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2026 Fantasy Baseball Catcher Draft Rankings

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We’re three weeks from the Feb. 5 NBA Trade Deadline, and the smoke is getting thicker around some major names. Let’s cut through the noise and focus on what actually matters for your fantasy basketball roster.

Ja Morant: They Don’t Want You to Ball

Memphis is entertaining offers for its two-time All-Star, and ESPN’s Shams Charania reports that “Miami, Sacramento and multiple other teams have a level of interest” in Morant, with the Grizzlies seeking young players and draft picks.

The numbers this season aren’t good for Ja’s standards: 19.0 PPG on 40.1% shooting — both career lows — while connecting on just 20.8% from 3. He’s played only 18 games this year due to injuries and that one-game suspension. Add in the off-the-court stuff and his recent argument with teammate Vince Williams Jr. ahead of Thursday’s Berlin game … yeah, the Ja era is a wrap.

There’s too much friction between Ja and the front office. Now, it’s bleeding into their locker room. A pivot from Morant is the right move. And if future picks and young players are the goal, ship Jaren Jackson Jr. out, too. JJJ’s agent, Rich Paul, is already lobbying for it in the media (smh). Either way, this team is done with Morant — a trade is coming.

Fantasy take: If you have Ja, you wait this out. Or trade him — much like real-life, you’d be selling low. Of the rumored teams, I like Miami most if it can move Tyler Herro. A team no one is mentioning, but it works in Brooklyn, too. The real winner, however, would be Cam Spencer (25% rostered). He’s become a huge asset for assists and stat-stuffing among guards.

Jonathan Kuminga: DNPs with no guarantees

Kuminga becomes trade-eligible Jan. 15 and the situation could move fast. He’s been collecting DNPs throughout the season, averaging just 11.8 PPG on 43.1% shooting in 24.8 minutes after starting the year at 17.2 PPG through nine games. Steve Kerr’s made him essentially unplayable, and Jake Fischer reports that “there’s not a very robust market.” I’ve seen the Lakers, Kings and Bulls connected to JK interest. 

Whoever Golden State decides to deal with, per Fischer, it wants “a legitimate rotational piece (or two)” in return (who doesn’t?). It also won’t take on long-term money with Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green’s deals expiring in 2027. The Warriors apparently want Michael Porter Jr. (more on him in a second), but that would likely take another team to pull off. It’s hard to see the Dubs doing anything after devaluing their former lottery pick to this degree — truly nasty work.

Fantasy take: Nothing to see here. Kuminga is only 23. However, he’s not a good fantasy player in 9-cat or High Score formats. Deep standard points leagues, I could get behind him, depending on the landing spot. Brooklyn would be ideal with no MPJ. I could also see Chicago, too, but it has more talent to take touches away from JK, which is, like, the whole point. He wants a star role and has yet to show enough consistency and opportunity to showcase that “upside.” L.A. is not it either.

Michael Porter Jr.: Brooklyn’s finest trade chip

MPJ is having a career year in Brooklyn — 25.9 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 3.3 AST on 49/40/84 splits. John Hollinger of The Athletic called Porter “a lock” to be traded. Then there’s Marc Stein, who’s hearing Brooklyn might not want to move him.

Brooklyn owes Houston an unprotected 2027 pick swap, so tanking next year doesn’t help. Porter’s 27 and having his best season by a long shot; All-Star worthy. But he carries some injury history (bad back) and is surely going to want a pay increase after becoming a star in BK. He’s highly coveted right now and the Nets should consider selling high. Whether it’s to a contender or middling team looking for a boost, take the best offer of picks and young assets. If it makes it happen, let’s hope it doesn’t draft any more PGs.

Fantasy take: Porter’s a top-35 asset across formats. If he gets moved, his efficiency might dip with fewer touches. If he stays, he keeps eating. Either way, he’s a hold.

Anthony Davis: Latest injury puts fantasy managers in a bind

Rich Paul wants Dallas to trade Anthony Davis despite AD’s hand injury, which is expected to sideline him for at least six weeks. ESPN’s Tim MacMahon reports it’s “very clear” that this is Paul’s priority. The Mavericks aren’t budging. “Rich Paul is not going to bully us,” a Dallas source told MacMahon.

Davis is averaging 20.4 PPG and 11.1 RPG when healthy, but he’s played just 20 games. He’s owed $54.1M this year. He’s racked up more injuries than 20-point games since joining the Mavs. To think an extension is on the way is pretty wild considering his availability issues.

