This article is part of our FanDuel NBA series.
This article will take a look at players who are undervalued and worthy of consideration for your FanDuel lineup. Value options could be players with minimum-priced salaries, players in the $7-$9,000 range, or anything in between. It's easy to peg players like LeBron James or Anthony Davis, but the key is to find value players to plug alongside those superstars.
Point Guard
D.J. Augustin, $6000 – The Fanduel system quickly adjusted Augustin's price from $3800 to $6000 after he exploded for a 35/4/8 line in Sunday's start. Despite the significant jump in salary, Augustin is still a value at $6000, as he's a lock for 30-plus minutes with Brandon Jennings (Achilles) out for the season. Augustin has shown the ability to score and also has been effective distributing the ball over his first two starts. It doesn't hurt to have Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond finishing at the rim and the Pistons look like a much better team since they let Josh Smith go.
Brian Roberts, $4100 – With Kemba Walker (knee) out for at least the next six weeks, Roberts will have the keys to the offense for an extended stretch. Roberts will have limited upside, but he should be a strong nightly play in cash games at his current price. In three of his last four games where he played at least 27 minutes, he recorded 23.1, 24.5 and 25.3 fantasy points. That kind of production not only meets and exceeds his value at $4100.
Shooting Guard
Arron Afflalo, $5900 – There are so many intriguing fantasy options in Denver that it seems Afflalo get lost in the shuffle and rarely gets any DFS love. That should not be the case after looking at his numbers and the fantasy production he has posted in the Denver offense. Taking out a rare dud at Golden State on Jan. 19, Afflalo has scored over 20 fantasy points in the other 12 games he's played in the month of January. His 40-fantasy point performances will be rare, but he's established a nice floor for a price that won't kill your budget.
Kentavius Caldwell-Pope, $4700 – If you're a believer in following the minutes to find fantasy production, here's your guy. Caldwell-Pope should soak up some of Jennings minutes, which was evident by the 42 minutes KCP logged Sunday against Toronto. Caldwell-Pope has limited upside and he's still learning the pro game, but his heavy run will get him some shots and the opportunity to put up fantasy points in multiple categories.
Small Forward
Joe Ingles, $4100 – With Alec Burks (shoulder) out for the season and Rodney Hood nursing a foot injury, Ingles has a firm hold of the shooting guard spot until the All-Star break. Ingles has seen 30-plus minutes over his last three contests and quietly put himself on the fantasy radar. He's had over 20 fantasy points in each of those three contests and his ability to contribute in more than scoring makes him an interesting option. For example, he went just 1-for-6 from the floor with only two points Monday against the Celtics, but he also contributed four rebounds, five assists and four steals to push him over that 20-fantasy point threshold. As long as the minutes are there, he currently is one of the better punt plays at the small forward position.
Power Forward
Jason Smith, $4200 – The Knicks have become one of the league's worst teams, and to add salt in the wounds, they were just bounced from a bunch of nationally televised games. Smith has been one of the lone bright spots for the Knicks, from a fantasy perspective. He's been in the starting five and seeing 30-plus minutes per game, which he has parlayed into some nice fantasy production. While playing at least 32 minutes in each of his last four games, he's averaged 24.4 fantasy points. There's no reason to think he can't keep up that type of production and provide an outstanding value at only $700 over the minimum price.
Center
Joakim Noah, $5900 – It's hard to put much stock into a player when he says something positive about his own health, but it's possible Noah was telling the truth when he said he's feeling the best he has all season. His play Tuesday night seemed to back that up as he logged a season-high 40 minutes in the Bulls' overtime win at Golden State. Not only did he have the minutes, he turned in a monster fantasy line with 18 points, 15 rebounds and six steals – good for 47 fantasy points. If he's back to full health this will likely be the lowest his salary will be all season so take advantage while it's south of $6000.
Hassan Whiteside, $6000 – Whiteside instantly became a fantasy darling Sunday, after he recorded an unorthodox triple-double with 14 points, 13 rebounds and a whopping 12 blocks. That stunning fantasy production carried his owners to the money for those that decided to play in the early/all day contests. Whiteside is working his way back from an ankle injury and he was able to put up the monster line dominating the Bulls' second unit. He received the starting nod Tuesday night after Chris Andersen (elbow, back) was ruled out. Whiteside failed to record a block in Tuesday's start, but he left owners happy with 16 points and 16 rebounds. Dwayne Wade left the game with a hamstring injury, which could result in Whiteside receiving more touches on the offensive end going forward.
