompson was boom or bust earlier in the season when he was coming off the bench, but he’s been money for the last month-plus since moving into the starting lineup. Thompson is a nightly double-double threat with excellent defensive numbers, and his game has drawn so much attention I can’t imagine him moving back to smaller role even when Jabari Smith Jr. returns from injury
Tyler Herro, PG/SG, Miami Heat: In 21 games without Jimmy Butler this season, Herro has averaged 24.8 PPG, 6.0 APG, 5.7 RPG and 4.0 3PG, all better than his season averages, which themselves would represent significant career-best marks. The depth of the public feud between Butler and Heat management would suggest that Butler may have played his last game in a Heat uniform. If so, that could lock Herro in as a potential top-25 fantasy hoops option moving forward.
Malik Monk, SG/SF, Sacramento Kings: Monk is also having a career campaign across the board, averaging personal bests in scoring, rebounding, assists, steals, blocks, 3-pointers made and free throw percentage. A closer look reveals that his numbers have spiked since he returned from a seven-game absence in November, particularly as a scorer and distributor. In his last 28 games, Monk has averaged 20.1 PPG, 7.0 APG and 2.8 3PG. Even if the dynamic on the Kings remains the same moving forward, Monk’s value is closer to these numbers than his season-long stats, making him a good player to trade for. But, there are also heavy rumors that De’Aaron Fox may be traded away. If that happens, Monk is likely to take on an even larger offensive role and generate more fantasy production down the stretch.
De’Andre Hunter, SF/PF, Atlanta Hawks: Hunter played himself into Sixth Man of the Year consideration late in 2024, averaging 22.4 PPG and 3.2 3PG during a 16-game span beginning in late November and continuing until Jan. 1. He hit a small lull early in 2025, particularly as he dealt with illness and injury that kept him out of three games and may have slowed him in others. But, with the news that Jalen Johnson is done for the season, the Hawks will be more reliant on Hunter to produce. He has shown major signs of taking on that responsibility this week, averaging 25.3 PPG.
Joel Embiid, C, Philadelphia 76ers: Yes, Embiid has had a nightmare season, playing in only 13 of the 76ers’ first 46 games with a current absence string of 14 games and counting. But through all the hardships of the season, the 76ers are on a four-game winning streak that has them tied for the last play-in slot… only four games out of the sixth seed. Embiid’s stated goal entering the season was to be healthy for the playoffs, and the silver lining of all the missed time is that if he does get well enough to play he should be relatively fresh. And his fantasy trade value is as low as it can get right now, so those willing to take the huge risk of trading for him could take a swing on a player with best-in-the-game upside at a much lower than typical cost.
Player to trade away
Trae Young, PG, Atlanta Hawks: Young seems like he is in trade rumors every year, but the conditions this season seem more ripe for a trade than ever. The Hawks have been in play-in purgatory for three straight seasons, and at 22-26 they would be in the play-in yet again if the season ended today. LosingJohnson for the rest of the season just compounds the sense that this is a lost campaign. If the Hawks do decide to pivot into a rebuild and trade Young, it’s unlikely that many destinations would give Young the level of green light and opportunity that he has enjoyed in Atlanta. Thus, if Young is moved it is likely to lower his fantasy value for the rest of the season.
Zach LaVine, SG/SF, Chicago Bulls: LaVine is another player who has flexed his offensive production in a role with a major green light on a below-average team, and he is almost always in trade rumors. His value would decrease if he’s moved this season. LaVine has averaged 27.9 PPG since the calendar flipped to 2025, but on a whopping 19.2 FGA. If he is traded to any team with playoff aspirations, it is difficult to imagine there will be enough shots available for him to approach that kind of volume in the second half of the season.
Kyle Kuzma, SF/PF, Washington Wizards: Kuzma averaged 21.7 PPG during the last two seasons with the Wizards, but he’s down to 14.5 PPG this season. Some of that drop was due to injury, particularly a rib issue that has impacted him for most of the season. But, Kuzma will also turn 30 years old this summer, and is playing on the team with the worst record in the NBA; the Wizards are in full-blown rebuild mode. If he remains a Wizard, Kuzma is unlikely to see his typical shot share moving forward as the team tries to see what it has with its young players. And if Kuzma is traded to a contender, his shot share likely decreases on a more talented team that is looking to win. Either way, I don’t see his value recovering to typical levels for the rest of the season.
Bradley Beal, SG/SF, Phoenix Suns: Beal moved to a bench role for the Suns earlier this month, and his numbers off the bench have been solid if unspectacular: 14.9 PPG, 4.2 APG, 1.6 3PG, 50.0 FG%, 79.3 FT%. But he is unlikely to have any chance to improve those numbers moving forward, with his production minutes and role capped in Phoenix. Beal joins LeBron James as one of only two players in the NBA to have a no-trade clause in his contract, and thus full veto-power on any potential trade away from the Suns. It has been reported that he would consider a trade to the Bucks, but if he were traded there his role and production ceiling wouldn’t be any higher. Either way, he is a trade prospect now because his value is unlikely to improve this season.
Devin Vassell, SG/SF, San Antonio Spurs: He was expected to be Wemby’s lieutenant on the Spurs offense, likely going over 20 PPG in his fifth NBA campaign. Instead, he has taken a step back to average 16.3 PPG. Unfortunately, circumstances make it unlikely for his scoring to increase moving forward. There are heavy rumors swirling that the Spurs may trade for De’Aaron Fox. If they do, and Vassell stays, he would be relegated to a third option at best. If he’s moved in the deal, the Kings also have an offensive hierarchy and Vassell would be probably fourth behind DeMar DeRozan, Domantas Sabonis and Malik Monk. Even if Vassell stays in San Antonio, rookie Stephon Castle has moved into the starting lineup and revved his scoring up to 18.0 PPG in his last seven games. Castle would likely eat into Vassell’s scoring opportunities moving forward, keeping Vassell from re-attaining his levels from last season.