This article is part of our NBA Waiver Wire series.
Barring a major setback, Carlos Boozer will make his debut as a Chicago Bull this Wednesday. Boozer is a big-enough name that he was drafted in most leagues, even though everyone knew he'd miss the first month or so of the season. His percent-owned currently stands at 94 percent - and frankly, I'm surprised it's that low.
There are other players getting ready to make their first appearances of the season who might have flown under the radar during your draft, and could be worth stashing on your bench.
Andrew Bynum's ownership status - he's at 73 percent currently - is probably held down by two factors: he hasn't played this season, and it's hard to have much faith that he'll stay healthy once he does start playing. But he should be back in uniform by mid-December.
Mehmet Okur (33% owned) doesn't have a target return date yet, but he's back to participating in five-on-five drills during practice. Kelenna Azubuike's (5%) status is similar - he's practicing, but still has some conditioning work to do. If you need three-pointers, both should be good options.
Jonny Flynn (20%) could be worth a look as well. He's participating in practice, but the T-Wolves are reportedly planning on sending him to the Sioux Falls SkyForce of the D-League in the NBA equivalent of a minor-league rehab assignment.
Personally, I love Flynn the player, but I don't like him in Minnesota's triangle offense. I continue to hope he'll be traded somewhere he
Barring a major setback, Carlos Boozer will make his debut as a Chicago Bull this Wednesday. Boozer is a big-enough name that he was drafted in most leagues, even though everyone knew he'd miss the first month or so of the season. His percent-owned currently stands at 94 percent - and frankly, I'm surprised it's that low.
There are other players getting ready to make their first appearances of the season who might have flown under the radar during your draft, and could be worth stashing on your bench.
Andrew Bynum's ownership status - he's at 73 percent currently - is probably held down by two factors: he hasn't played this season, and it's hard to have much faith that he'll stay healthy once he does start playing. But he should be back in uniform by mid-December.
Mehmet Okur (33% owned) doesn't have a target return date yet, but he's back to participating in five-on-five drills during practice. Kelenna Azubuike's (5%) status is similar - he's practicing, but still has some conditioning work to do. If you need three-pointers, both should be good options.
Jonny Flynn (20%) could be worth a look as well. He's participating in practice, but the T-Wolves are reportedly planning on sending him to the Sioux Falls SkyForce of the D-League in the NBA equivalent of a minor-league rehab assignment.
Personally, I love Flynn the player, but I don't like him in Minnesota's triangle offense. I continue to hope he'll be traded somewhere he can put his talents to better use. Dallas guard Rodrigue Beaubois (7%) might be farther from a return but a better fantasy option at this point.
Picks for the Week
The first set of picks is for players in standard leagues - guys who may be available in your average 10 team/15 player roster league. The second group is for owners in very deep leagues, and will be based more on speculation than actual numbers.
All "percent owned" stats are taken from Yahoo! Fantasy Basketball - your mileage may vary.
Standard Leagues
Shawn Marion (57% owned) - The days of Marion being a legit top-five fantasy player are long gone, but he's been playing well off the bench for Dallas of late, averaging over 12.5 ppg over his last five.
Wesley Matthews (40% owned) - Matthews has been moved into the starting lineup ahead of Nic Batum, and there are indications the change is permanent.
Hakim Warrick (39% owned) - The Suns seem to be souring on the "Hedo Turkoglu at the four" experiment, which could mean big things for Warrick. I was very high on Warrick's fantasy potential before the Turkoglu acquisition muddied the waters. (That's not to say you should drop Turkoglu, who could actually be more productive now, coming off the bench for more minutes at the three.)
Deep Leagues
Kris Humphries (49% owned) - Humphries continues to hold off both veteran Troy Murphy and highly-touted rookie Derrick Favors and get starts at power forward for New Jersey. (There are also rumors he's seeing Kim Kardashian. Good year for that guy.)
Jason Thompson (19% owned) - Just a guess… but if DeMarcus Cousins continues to butt heads with the Sacramento coaching staff, Thompson (and his fantasy numbers) could be a major beneficiary. He's already being moved into the starting lineup over Carl Landry (77% owned).
Nate Robinson (7% owned) - Rajon Rondo has been logging heavy minutes and is nursing a couple of nagging injuries, and Delonte West (broken wrist) will be out for a while. Doc Rivers could increase Robinson's playing time to take some of the load off Rondo.
Joey Dorsey (1% owned) - Got the starting nod in Toronto's first game without Reggie Evans (broken foot), but split playing time pretty evenly with Amir Johnson (46% owned).
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