Waiver wire pickups: Looking at Trey Murphy III and Jabari Smith Jr.
Working the waiver wire is pivotal to succeeding in fantasy basketball. With so many games, injuries and endless shifts in rotations throughout the marathon campaign, we’ll need to source stats from free agency to maximize imaginary rosters.
A willingness to entertain competition for the last few spots on your fantasy hoops roster can prove rewarding. When curating this fluid collective of statistical contributors, it helps to consider your end-of-bench players in direct competition with the talent floating in free agency.
The goal of this weekly series is to identify players at each position widely available in free agency in ESPN leagues. Some nominations are specialists capable of helping in one or two categories, while others deliver more diverse and important statistical offerings. In the breakdowns below, I’ve ordered players at each position with the priority of acquisition in mind, rather than roster percentage in ESPN leagues.
Point guard
Markelle Fultz, Orlando Magic (Rostered in 52.2% of ESPN leagues): Now an indispensable part of Orlando’s thin backcourt depth chart, Fultz has become a valuable source of assists, boards, and defensive production in recent weeks.
Gabe Vincent, Miami Heat (2.1%): With Kyle Lowry ailing, Vincent has averaged nearly 35 minutes over the past week of action while producing a healthy 18 points per game in the process. The assist production isn’t very strong in an offense that often runs through the team’s star playmakers, but you’ll net nice scoring, shooting, and steal rates.
Shooting guard
Trey Murphy III, New Orleans Pelicans (23%): Finishing second to a viral sensation in the dunk contest is not going to be a major part of Murphy’s NBA story, as he’s the epitome of the “3-and-D” archetype the league has been chasing for years.
Even when the shot isn’t falling, atypically high steal and block rates drive value.
Josh Green, Dallas Mavericks (6.3%): The Mavericks need Green to handle heavy minutes in the wake of the Kyrie Irving blockbuster. A recent dip in production reveals a fairly low floor at times for Green, but the minutes and clean looks should come in bunches aside two superstar creators.
Josh Okogie, Phoenix Suns (14.3%): Another Josh thriving in the wake of a massive deal with Brooklyn, Okogie should see the court often on a team suddenly in need of wing minutes.
Small forward
Jalen Williams, Oklahoma City Thunder (32.5%): A truly exciting rookie on a team brimming with young talent, Williams does a bit of everything on both sides of the floor. There will be some fluctuations in scoring production for a relatively low-usage rookie wing, yet his ability to build diverse statistical lines remains steady.
Jaden McDaniels, Minnesota Timberwolves (26.8%): The departure of D’Angelo Russell seems to have afforded McDaniels more offensive equity on a team still missing Karl-Anthony Towns‘ dynamic presence. Not only that, but McDaniels has some of the more exciting defensive rates in the league.
Terance Mann, LA Clippers (12.6%): For all of the talk of the Clippers’ unique depth, the team’s lack of playmaking and creation past it’s top two stars has created a real role for Mann. In recent games, Mann has handled the ball often with impressive statistical results.
Kenyon Martin Jr., Houston Rockets (16.2%): Another dunk contest participant makes the list, as Martin has scored at least 14 points in nine of his last 11 outings as the resident energy guy for a young Houston roster.
Power forward
Cameron Johnson, Brooklyn Nets (27.1%): The adjustment from Phoenix to Brooklyn has gone smoothly for Johnson and Mikal Bridges. Increased minutes and offensive opportunities make him a fun stretch forward to target.
Jabari Smith Jr., Houston Rockets (34.8%): A strong finish to a relatively quiet rookie season is in the works; Smith has averaged a double-double over his last three games before the break and enjoys rare freedom to protect the rim.
Delon Wright, Washington Wizards (6.1%): Think of him as the multi-positional edition of Matisse Thybulle, as Wright’s statistical value is almost solely based on his absurd steal rate. For context, he’s eligible at point guard, shooting guard, and power forward and is the only player ahead of Thybulle in steal percentage with at least 600 minutes logged this season.
Center
Kelly Olynyk, Utah Jazz (31.4%): Making a late surge to see if he could be an All-Star replacement, Olynyk produced arguably his best line of his season last week. Jokes aside, this versatile big man provides real fantasy value
Mark Williams, Charlotte Hornets (12.0%): With eight swats over his last three games, Williams is bringing a new element of interior defense to the Hornets and to fantasy rosters.
Zach Collins, San Antonio Spurs (10.5%): The Spurs are relying on Collins in the wake of the deadline and the numbers are proving impressive; he’s flashing fun playmaking to go with solid work on the glass.
Kevon Looney, Golden State Warriors (18.2%): The Warriors need Looney’s relentless effort and ability to end or extend possessions on the glass. You won’t get much more than elite rebounding, but specialists have value as the fantasy playoffs approach.
