Welcome to the first edition of the fantasy basketball mailbag column. Each Wednesday throughout the season, I'll answer any questions you may have, whether they're about adding a player off waivers, making a trade or cutting bait on a struggling member of your team.
Want to submit a question? Reach out to me on Twitter any time at @rotomikebarner. Let's get started.
How many games are you willing to wait for Mikal Bridges? 18-team league, by the way. - @WESYAP
Since this is an 18-team league, I wouldn't cut bait on Bridges anytime soon. If Kelly Oubre Jr. were to suffer an injury, Bridges would step directly into a much more prominent role. Across 43 games in which Bridges logged at least 30 minutes last season, he averaged 9.9 points, four rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.5 three-pointers a night. That type of production could be key in a league so deep.
For those of you in 10 or 12 team leagues, don't hesitate to cut Bridges loose if you need the roster spot. With Oubre healthy and playing very well, and rookie Cam Johnson also in the mix, Bridges is only averaging 19 minutes through the Suns' first four contests. That's not likely to change anytime soon, either.
Michael Porter Jr.: I get he had a season off for injury and the Nuggets want to ease him back, but when will the easing even begin? – @TheHotCorner7
The Nuggets have played four games, but their promising
Welcome to the first edition of the fantasy basketball mailbag column. Each Wednesday throughout the season, I'll answer any questions you may have, whether they're about adding a player off waivers, making a trade or cutting bait on a struggling member of your team.
Want to submit a question? Reach out to me on Twitter any time at @rotomikebarner. Let's get started.
How many games are you willing to wait for Mikal Bridges? 18-team league, by the way. - @WESYAP
Since this is an 18-team league, I wouldn't cut bait on Bridges anytime soon. If Kelly Oubre Jr. were to suffer an injury, Bridges would step directly into a much more prominent role. Across 43 games in which Bridges logged at least 30 minutes last season, he averaged 9.9 points, four rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.5 three-pointers a night. That type of production could be key in a league so deep.
For those of you in 10 or 12 team leagues, don't hesitate to cut Bridges loose if you need the roster spot. With Oubre healthy and playing very well, and rookie Cam Johnson also in the mix, Bridges is only averaging 19 minutes through the Suns' first four contests. That's not likely to change anytime soon, either.
Michael Porter Jr.: I get he had a season off for injury and the Nuggets want to ease him back, but when will the easing even begin? – @TheHotCorner7
The Nuggets have played four games, but their promising 2018 first-round pick has still yet to see the floor. There are a few factors working against Porter in terms of playing time. The Nuggets don't want to rush him after he sat out all of last season due to injury. And frankly, they don't need to. They have one of the deepest rosters in the league with quality players coming off of the bench at just about every position already.
Plus, this team not only has playoff aspirations -- they want to win the top seed in the Western Conference. They may not want to deal with the growing pains that could come with giving Porter significant playing time. Unless you're playing a keeper/dynasty format or in a very deep league, there's no need to have Porter on your roster right now. He showed some really encouraging flashes in the preseason, but he was really just a volume isolation scorer.
Which side do you prefer in a H2H league: LaMarcus Aldridge or Devonte' Graham and Lauri Markkanen? - @skhaann
This is a really close trade, so I asked the person who sent in this question for a little more context. He would be receiving Graham and Markkanen in this deal. Among the guards already on his roster are Donovan Mitchell, Devin Booker, Mike Conley Jr., Ricky Rubio and Terry Rozier. That's an impressive group. Up front, he has Aldridge, Nikola Jokic, Al Horford, JaVale McGee and Richaun Holmes. If he were to make this trade, he would likely drop Tyler Herro.
Based on that, my answer is I'd prefer to hold onto Aldridge. Markannen has a bright future and is a great source for points, rebounds and three-pointers, but he also struggles in a lot of areas. He's never shot higher than 43.4 percent from the field and has only averaged 0.6 blocks per game for his career. Meanwhile, Aldridge is shooting 49.1 percent from the field for his career and has averaged at least a block per game in all but one season since he entered the league. While I do like Graham, he's still very much unproven and is not enough to push this deal over the top, especially when you consider the guards already on this roster.
Do you think Bruno Fernando will be better than Alex Len? - @hal_dav
I'll admit, I've been higher on Len than most people have been in the industry in recent years. I really liked him joining the Hawks last season, but he only ended up averaging 20 minutes per night and spent the majority of the season coming off the bench. Even with that being the case, he still averaged 11.1 points, 5.5 rebounds, 0.9 blocks and one three-pointer.
Through four games, we're right back in the same boat with Len averaging 20 minutes per game, although this time around at least he's starting. Meanwhile, Fernando has shown a lot of promise in just 13 minutes per game, averaging 6.3 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 0.8 blocks. I could envision a path for him to get more playing time if he keeps this up, and it wouldn't surprise me if he plays even more than Len at some point during the season. If you're in a deep league, taking a flier on Fernando isn't a bad idea. For those in shallower leagues, keep him on your watch list.
With the season only a week old, are there any players you feel should be rostered that no one is talking about? Conversely, any players that were drafted that shouldn't be rostered based on playing time and/or productivity? - @DagelsBagels
While I wouldn't say no one is talking about him, I think Cody Zeller needs to get more love. He's in an ideal spot with the Hornets since they only have Willy Hernangomez and Bismack Biyombo behind him at center. He has posted a double-double in all three games he's played, averaging 16 points, 13 rebounds, one steal, one block and 1.3 three-pointers. Injuries have been a problem for him in recent seasons, but he's healthy now, so take advantage while you can. He's still available in 26 percent of CBS leagues.
Another boring veteran not to forget about is Jae Crowder, who is still available in 62 percent of leagues. He's started all four games for the Grizzlies this season, averaged 32 minutes a night. The end result has been averages of 10.3 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 2.0 three-pointers. The last time we saw him play at least 30 minutes a night was with the Celtics during the 2016-17 season. In that campaign, he averaged 13.9 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists, one steal and 2.2 three-pointers while shooting 46.3 percent from the field and 81.1 percent from the charity stripe.
In terms of a player who it might be time to drop already, I'm really worried about Tomas Satoransky. Despite starting for the Bulls, he's logged 27 minutes or fewer in all four of their games. He still hasn't scored in double-digits and only has a total of 14 assists. With Coby White and Kris Dunn behind him, averaging 30 minutes a night simply might not be attainable. White has been the more aggressive scorer off the bench so far, while Satoransky has had trouble finding his niche while playing alongside high-volume guys in Zach LaVine and Lauri Markkanen.
