Photo Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

All-Star teams have been fully announced this week! I hope you’ve got a few of those names in your fantasy teams this year, because naming All-Stars is not just all about them, it’s a signal to all fantasy owners as to how they’ve played the game so far this year as well. Therefore if you have multiple All-Stars in your team right now, I tip my hat off to you as you’re currently succeeding.

As per usual we’ll have our Add/Drops, any Trades that have been proposed, plus this week’s Studs and Duds, along with our final segment which is the return of the Pick Me Ups! Let’s get to it then:

My Add/Drops

No additions to my team this week through the waivers or free agency. I decided to let my team settle in for a little while just to see how they all play and then try to pin point areas of improvement. Remember fantasy buffs, there’s no problem in sitting on your team for a while. You can always watch the market in the process to see who’s becoming available; however you never have to be constantly making moves.

Failed Trades

Send: Greivis Vasquez

Receive: Paul Pierce

I wasn’t happy about throwing away my starting point guard for someone who I already have filling up his position (Josh Smith, Carmelo Anthony). This was enough for me to decline.

Send: Jameer Nelson

Receive: Chris Bosh

Another trade where I wasn’t happy with what I was receiving back, as Bosh is a third string player in his team, while Nelson is currently on a tear with the Magic so I will look to keep him for al little while longer.  However, if I was to receive something better for Bosh with an addition of players, then I would be interested, because I could tell that my opponent wanted to off-load Bosh. This means I at least want to gain something out of it.

Send: Jameer Nelson & Tristan Thompson

Receive: Chris Bosh & Evan Turner

This one was very close to going through, however I just felt TT was too much as he is now the best big man in Cleveland now that Andy Varejao has gone down. It shows too in his play as I’ve been smiling ever since I picked him up.

Send: Jameer Nelson & Jose Calderon

Receive: Metta World Peace & Chris Bosh

Final trade proposal was worse than the previous one in my opinion. I’m not interested in World Peace as he can go missing during big patches of the season. This was the major reason I declined this one.

Studs (Stats are Last 7 Days)

Kyrie Irving: 35.7ppg, 4rpg, 4apg, 61%FG.

Al Horford: 26ppg, 11.5rpg, 1.5bpg, 54%FG.

Ersan Ilyasova: 25ppg, 11.7rpg, 3 three’s per game, 50%FG.

Kyle Korver: 20.7ppg, 5.3 three’s per game, 65%FG, 4.3rpg.

Amar’e Stoudemire: 16.7ppg, 6.3rpg, 60%FG.

Nic Batum: 14ppg, 10.3apg, 8.3rpg, 45%FG.

Duds (Stats are Last 7 Days)

Rodney Stuckey: 8ppg, 1.8apg, 1.3rpg, 35%FG.

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist: 6.3ppg, 2.3rpg, 0.7apg, 0.7spg, 0.3bpg.

JR Smith: 8.3ppg, 5.3rpg, 1.3apg, 23%FG.

Jason Terry: 5.5ppg, 1rpg, 1.5apg.

Gerald Wallace: 6.5ppg, 3.3rpg, 1.5apg, 37%FG.

Dion Waiters: 9.7ppg, 2.7apg, 2rpg, 35%FG.

Pick Me Ups

Eric Bledsoe: As star point guard Chris Paul is dealing with his knee injury, Bledsoe has been the one to step into the Clippers line-up. During this stint, Bledsoe has averaged 12.1ppg, 5.3rpg and 2.3spg. While his assist numbers are not that impressive at 3.1 a game, Bledsoe still gets a solid amount of rebounds and steals which makes up for that which makes him a strong addition to any team. His 2.3spg is a very high number when comparing to other starters. Bledsoe can really do a little bit of everything and if Paul continues to sit, Bledsoe makes for a nice pick me up for the time being.

Ersan Ilyasova: This guy’s been on and then he’s been off, however now he’s on again! So now is the time to pick him up if he’s free in your league. ‘Ersanity’ as they like to call him, is currently on a tear, knocking down shot after shot, while also grabbing a ton of boards. Over his last 3 games he has averaged an astounding 28ppg and 12.3rpg. What’s even more impressive is the fact that over this span he is averaging 3.3 Three Pointers per game. Ilyasova is the type of player who can burst out like this and then go straight back to being useless, but the numbers he has put up over his last 3 games should be enough to add him to your list.

Jimmy Butler: While Luol Deng is still out injured, the Chicago Bulls are pretty thin at their Small Forward position. However, I believe they have found a gem in Jimmy Butler as he has found a way to fit right into the system in Chicago. Butler has turned into a really great Pick Me Up this week as he has been averaging close to 43mpg since stepping in for Deng, and is averaging 15.5ppg with 9.3rpg as a starter.

Devin Harris: Another classy Pick Me Up with an injury paving the way. With Louis Williams out for the year, if Harris can stay healthy himself he can turn himself into a real gem for the second half of the season. Harris’ minutes will see a huge boost with a starting guard out of the way, plus the back-ups are quite thin. Harris can be a nice fantasy addition in most leagues as he has the ability to contribute in all offensive categories. However it’s just the health that’s his problem, as he continues to miss games here and there due to niggling injuries. Give him a look and if you are looking to add some guards.