Fantasy take: Davis opted against surgery and will be out at least six weeks. Fantasy managers holding AD should want him to be traded so that there’s more onus on the team that acquired him to get an early return on their investment. A tanking Dallas team has no incentive to rush him back. If you have him, hold through the deadline and pray for a trade. Otherwise, he’ll become cut bait like Zach Edey.

Zach LaVine: Milwaukee’s Desperation Play

Milwaukee has “done recent due diligence” on Sacramento’s Zach LaVine, per Sam Amick of The Athletic, with Marc Stein adding LaVine’s camp might decline his $49M option to facilitate a deal. Chris Haynes reports the Bucks are in “desperate pursuit” of adding talent.

The money’s ugly: LaVine’s making $47.5M. Milwaukee would need to deal Kyle Kuzma, Bobby Portis and potentially add a third team. The Bucks are over the second apron and don’t control their first pick until 2031. They also aren’t good on defense, allowing 116 points per 100 possessions, which ranks 20th in the NBA.

LaVine’s averaging 20.0 PPG on solid splits, but at 30, he’s not moving anyone’s needle, especially on defense.

Fantasy take: He needs out of Sac Town in the worst way. It’s not working, so as long as the Kings can figure out how to move two of LaVine, Russell Westbrook, DeMar DeRozan and Domantas Sabonis, the better it’ll be for everyone. Bucks would be a strong landing spot for LaVine, though. Portis would have more value than Kuzma anywhere, but I’d be most curious to see what happens with Ryan Rollins. He’s having a career year, but anyone entering the fray with LaVine’s skill set changes things.

Final Thoughts

We always want to see active trade deadlines, but in the era of this new CBA and aprons, I think all the smoke will dissipate with limited movement overall. And if we’re being honest? The biggest name hovering over all of this isn’t even officially on the market; the Bucks are 11-18, and every team will be quietly running the math on what it would take to land Giannis Antetokounmpo. That’s the real domino, the one everyone’s waiting to see if it falls.

After months of offseason drama, Jonathan Kuminga and the Golden State Warriors appear to be headed for a split. The 23-year-old forward reportedly requested a trade Thursday, the first day he was eligible to be dealt after signing an extension with the Warriors in the offseason, according to ESPN.

The report comes as no surprise, considering Kuminga has not played in the last 13 games with the team. After starting for the Warriors early in the season, Kuminga found himself relegated to backup duty. Shortly after that, he stopped playing altogether. 

After coming off the bench during a Nov. 12 game against the San Antonio Spurs, Kuminga sat out or did not dress for seven straight games due to a knee injury that was initially not thought to be serious.

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He returned to play in four more games, getting a start against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Dec. 6, but then missed three games due to an ankle issue. He returned to action Dec. 12, playing just over nine minutes off the bench in a loss to the Phoenix Suns. Kuminga hasn’t taken the court for the Warriors since that game.

The trade request comes months after Kuminga signed a two-year, $46.8 million extension with the Warriors in the offseason. That extension came after a lengthy contract dispute between the team and Kuminga, who fell out of the team’s playoff rotation last season. 

Because of that extension, Kuminga could not be traded until Jan. 15. It appears he wasted no time in letting the Warriors know that was his desired outcome. 

With Kuminga’s request in, the Warriors have until Feb. 5 — the NBA trade deadline — to get a deal done. 

In 18 games and 13 starts this season, Kuminga is averaging 11.8 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game. His scoring is down compared to the last two seasons, when Kuminga averaged 15.8 points per game in roughly the same amount of playing time.

New York Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson left Wednesday’s game against the Sacramento Kings early in the first quarter after spraining his right ankle, missing the remainder of what would become a 112-101 Kings win.

Brunson has also been ruled out for Thursday’s game against the Golden State Warriors.

Four minutes into the game at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, Brunson dribbled into the frontcourt, taking a screen from teammate Josh Hart to force a switch that would allow him to isolate against rookie center Maxime Raynaud. As the star point guard started to attack, though, he fell to the floor and threw the ball away, leading to a steal and fast-break dunk by former Knicks teammate Precious Achiuwa.

