As the NBA offseason is all but wrapped up, and some major moves have shaken the fantasy basketball landscape. With big names like Paul George joining the 76ers and Dejounte Murray heading to the Pelicans, there’s a lot to consider for 2024-25 fantasy drafts. This recap covers the key trades and signings that could impact your decision-making come draft day.
Paul George Leaves Clippers, Joins 76ers
After a half-decade with the Clippers – mostly notable due to the team not living up to expectations – George left in free agency and joined the 76ers. He’s struggled to stay lately and played more than 56 games just once with the Clippers, which was last year’s 74 appearances. The veteran wing is still putting up All-Star-caliber numbers, but he’s become more difficult to trust over time.
In joining the 76ers, he’s not in a vastly different situation compared to his final season in LA. Last year, James Harden and Kawhi Leonard were entrusted to run the show more than George. This year, it will probably be the same with Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid. Managers probably shouldn’t downgrade George significantly due to the trade, but rather due to his age and injury history. It’s possible Embiid and Maxey take on marginally less usage as well to accommodate him, but I doubt it’s enough to put a sizeable dent in their fantasy production.
For the Clippers, this move only means more touches for Harden and Leonard. And with Leonard’s health record even worse than George’s, there will be a lot of nights where Harden is given complete reign of the offense. But at 34 years old, can we even trust Harden to stay healthy (or happy)? The Clippers project to be fighting for a Play-In spot. If things aren’t going well, will Harden and Leonard be shut down to facilitate tanking? There’s real upside with this pair, but plenty of downside.
Dejounte Murray Traded to Pelicans
After two years alongside Trae Young in Atlanta, Murray was dealt to the Pelicans for Dyson Daniels, Larry Nance, and picks. Murray is a nice fit in New Orleans on both sides of the ball and allows CJ McCollum to shift back to his natural shooting guard position. There may be mixed feelings on whether this move helps or hurts Murray, however.
On one hand, Murray doesn’t have to share the backcourt with Young – one of the highest-usage players in the NBA. On the other hand, Murray still has to share the rock with CJ McCollum, Brandon Ingram, and Zion Williamson. Out of the four players, I actually think McCollum gets affected the most, and negatively. It’s not an easy usage situation to predict, though, especially when Trey Murphy also deserves touches.
In Atlanta, the move gives Young back complete control of the offense. He’s been a walking 25-and-10 for almost his entire career, and I won’t be surprised if he posts a career-high usage rate. Other guys will fight for Murray’s usage, too. Bogdan Bogdanovic and Jalen Johnson should be the favorites to take on more touches. Could this be the year De’Andre Hunter finally does more? How ready is Zaccharie Risacher? Will Dyson Daniels find sixth-man minutes? Is this finally the year Clint Capela gets dealt and Onyeka Okongwu shines? This roster has some questions, but I don’t think Young is one of them.
Knicks Deal for Mikal Bridges
Another piece of the Villanova Knicks was added to the puzzle this summer, as the Knicks sent Bojan Bogdanovic and a haul of picks to the Nets for Bridges. Bridges is coming off a bit of a disappointing season in Brooklyn, though maybe expectations were just too high, and maybe he checked out at the end of the year. Either way, it seems like his projected role with the Knicks should be a more natural fit. He can provide secondary offense to Jalen Brunson while focusing more on the defensive end of the court, where he took second place in Defensive Player of the Year voting in 2022.
Bridges’ presence does complicate the roles of many of his teammates. Due to injuries and coach Tom Thibodeau’s unwavering rotation, we saw massive minutes for players like Donte DiVincenzo and Josh Hart last season. Those are going to be cut, and that’s before we consider Julius Randle starting the season healthy after playing just 46 games last year. He’s essentially been averaging 20-10-5 for the Knicks for five years. And even though Brunson is coming off a career year, is it really best for him to be handling that kind of usage? As much as I like all of these players, I’d rather be too late drafting them than too early.
