HERE WE GO! NBA trade deadline day has arrived and I’m looking forward to a busy day of wheeling and dealing. I took the day off from my day job just so that I would have zero distractions so that I can troll Twitter all day long from 7am through the deadline to deliver every bit of trade info you crave right here as it happens. When a deal is announced on Twitter, I will immediately post the deal here followed by the fantasy implications of each deal, not only for the players involved but also the players on the teams involved.

Some names that we’ve been hearing a lot of rumbles about recently as candidates to be dealt are Goran Dragic, Reggie Jackson, Kevin Martin, Thaddeus Young, Arron Afflalo, Wilson Chandler, Lance Stephenson, Enes Kanter and Brandon Bass. And those are just the names being mentioned the most. A lot of deals come from out of nowhere. The way all the teams in the Western Conference are battling for playoff spots and positioning and the top few teams in the East are trying to solidify their rosters for a championship run, there will be a lot of GMs looking to make a move happen.

Any one trade that goes down can cause a huge shake up to your fantasy league based on who owns a player whose value takes a big jump up or down. If Enes Kanter leaves Utah, Rudy Gobert becomes an absolute beast the rest of the way. If Dragic is dealt, his value could go up or down depending on where he lands. Eric Bledsoe and Isaiah Thomas (IT especially) would get nice boosts in value the rest of the way. If Kevin Martin is traded to a team like Dallas where he’d come off the bench thus getting a good bit less shots, his value would drop immensely.

What I strongly advise is for you to look at your roster and decide right now who you would drop if a player that’s a free agent becomes a must add after a trade goes down. You don’t want to see a trade, then look and teeter back and forth on who to drop and miss out because you hesitated. Be ready to strike as soon as news comes down.

OK, from here on out it will be wait and see. The deadline is at 3pm EST, so I’ll be right here ready to dish it out through that time. Let’s hope there’s a lot of moves especially ones that benefit our fantasy teams.

TRADES:

— The Denver Nuggets trade Arron Afflalo and Alonzo Gee to the Portland Trailblazers for Thomas Robinson, Victor Claver, Will Barton and a future 1st round pick.

Analysis: Arron Afflalo is borderline droppable now. He wasn’t playing overly well lately anyways and now will come off the bench behind Wesley Matthews. I understand if you want to wait this out a couple of games, but if someone good is on your wire or becomes more valuable today, I’m fine with cutting bait here. None of the other players involved will see changes in fantasy value. Wilson Chandler should see even more usage for the Nuggets now so his value will go up a tick.

— The Sacramento Kings trade Ramon Sessions to the Washington Wizards for Andre Miller.

Analysis: This gives Ramon Sessions a small boost for deeper leagues but he’ll still remain a backup, so there’s not a lot of upside here unless Beal were to miss extended time which isn’t likely. Andre Miller was only playing 12 minutes a night so Sessions will probably see under 20 minutes pending an injury. Andre Miller is not fantasy relevant even reunited with old coach and friend George Karl.

— The Denver Nuggets trade JaVale McGee and a 1st round pick to the Philadelphia 76ers for um, nothing.

Analysis: I’d be lying if I said I knew how JaVale would be used in Philly or how he’ll perform. Since he’s still not completely over his leg issue his minutes will likely stay limited to the low-20s or less. Henry Sims will lose some playing time. I wouldn’t be rushing to add JaVale in standard leagues but may be worth a shot in much deeper leagues. Just one less guy in Denver to stop Jusuf Nurkic from getting major minutes the rest of the way. The Nuggets have earned two nice sized trade exceptions with their moves today.

Guy’s the Earth just shook in the final 20 minutes of the deadline. SO MUCH JUST CHANGED! It’s nearly impossible to tell which deals were part of which deals so I’m going to change the format some below. Just know that while I can’t confirm which teams were involved in which exact deals but I can assure you that this is where the players below are ending up. Earlier I was listing even irrelevant players because it was slow, but the way this all went down I am not going to waste any of our time letting you know John Salmons went to Phoenix, Zoran Dragic went to Miami, etc… *Takes deep breath* OK… Let’s do the damn thing.

— Goran Dragic traded to the Miami Heat.

Analysis: This is a great move for both the Heat and Suns. Well, it’s unfortunate for the Suns to lose him but under the circumstances they got two future 1st round picks for a guy who was leaving anyways. The Heat get a true starting point guard that they have lacked for a long time. Dragic’s fantasy value goes up in this deal as he doesn’t have to play off the ball near as much and he should be top-30 the rest of the way.

— Isaiah Thomas traded to the Boston Celtics.

Analysis: We knew all week that Dragic or IT would likely be on the move, we didn’t expect both to be gone. Regardless, Thomas will be the starting point guard in Boston now — sorry Marcus Smart owners, he’s a drop now — and this new gig makes him a much better player for his fantasy owners. We all assumed his rise in value would simply be just from Dragic leaving but this is even better. Expect to see lines like he posted as a starter last season for the Kings (20 points, three boards, six assists, 1.3 steals, 1.8 treys, 45% from field and 85% from FT line on 5+ FTA). Also, as if that wasn’t enough, IT now goes from the Suns with a 3-3-3 playoff schedule to the Celtics who have a perfect 4-4-4. Stud. “Wait, who did the Suns get back though?”

— Brandon Knight traded to the Phoenix Suns.

