Fantasy Basketball 2022: Top Pickups After NBA Trade Deadline

James Harden is reunited with Daryl Morey (per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski). Ben Simmons is a Brooklyn Net. Kristaps Porzingis was traded for…Spencer Dinwiddie and Davis Bertans (per ESPN's Tim MacMahon).

For those eager to enjoy some drama and fireworks, the NBA's 2022 trade deadline did not disappoint. The league's annual telenovela of roster movement lit basketball Twitter on fire and changed lineups across the association.

While real front offices have to adapt to their deals (or, in the case of the Los Angeles Lakers and New York Knicks, lack of deals), fantasy managers can't lag behind. Looking at players rostered in under 33 percent of Yahoo leagues, here are three names to keep an eye on.

As the Athletic's Shams Charania reported, the San Antonio Spurs traded Derrick White for the Boston Celtics' Josh Richardson. While this may feel like a simple one-for-one deal, with Richardson taking on White's role, it more realistically presents an opportunity for sophomore wing Devin Vassell.

White was playing 30.3 minutes and taking 11.6 shots per game for the Spurs, leaving quite the void behind. Richardson could certainly take up some of that mantle, but he didn't quite inspire confidence in his 24.7 minutes per game with Boston.

Vassell, by contrast, is a 21-year-old who's now showing flashes of the versatility that made him a 2020 lottery pick. Since January 1, he's taken 11.6 shots per game and is averaging 12.7 points, 2.1 threes, 4.9 rebounds and 1.0 steals. This move should open up an opportunity for San Antonio to lean into the youth movement and find out if Vassell can build momentum.

With the reports that the Dallas Mavericks are moving on from Porzingis, the frontcourt rotation opens up. While Dwight Powell obviously stands to gain from this change, Maxi Kleber is even more enticing for fantasy managers.

Kleber has already been productive in spots this season and, unlike Powell, he delivers in a number of areas that are useful for fantasy. As a big man, we've seen him hit double doubles and games with three-plus blocks, but his true upside comes in his goose neck.

Even with Kristaps in and out of the lineup, Kleber has averaged 4.5 three-point attempts per game this season. That number has the chance to increase now that KP is gone and, shooting 37.4 percent from deep this year, Kleber could become a fantasy goldmine. Tack on an 81.2-percent career free-throw rate and you have a potential fantasy jack-of-all-trades at PF/C.

A real deep cut, Jalen Smith hasn't quite made his mark on the league just yet and is understandably rostered in just 4 percent of Yahoo leagues. Still, with the Indiana Pacers trading away Domantas Sabonis and Woj's report that they've traded for Smith, there's reason to be intrigued. 

At the moment, Indiana's frontcourt rotation includes Myles Turner, rookie Isaiah Jackson and Goga Bitadze. Smith couldn't carve out much opportunity with the Phoenix Suns, but this group should be easier to infiltrate.

At Maryland, Smith averaged 15.5 points, 10.5 rebounds and, most importantly for fantasy managers, 2.4 blocks and 1.0 threes per game. For Phoenix, he showed flashes of his explosiveness and versatility in limited chances—posting multiple double-doubles, as well as games with multiple threes and blocks.

Like Kleber, if Smith can take advantage of increased opportunity, he has the skill set to carve out productive minutes for his team and hit great categories for fantasy managers.