The NBA trade deadline came and went and perhaps the biggest news was not about the players that did switch franchises, but the players that did not.
Fantasy managers, of course, must always react to trades that do and do not happen and be ready to evaluate when player value rises -- and falls.
Here are the fantasy winners and losers from Thursday's NBA trade deadline.
Impacted positively
DeMar DeRozan, SF/SG, Chicago Bulls (rostered in 99.6% of ESPN standard leagues): The Bulls opted to keep DeRozan, PG/SG Alex Caruso, C Andre Drummond and everyone else in place, which seems like an odd decision for the East's No. 9 team. DeRozan, 34 and averaging 40.3 ESPN fantasy points per game thanks to all the usage he wants, may be the biggest fantasy winner of the trade deadline because he was not traded.
Imagining him getting lost next to LeBron James and Anthony Davis on the Lakers would not have been pleasant for fantasy investors. DeRozan remains a Bull. He is second to Luka Doncic at 37.4 MPG, and now that number - and his production - should not drop.
Buddy Hield, SG/SF, Philadelphia 76ers (65.4%): Hield's numbers bear little resemblance to last season, when he averaged 16.8 PPG, 3.6 3PG and 32.1 ESPN fantasy points per game. This season, nearly half of it coming off the bench, Hield averages 12 PPG, 2.6 3PG and 25.3 fantasy points per game. The 76ers coveted a lethal outside shooter to spread the floor, whether Joel Embiid is on the court or not, and they get one of the top volume shooters around. Expect Hield to start, at least until injured De'Anthony Melton returns (whenever that may be), and he should get his statistics back to typical expectations. Adding Hield should also aid Tyrese Maxey, who has been mostly flummoxed sans Embiid.
Meanwhile, the 76ers failed to improve their situation at center (Kelly Olynyk went to Raptors; Andre Drummond remains a Bull), so Paul Reed remains the starter while Embiid sits out February/March. Reed is inconsistent, but he scored 38 fantasy points in Wednesday's loss to the Warriors, so there is some upside. Dare to dream about Drummond averaging 15 RPG as a starter for the 76ers.
P.J. Washington, PF, Dallas Mavericks (62.8%): Somewhat similarly to Hield, Washington's statistics sure looked a whole lot better a season ago, when he started regularly, saw more minutes, shots and all that goes with it. Washington should start at power forward for the Mavericks, and while one may view him as an offensive spare part next to ball-happy guards Doncic and Kyrie Irving, there is great opportunity here. Do not compare him to Grant Williams, sent back to Charlotte in this trade. Washington is a better, more versatile fantasy option, and he will show it right away.
Ausar Thompson, SF/SG, Detroit Pistons (41%): The Pistons should be giving the No. 5 pick in the NBA draft as many minutes as he can handle now that Bojan Bogdanovic (Knicks) is gone. Thompson has played 50 games so far, half as a starter (10.9 PPG, 8.4 RPG, 1.3 BPG) and half off the bench (5.8 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 0.6 BPG). Don't mess this up, Pistons. They could play deadline acquisition Simone Fontecchio (formerly of the Jazz) over Thompson, but that seems illogical. Then again, it is the Pistons, though. The Bogdanovic trade also aids PG/SG Jaden Ivey, the No. 5 pick from the 2022 draft. Ivey scored 37 traditional points and 55 fantasy points with Cade Cunningham and Bogdanovic out Wednesday. Add Ivey in fantasy (48.6%), too.
Impacted negatively
Dejounte Murray, PG/SG, Atlanta Hawks (99.2%): Murray remains a solid enough fantasy option, averaging 21.4 PPG, 5.2 APG and 39.2 ESPN fantasy points per game. Still, his pairing next to Hawks icon Trae Young is a clunky one statistically. We have seen Murray pile on triple-doubles and offer first-round fantasy production when he runs an offense. He cannot run Atlanta's offense playing next to Young. The fact that the Hawks kept Murray around not only makes little sense for the franchise, but it doesn't make fantasy managers as happy as they may have been.
Daniel Gafford/Dereck Lively II, C, Dallas Mavericks (76.5% and 17.5%): It is possible the Mavericks give Gafford, finally having his best NBA season, the starter's minutes he had in Washington, but that would entail Lively heading to the bench. Regardless, each player seems likely to see a reduction in minutes and, as a result, production. Gafford averages 34.2 ESPN fantasy points per game, topping quite a few centers rostered in more leagues (Myles Turner, Jonas Valanciunas, Jusuf Nurkic), but it may not continue. Monitor the situation before dumping Gafford.
Washington's PF/C Marvin Bagley III, if he can return to health, figures to gain considerable value for the Wizards. He is averaging 15.5 PPG and 8.4 RPG since his acquisition. Those numbers may rise now. Someone has to play in the post for this team.
Spencer Dinwiddie, SG/PG, free agent for now (79.4%): Dinwiddie's production didn't match his draft day attention or current roster figures, but at least he started for the Nets. He may not start for whatever team ends up signing him. The Raptors acquired Dinwiddie, but they were set with former Knick Immanuel Quickley averaging 16.8 PPG and 6.3 APG as their starting point, so they released him. Dinwiddie will find work and he has played off-the-ball before, but it is tough to see a contender present him with 30 MPG. This is simply another reminder that Dinwiddie is rostered in a few too many fantasy leagues.
Bojan Bogdanovic, PF/SF, New York Knicks (47.2%): Bogdanovic averaged 32.9 MPG for the Pistons this season, along with 20.2 PPG, but his keeping those averages and more than 15 field goal attempts per game for his new team seems a tad unlikely. The Knicks depend on playing strong defense. That is not what Bogdanovic is known for. Bogdanovic may start at the three while Julius Randle heals from a shoulder injury, but Randle may return this month. Bogdanovic and Alec Burks, who came together from Detroit, are likely bench options, though productive ones. Hey, good for the Knicks, who really needed these scorers, but Bogdanovic seems unlikely to average 20 PPG for the Knicks, thus his fantasy value falls.