We're about a week removed from the action-packed trade deadline, so the dust has settled, and we've gotten plenty of debuts. As expected, we have a handful of players thriving in new situations and a handful of players struggling in new environments or new situations – think Richaun Holmes in Sacramento.
Below is an overview of the most relevant players who have debuted for their new teams and how it will affect their fantasy value going forward, plus how it could affect their teammates' values.
Tyrese Haliburton, Pacers
Haliburton has been masterful since joining the Pacers, getting it done on both ends of the court during his three appearances. He's been efficient as a shooter and passer, scoring 20.7 points on 54/52/83 shooting and handing out 10.0 dimes with just 3.3 turnovers. On defense, he's averaging 2.7 steals. Notably, he's averaging 39.0 minutes and taking on a ton of usage while Malcolm Brogdon (Achilles) has still been sidelined, but the roster is relatively barren beyond that. Haliburton's shooting efficiency will normalize, but expecting 20-and-10 from Haliburton regularly isn't asking too much.
Buddy Hield, Pacers
Coach Rick Carlisle hasn't been shy about giving Hield as many minutes as he can handle, with the sharpshooter averaging 39.0 minutes in his first three appearances. His most recent appearance saw him pop for a season-high 36 points, and he nearly triple-doubled in his debut with a 16/9/8 line. He's taken at least 17 shots and 10 threes during his three Pacers efforts, and it appears Indiana will be featuring him much more than Sacramento did. His usage could decrease when Malcolm Brogdon returns, and Chris Duarte has essentially missed the past two games, but the Pacers' roster is so thin, Hield's role should certainly remain increased compared to his time on the Kings recently.
Domantas Sabonis, Kings
Surprisingly, Sabonis struggled in his most recent appearance against the poor frontline of the Nets, but he was good before that, notably posting 22/14/5 in his debut against the Timberwolves. I'm still worried about the fit in Sacramento with the lack of three-point shooting around Sabonis and Fox, but Sabonis wasn't necessarily working with the best spacing in Indiana, either. Ultimately, it seems fair for fantasy managers to expect relatively similar numbers out of Sabonis moving forward. The All-Star break will probably be critical for this team to figure out how to change the offense with Sabonis around. Fantasy managers with Richaun Holmes have suffered massive collateral damage, as he's totaled just 12 points and six rebounds since Sabonis arrived. He seems like a drop.
CJ McCollum, Pelicans
McCollum hasn't been shy about establishing his role within the Pelicans' offense. His statistical profile through four games in New Orleans is extremely similar to his time with the Trail Blazers. With the Pels, McCollum has averaged 26.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 1.3 steals on shooting splits of 51/33/83. The bigger story is probably Devonte' Graham becoming a shell of himself (which he arguably already was since the start of January). Fantasy managers who have been desperately clinging to Graham's three-point and assist production may just need to admit defeat and stream the spot. Since McCollum arrived, Graham has averaged 5.8 points on 8.0 shots, 4.0 assists and 2.5 rebounds in 24.8 minutes.
Justise Winslow, Trail Blazers
After an underwhelming debut against the Bucks on Feb. 5, Winslow has entered the starting five and officially become intriguing, if not exciting, as a waiver wire pickup. The injury-prone, somewhat-positionless 25-year-old has bounced around recently and appears to have found a team in a bad enough rebuilding situation to just start him and see what happens. He's shown upside in the past, and that's coming to fruition in Portland to the tune of 12.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 2.3 steals and 1.0 blocks. The 47/24/57 shooting splits are bad, but we've actually seen worse from him. Is he a good NBA player? Probably not. Can he stuff the stat sheet? Absolutely.
Josh Hart, Trail Blazers
It looks like Hart may take on increased scoring opportunities with the Trail Blazers. In his first two games, he's taken a combined 28 field-goal attempts, plus 10 free throws. He's racked up 50 points, eight rebounds, seven assists, two blocks and one steal in an average of 36.5 minutes. He'll still cede some offensive possessions to Anfernee Simons and Jusuf Nurkic, but Hart will have plenty of chances to up his scoring average through the remainder of the season. We could end up seeing the best stretch of his career coming up.
Seth Curry, Nets
Curry wasted no time establishing himself in Brooklyn's depleted offense, posting 23 points on 18 shots, seven rebounds and five assists in 32 minutes. Things will become more complicated when Ben Simmons debuts, when Kyrie Irving plays on the road, and when Kevin Durant (knee) returns. But how often will the new Big 3 actually be on the court together? It seems like we could get some up-and-down performances from everyone involved. Fantasy managers holding Curry shouldn't feel bad about the new situation in general, however. There will be plenty of shots for the sharpshooter.
Andre Drummond, Nets
Drummond saw 24 minutes in his debut despite the rest of the Nets' center rotation being healthy, as Nicolas Claxton was booted from the rotation and Blake Griffin saw just three minutes. Drummond posted 11 points, nine rebounds, four assists, two steals and one block. It would be surprising if Claxton remained out of the rotation, but the frontcourt situation seems quite fluid for Steve Nash. Drummond is worth a speculative add since he can be fantasy-relevant in 12-teamers if he sees minutes in the mid-20s. After the All-Star break, fantasy managers holding Claxton need to be on high alert.
Derrick White, Celtics
White's production has been modest in his first three games with the Celtics. He's come off the bench and averaged 13.3 points on 11.7 shots, 3.7 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.0 steals in 28.0 minutes. Encouragingly, Boston has won all three games, though that doesn't matter for fantasy. It seems likely this will be White's role going forward, and fantasy managers rostering him should prepare for a fair dip in production.
Spencer Dinwiddie, Mavericks
Dinwiddie saw 24 minutes in his debut. He struggled shooting (four points on five shots) but handed out five assists in 23 minutes. It would be surprising if he saw more usage than that consistently, as he's competing with Jalen Brunson and Luka Doncic for minutes and touches. Fantasy managers with Dinwiddie are used to his up-and-down production, but this could end up being the final nail in the coffin. In his past 11 games, he's averaging 7.9 points on 27/24/72 shooting, 5.9 assists and 4.8 rebounds in 28.8 minutes.
Davis Bertans, Mavericks
Bertans wasn't shy in his debut, firing up seven threes in 13 minutes for 12 points, three rebounds and one assist. He figures to get more open looks than with the Wizards since better passers now surround him, but it'll be tough for him to have fantasy relevance if he can't crack the 25-minute mark consistently, and that's not a guarantee. He's worth flagging if you are in desperate need of threes.
