The NBA season is a long one, filled with plenty of unpredictable turns and, when it comes to fantasy basketball and NBA fantasy players to drop in basketball leagues, it’s very important to remember it’s a marathon and not a sprint. Injuries and opportunity are two key factors that play a very important role in fantasy performances over the course of the season. While some general managers will stick with known commodities despite slow starts, we have a big enough sample size by now to feel comfortable dropping a handful of players that just haven’t met our expectations this season. Here is a look at four NBA fantasy players to drop in basketball leagues this week.
Kobe Bryant
Los Angeles Lakers
Anybody that is still holding on to the 37-year-old Bryant in a league that includes field-goal percentage as a category has to be insane. His .337 field goal percentage is atrocious enough that it has likely cost you that category every single week to this point. Bryant isn’t close to the player he once was, but with the Lakers tanking, they still feel very comfortable letting him do his thing and throw up a ton of shots every night even though the majority of them aren’t falling. Bryant has averaged 16.5 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game this season and he’s not giving you much else across the board. Yes, the 1.1 steals and 1.8 threes are nice, but remember this was a player drafted somewhat early in many drafts and the expectations were higher. His lack of efficiency and the fact that he will be in tough to play every game this year are two key factors that should lead to consider dropping him. If you’re in a deeper league, you still keep him but players in 10 or eight-team leagues can cut him loose.
Robin Lopez
New York Knicks
Lopez was a quality fantasy center over the past couple of years with the Portland Trail Blazers and , while some figured his numbers could improve in New York where the Knicks would need to lean on him more, that has not been the case at all. The 27-year-old has hit just 49% of his shots from the field while averaging 7.2 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game this season. There has been no indication that he will play a bigger role as the season progresses. Lopez has been a bust to this point in New York and his upside isn’t high enough to hold on to him any longer at this point.
Danny Green
San Antonio Spurs
Green earned a big contract from the Spurs this past off season, thanks in big part to his shooting ability after he hit 44% of his shots from the field and 42.3% of his threes over his previous four seasons combined. However, Green has struggled early on this year and his biggest strength has become a major weakness, as he has hit just 33% of his shots from the field and only 30% from three. Green has averaged 7.0 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.0 assists despite playing 26.7 minutes per game this season. Until he finds his shot there is absolutely no reason to own him in fantasy basketball leagues.
Jeremy Lamb
Charlotte Hornets
The 23-year-old Lamb started the season on fire for the Hornets, but he has struggled with his shot at times – including in the month of December when he has been held below 37% from the field. It’s likely that the contract extension that the Hornets gave him might have been a tad premature. Lamb seems to be secure in his role with Charlotte and that could be enough for some GM’s to hold on to him a little longer in fantasy basketball leagues, but he has averaged just 9.7 points and 3.8 rebounds per game so far this month. Until he improves his overall shooting totals, it might be better to look elsewhere when it comes to the guard position in fantasy basketball leagues.