Analysis: Wow, this was basically out of nowhere as Knight has been amazing for the Bucks this season, but it’s always been swirled about that Coach Kidd prefers a pass-first point guard (which he got in this deal) over one who looks to score. Knight will still have a big role with his new team although he’ll play off the ball a lot more with Eric Bledsoe running the show mostly. His assists could drop a couple down to like 3.5 or four, maybe? While his value dips a little and he loses a couple of games for those in H2H playoffs, but he should remain owned in all leagues. Eric Bledsoe owners got what they wanted in this deal, too. He’ll be an elite point guard the rest of the way. “Wait, but who will be the Bucks point guard?”

— Michael Carter-Williams traded to the Milwaukee Bucks.

Analysis: I told you things got crazy, right? Jason Kidd brings in a pass first point guard who has the triple-double abilities that he once did. Kidd also can relate to MCW’s shooting woes as a young player and can show him what he did to go from a poor shooter to a great three point shooter later in his career. MCW will have a lot more help around him now than he did in Philly and while that could be viewed as a bad thing, it’s also a good thing. He won’t have to force things anymore and will have shooters around him capable of hitting open looks. He’ll continue to be a stat sheet filler, no doubt. “Wait, who will be the Sixers point guard?”

— Isaiah Canaan traded to the Philadelphia 76ers.

Analysis: “I thought you said you weren’t going to mention irrelevant players, Zack?” Right… but there’s no such thing as being irrelevant in Philly. Look at their roster now, there’s even less there than before and Canaan really looks to be about all they’ve got at point guard. Canaan put up some decent stats when he started for Houston and that’s around a MUCH better team, if he’s named the starter in Philly he may be a big time pick up the rest of the way. I think you have to give him a look even in standard leagues right now just in case he does get the gig. I’d drop D.J. Augustin for him. “Wait, why would we drop DJ? He’s been balling!”

— Reggie Jackson traded to the OKC Thuder for D.J. Augustin and Kyle Singler.

Analysis: There it is! Hopefully you stashed Reggie Jackson ahead of time in anticipation of him landing in a place that would amplify his fantasy game. Well, he did. He goes to Detroit as DJA exits to be a backup in OKC — yes he’s droppable — and will be the starting point guard for them the rest of the season as Brandon Jennings is out with an injury. Jackson isn’t going to be happy just starting though, he’s a free agent in the off-season so he’ll be playing his tail off trying to get a huge pay day. We recently saw a report that he turned down a four year offer similar to that of Kemba Walker ($48mil) and he turned it down. If he wants superstar money, he’s going to have to prove he deserves it these next couple months. He should be owned in all leagues and could help you win a title if you have him.

This is a tough blow for Augustin owners because you obviously thought you netted a starting point guard playing at a high level for the rest of the year but that is all over now. He’ll backup Russell Westbrook now and it’s doubtful he’ll see enough playing time to be owned anywhere.

— Enes Kanter traded to the OKC Thunder.

Analysis: You all know how much joy this one brings me. Not sure how to explain this, there’s a word I’m looking for but I can’t put my thumb on it, oh yeah there it is – GOOOOBERRRRTTTTTT! I am not going to hit you with an “I told you so” I am just going to say that I hope you’ve been listening to my non-stop insistence to hold on to Rudy Gobert this season. If you did, congratulations, the beast has been set free. Gobert is now a starter and should see big time minutes the rest of the way likely averaging a double-double (with huge rebound totals) and 2-3 blocks.

Kanter is tough to guess on with OKC. I’m guessing he’ll start at center at least until Steven Adams gets back. Maybe his play between now and then will determine if he continues starting or moves to an off the bench role. Either way he should see decent minutes but he’s not a huge fantasy asset anyways. He really only was a plus player in points and rebounds and now his points likely drop a bit more. If you own him currently and there’s nothing must add on the wire, I guess you can watch his first couple games before deciding if he’s rosterable but I am doubtful on that. This is definitely a big hit to the temporary value that Mitch McGary was grasping on to.

— Timberwolves trade Thaddeus Young to the Nets for Kevin Garnett.

Analysis: Well, this one looks odd, huh? Thad should slot right in as the starting power forward for the Nets and should keep up his recent stats or at least really close to it. Garnett to Minnesota isn’t ideal as we all were hoping to see a clearer path paved for Gorgui Dieng but we didn’t totally get it. Looks like we’ll need Nikola Pekovic to get injured again for Dieng to return to his early season stats which were great. Don’t drop Dieng just yet though, wait and see how Flip Saunders uses KG and company first.

Few small notes: Norris Cole was traded to the Pelicans and has an outside chance to start at point guard while Jrue Holiday is out if they prefer to use Evans at SF. I can’t recommend him as an add though in standard leagues but at least keep tabs on this situation. K.J. McDaniels was dealt to Houston and is not worthy of owning now. Kendrick Perkins was dealt to Utah but will almost surely be bought out. All of the top contenders will be trying to lure him to play off the bench in their playoff runs but he’s not a fantasy option. Miles Plumlee went to the Bucks and is still not a fantasy asset but this is good news for Alex Len and Brandan Wright. Len is worth monitoring closely but Wright is only an add in really deep leagues right now.

For more fantasy hoops analysis and to have any questions you may have answered, follow Zack on Twitter @BigZack44