As for the Nets – welcome to the Cam Thomas show. He broke out last year and now projects as Brooklyn’s No. 1 option with a bullet. Dennis Schroder and Cam Johnson will get their touches, but it will be nothing compared to what Thomas will be trying to pull off. Last season, with Bridges, Dennis Smith, and Spencer Dinwiddie off the court, Thomas averaged 31 points and three assists per 36 minutes. He doesn’t do much else, and he probably won’t score very efficiently this year, but the upside is appealing.
As for the rest of the team…look, I don’t have great answers for you. Schroder can approximate a starting point guard; Johnson is fine but is already 28 years old and pretty unexciting; Dorian Finney-Smith is Dorian Finney-Smith; I don’t want to talk about Ben Simmons. Nic Claxton is the second-most exciting thing about this roster, and he’s mostly just a lob-catching, shot-blocking big.
DeMar DeRozan Joins Sacramento
DeRozan was involved in a sign-and-trade with the Kings, which sent Chris Duarte and picks to the Bulls, plus Harrison Barnes to the Kings. DeRozan spent the past three years with the Bulls, where he stayed healthy and produced a pretty consistent 25-5-5 for a mediocre squad. It’s been boring, but it’s been working.
Maybe this evaluation is as simple as DeRozan takes the biggest step back, while De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis also see small usage hits. Given that DeRozan is 35 years old, I could also see him losing playing time as well. He saw 37.8 minutes per game last year and has been at 36-plus for three straight campaigns. Maybe there’s a little less for Malik Monk and Kevin Huerter, too.
So, how about the Bulls? I’m prepared for this to be one of the more frustrating fantasy basketball situations. I don’t think anyone wants Zach LaVine or Nikola Vucevic to be there, including LaVine and Vucevic. They’re just going to be vacuuming touches away from exciting young players like Josh Giddey, Coby White, and Matas Buzelis. I don’t hate the idea of drafting players from this team, but the trade deadline could be a massive swing factor in the ultimate outcome.
Bulls Trade for Josh Giddey
A declining role and personal matters put a damper on Giddey’s third year in the league. After failing to see more than 17 minutes during any game in the Thunder’s second-round playoff series against the Mavericks, it seemed inevitable that Giddey would be dealt. That ended up happening, with him going to the Bulls and Alex Caruso heading to OKC.
It seems likely that Giddey will start for Chicago, and he should have a chance to see the highest usage rate of his career away from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. To some extent, he’ll still be fighting for touches with Coby White, Zach LaVine, and Nikola Vucevic, but Chicago may be more invested in Giddey than OKC ever was. If he can also improve as a 3-point shooter and start playing some defense, that would be a major boost to his fantasy value as well.
With Giddey out of OKC, it seems Chet Holmgren becomes the de facto third option on offense behind SGA and Jalen Williams. All three players should get a bump, but Holmgren and Williams especially should take on more usage. I will be looking to target all three in fantasy. I’m fine with drafting Caruso in the later rounds, but he’s pretty injury-prone, and I could see him getting fewer touches this season.
Thunder Add Isaiah Hartenstein
Speaking of OKC, they also bolstered their frontcourt by signing Hartenstein away from the Knicks. Rebounding was a weakness for the Thunder last year, and adding a traditional center helps. It’s not clear if he’ll start alongside Holmgren, but the two figure to at least spend some time on the court together. I think Hartenstein’s workload and role will look pretty similar to last season. I could see him taking some rebounds, and maybe even some blocks, away from Homgren. But it’s not enough to convince me Holmgren will take some sort of step back.
On the New York side, Mitchell Robinson should have a clear runway to start and see close to 30 minutes regularly. But that’s more theoretical than anything. He’s never seen more than 27.5 minutes per game in a season, and he’s had a lot of trouble staying healthy. The situation sets up well for Robinson, considering his backups are less-than-convincing, but managers shouldn’t rely on him as a starting big for their fantasy team. He’s an upside swing late in drafts.
