Pickups: Bailey, Jerome, Demin among top players t...

The NBA trade deadline is this Thursday, and if the right deals happen, the entire landscape of the league could shift.

We've already seen some smaller deals this weekend, but all eyes are on potential megadeals featuring superstars such as Giannis Antetokounmpo or Ja Morant. If and when big deals happen, it's not just the marquee players whose stats are affected. Trades can shake up teams after stars move on, and players who had smaller roles before suddenly have more opportunity to shine.

We'll be doing wall-to-wall coverage of every trade that goes down, so follow us to keep up with players who might suddenly go from a bench role to a fantasy starter. For now, we'll focus on the situations as they are and dig into the free agency wire to identify lightly rostered players who are ready to help your fantasy squads.

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Point guard

Ty Jerome, PG, Memphis Grizzlies (rostered in 39.8% of ESPN leagues): Jerome made his debut with the Grizzlies on Saturday after having missed the first 46 games of the campaign with a calf injury. He got the start at point guard even though he was on a minutes restriction, scoring 20 points with six assists in only 19 minutes. With Morant sidelined, Jerome seems poised for a big role while sending Cam Spencer back to the bench.

Egor Demin, PG, Brooklyn Nets (29.5%): Demin continues to play well when on the court, and he set new career highs of 25 points and 10 rebounds on Friday. Demin needs to work on his consistency and his availability, but he has talent and as large of a role as he can handle with the rebuilding Nets.

Shooting guard

Ayo Dosunmu, SG, Chicago Bulls (31.2%): Dosunmu has scored in double figures in six straight games, averaging almost 20 PPG with a handful each of rebounds and assists in that span. He continues to play a major role for the Bulls, particularly with Josh Giddey dealing with injury.

Jaylon Tyson, SG/SF, Cleveland Cavaliers (33.8%): Tyson has been playing major minutes for the Cavaliers this season, particularly when any of the nominal starters have been injured. This weekend, the Cavaliers traded De'Andre Hunter to the Sacramento Kings which opens up more minutes at small forward for Tyson to maintain or increase his role even when his other teammates are healthy.

Small forward

Saddiq Bey, PF/SF, New Orleans Pelicans (50.3%): This is the last time Bey is likely to be in this space, because his strong play of late should have him rostered in well over half of leagues very soon. In his last six games, Bey has averaged 25.3 PPG, 7.3 RPG and 3.2 3PG as he has become one of the primary offensive options for the Pelicans.

Ace Bailey, SF, Utah Jazz (27.4%): Bailey entered the weekend having scored in double-figures in six straight games, averaging 18.0 PPG and 2.3 3PG in that span. He had a down scoring game on Sunday, but still made his mark with a career-high 11 rebounds. Bailey was widely considered one of the most talented rookies in this class, and he should get plenty of run in the second half of the season for the rebuilding Jazz.

Power forward

Kyle Kuzma, PF/SF, Milwaukee Bucks (26.0%): At least for now, Kuzma is the starting power forward for the Bucks with Giannis Antetokounmpo sidelined. If Giannis is in fact traded this could change, but while he holds the role Kuzma is an upper-teens scorer with double-double potential on a nightly basis. Kuzma also has 22 assists over his last four games, giving him a more well-rounded level of production.

Moussa Diabate, PF/C, Charlotte Hornets (24.2%): Diabate has settled in as an every game starter for the Hornets and is a nightly double-double threat. He has scored in double figures in six straight games, averaging 12.2 PPG and 9.5 RPG over that span while making more than 75% of his field goal attempts.

Center

Wendell Carter Jr., C, Orlando Magic (23.4%): Carter is a solid, lunch pail-type center. His season averages of 12.1 PPG and 7.3 RPG are representative, but he'll also give you about a steal, a block and a 3-pointer a game and has occasional 20-plus point bursts to keep things interesting.

Yves Missi, C, New Orleans Pelicans (5.9%): Missi is a defensive role player at center that has leaned into that role of late. In his last four games, he has improved on his season-long defensive stats with 8.0 RPG and 2.5 BPG in 23.3 MPG.