Brunson got to his feet and remained in the game, but moved gingerly through the next several possessions before asking to come out of the game with 7:01 to go in the opening quarter. He went back to the locker room, and that was that; the Knicks would later list him as questionable to return to the game, before ruling him out entirely at the start of the third quarter. He’d finish with four points on 2-for-3 shooting in five minutes of floor time.

This marks the second right ankle injury of the season for Brunson, who missed two games in November after rolling it in a loss to the Orlando Magic. He suffered a more serious sprain to that same ankle during a loss to the Los Angeles Lakers last season — an injury that kept him on the shelf for nearly a month, costing him 15 games.

The Knicks did not have an official update on Brunson’s status following the loss, according to Vincent Goodwill of ESPN. Brunson walked out of the visiting locker room without the aid of crutches or a walking boot, according to James L. Edwards III of The Athletic; he wasn’t limping, according to Steve Popper of Newsday.

Brunson, 29, is eighth in the NBA in scoring at 28.2 points per game and 21st in assists at 6.1 per game, shooting 48.1% from the field, 38.8% from 3-point range and 85.2% from the free-throw line. He’s expected to earn his third consecutive All-Star selection when rosters are announced later this month.

The Knicks, who sit in second place in the Eastern Conference at 25-15, are 1-2 without Brunson this season. During his extended absence last season, they went 9-6, with Karl-Anthony Towns, Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby all averaging more than 20 points per game and shouldering an increased offensive workload.

With Brunson unavailable, New York’s offense cratered against the Kings, as the Knicks shot just 39% from the floor and 8-for-41 (19.5%) from 3-point range en route to their fourth-least-efficient offensive performance of the season, according to Cleaning the Glass. The loss was the Knicks’ sixth in the last eight games, continuing a prolonged slump that has seen them go 7-8 with the NBA’s second-worst defense since winning the 2025 Emirates NBA Cup last month. New York will travel to San Francisco on Thursday to face the Warriors on the second night of a back-to-back.

Dallas Mavericks rookie Cooper Flagg left the team’s loss to the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday with a sprained left ankle.

Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd said Flagg initially hurt his left foot during Monday’s victory over the Brooklyn Nets then landed awkwardly on it with 6:01 remaining in the second quarter against the Nuggets. Flagg grabbed the ankle for a few moments while grimacing in pain. 

Flagg returned later in the second quarter but was clearly struggling with the injury. He did not play in the second half and did not return to the bench.

“He stepped on someone’s foot and so I think last game he twisted his ankle, too,” Kidd told reporters after the game. “So they decided to hold him for the second half.”

Mavericks center Daniel Gafford also left with an ankle injury. The Nuggets beat the Mavs 118-109.

Flagg has lived up to his status as the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft, averaging 19.1 points, 6.4 rebounds and 4.3 assists. Despite the Mavericks’ struggles, he is the favorite for this season’s Rookie of the Year award. 

The St. Louis Cardinals continued their offseason of offloading Tuesday, completing a deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks to send highly accomplished third baseman Nolan Arenado to the desert in exchange for right-hander Jack Martinez, Arizona’s eighth-round draft pick last summer.

At first glance, seeing a possible future Hall of Famer swapped for a minor-league arm who has yet to throw a professional pitch looks jarringly imbalanced, but this trade is the product of a multitude of factors hovering over the names involved. It is the end result of a saga dating to last offseason, when the Cardinals sought to rid themselves of Arenado’s onerous contract while affording the veteran the opportunity to play for a contending team elsewhere while St. Louis shifts its organizational focus to the future.

And while Arenado’s name still carries significant weight league-wide as one of the most decorated position players of his generation, it’s impossible to ignore the degree to which his performance has declined in recent years, which heavily informs the nature of the deal.

Arenado was an all-around force early in his career with the Colorado Rockies, compiling gaudy numbers at the plate playing half his games at Coors Field while delivering generational defense at third base, earning a Gold Glove in all eight years of his Denver tenure. Traded to St. Louis just two seasons into the eight-year, $260 million extension he signed with Colorado before the 2019 season, Arenado quickly proved his superstar stats weren’t merely the product of the hitter-friendly high altitude in Colorado, delivering a spectacular 2022 season that saw him finish third in NL MVP voting.

He continued to shine early in his third season as a Cardinal in 2023, making his eighth career All-Star Game, but his production plummeted in the second half of that season and has trended in the wrong direction ever since. His once otherworldly glove now merely rates as good, and his bat has sunk to slightly below league average: Among 120 hitters with at least 1,000 plate appearances the past two seasons, Arenado’s 95 wRC+ ranks 107th.

Most crucially, Arenado held significant power within these negotiations, as the no-trade clause in his contract enabled him to green-light his destination once the Cardinals found a willing trade partner. Arenado famously rejected an agreed-upon trade to the Astros last offseason in hopes a different suitor would emerge, but that never happened, nor did a trade come to fruition at last year’s trade deadline while Arenado was in the midst of his worst season as a big leaguer.

Nevertheless, Arenado and the Cardinals entered this offseason once again steadfast on finding a trade fit so that both sides could move on, recognizing that moving the $41 million owed to Arenado over the next two seasons would be difficult considering his recent performance.

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As such, Arenado’s modest on-field projection entering his age-35 season, plus the fact that he still wielded a no-trade clause, meant there were minimal expectations for the Cardinals’ ability to reel in a return of significant value. That Martinez is the only player Arizona had to part with and that St. Louis is covering $31 million of the $42 million owed to Arenado over the next two seasons fully validates those low expectations.

The D-backs are a team that has spent much of the winter involved more in juicy rumors than actual transactional activity. Save the re-signing of backup catcher James McCann and a pair of free-agent pitching additions in December — the return of longtime rotation mainstay Merrill Kelly after he was traded to Texas at last year’s deadline, plus Michael Soroka — the D-backs have made far more headlines for moves they were reportedly contemplating than for moves they’ve made.

First, it was the possibility that the Snakes would trade star second baseman Ketel Marte, a delicate gambit in theory intended to leverage their strong position-player depth by dealing the ultra-valuable Marte for sorely needed young pitching. Meanwhile, there was consistent reporting that the D-backs were interested in free-agent third baseman Alex Bregman, perhaps as a creative avenue to replace Marte in the event they did trade him. Ultimately, general manager Mike Hazen determined last week that Marte was no longer available in trade discussions. A few days later, Bregman agreed to a deal with the Chicago Cubs, rendering both scenarios irrelevant despite weeks of speculation. 

Exactly how serious Arizona was in its pursuit of Bregman is unclear, but those rumors suggested the club viewed third base as an area of need. That’s not an enormous surprise considering the Snakes dealt Eugenio Suárez at last year’s trade deadline, but it also seemed reasonable to look at Arizona’s depth chart and view this as a chance to give the keys to 23-year-old Jordan Lawlar, the top infield prospect who has consistently raked in the minors but has yet prove himself in the majors, in part due to the series of injuries that limited his availability. A sensible path for Arizona could have been to roll with Lawlar at third base and focus its offseason strategy and spending almost exclusively on adding much-needed pitching.

Evidently, Arizona still viewed Arenado — for what will cost only $11 million over the next two seasons — as a worthy upgrade. That likely says more about the degree to which even this diminished version of Arenado could be a bargain at that price than it does about Arizona’s confidence in Lawlar long-term, but it’s an interesting roster-construction choice nonetheless. Just as we just saw with the Cubs signing Bregman despite the presence of a talented young infielder in Matt Shaw, contending teams are often willing to add veteran certainty even if it costs young, less-proven players playing time.

That’s not to say Arenado should be expected to make remotely the same level of impact as Bregman in Chicago, but it’s not hard to imagine Arizona liking the idea of adding a well-respected veteran such as Arenado to a position-player group that skews quite young. And if he can provide some stability at third base, that could play a meaningful role in boosting Arizona’s chances of staying afloat in what is expected to be another heated National League postseason race.

Speaking of the Snakes chasing a return to the postseason, if there is something still lacking on Arenado’s loaded résumé, it’s memorable postseason success. Arenado has made just four trips to the postseason in his 13 years in the majors — two with Colorado and two with St. Louis — but has never advanced beyond the division series. He hasn’t exactly shined in those limited opportunities — he has just five hits in 33 career postseason at-bats — but in general, his lack of October experience reflects far less on his own efforts than it does on the teams he has been part of.

With that in mind, as his career winds down, it’s understandable that Arenado would prioritize a club with ambitions of contending when surveying the landscape of possible trade destinations. Of course, it wasn’t entirely up to him, as a team still needed to step up and view him as a worthwhile addition.

Acknowledging that Arenado likely didn’t have a wealth of contending teams desperate for a player of his current caliber, Arizona is a pretty solid landing spot, all things considered.