This article is part of our NBA Waiver Wire series.
Since last week's column, Donovan Mitchell has gone wild. I decided against including him in the other recommendations section – his production seemed too inconsistent, and his poor showing Monday seemed to validate that decision. Then he went and averaged 23.3 points per game over his next three contests, and now he's too widely owned to qualify for this article. But he's still available in about one-quarter of leagues, and he'd be the second player listed below if he qualified.
Without Mitchell, it's a shallow week on the waiver wire. Many of the week's biggest risers are players who, like Mitchell, are too widely owned to qualify. While that means that some of the options below are underwhelming, it is a good reminder to keep an eye on which players are being dropped in your league.
Several players on CBS's most-dropped lists still have a ton of upside and are worth snagging if they come available – guys like Willie Cauley-Stein, Josh Jackson or Wesley Matthews. Those players being dropped this week could be next week's versions of Taurean Prince and Jeremy Lamb, surging players I want to include below but are already too heavily owned.
All players listed must be owned in less than two-thirds of CBS leagues.
Adds for All Leagues
T.J. McConnell, 76ers (38 percent owned)McConnell keeps the top spot in this column, as he's still widely available. Without repeating too much of what was covered last week, since Markelle Fultz
Since last week's column, Donovan Mitchell has gone wild. I decided against including him in the other recommendations section – his production seemed too inconsistent, and his poor showing Monday seemed to validate that decision. Then he went and averaged 23.3 points per game over his next three contests, and now he's too widely owned to qualify for this article. But he's still available in about one-quarter of leagues, and he'd be the second player listed below if he qualified.
Without Mitchell, it's a shallow week on the waiver wire. Many of the week's biggest risers are players who, like Mitchell, are too widely owned to qualify. While that means that some of the options below are underwhelming, it is a good reminder to keep an eye on which players are being dropped in your league.
Several players on CBS's most-dropped lists still have a ton of upside and are worth snagging if they come available – guys like Willie Cauley-Stein, Josh Jackson or Wesley Matthews. Those players being dropped this week could be next week's versions of Taurean Prince and Jeremy Lamb, surging players I want to include below but are already too heavily owned.
All players listed must be owned in less than two-thirds of CBS leagues.
Adds for All Leagues
T.J. McConnell, 76ers (38 percent owned)McConnell keeps the top spot in this column, as he's still widely available. Without repeating too much of what was covered last week, since Markelle Fultz (shoulder) was sidelined indefinitely, McConnell is averaging 9.4 points, 6.6 assists, 4.6 rebounds, and 2.2 steals in 27.4 minutes per game. Despite the low scoring, that's top-40 level production, and it's likely to continue as long as Fultz is out.
Jonathon Simmons, Magic (54 percent owned)
Simmons seems likes the player who will be in and out of this space all season long. In a week light on attractive options, the Magic's super-sixth-man is a solid temporary replacement for whichever early season lottery ticket you are ready to give up on (for me, that's Dejounte Murray). Simmons is averaging 25.0 minutes per game, and he's doing enough across the board that he won't hurt in any category. He's best in scoring and field goal percentage – he has double-digit points in eight of his 10 games. He's a much better add in eight-category settings, as he's somewhat turnover-prone.
Taj Gibson, Timberwolves (51 percent owned)
If someone went back in time three weeks and told me I'd be recommending teams add Taj Gibson, I'd either call them a liar or ask how so many Timberwolves all got injured so quickly. But, alas, minutes are king in fantasy, and Gibson is averaging 30.0 minutes per game over his past eight. It doesn't matter that I still think Gorgui Dieng is still a better player than Gibson, because Dieng is only averaging 15.4 minutes per game. It's hard to get excited about Gibson while he's scoring only 9.6 points per game, but his 7.4 rebounds, 1.1 steals, and 0.8 blocks on highly efficient shooting atones for a lot of sins.
Other recommendations:Marco Belinelli, Hawks (28 percent owned); Allen Crabbe, Nets (49 percent owned)
Deep League Special
Tony Snell, Bucks (9 percent owned)Snell might be the most boring fantasy prospect I've ever seen, but there's a huge difference between "boring" and "bad", and Snell is absolutely not bad. He's actually rosterable in all leagues – even shallow eight-teamers – but shallow-league managers tend to avoid Snell because he presents almost no upside. It's pretty unlikely he develops into much more than what he already is, but he's already a top-80 fantasy producer who gets steady minutes (32.9 per game) and is an active contributor in threes (2.1 per game), field goal percentage (55.7%), and turnovers (0.7 per game), without really hurting in any category. He should be owned in all 16-team leagues, and there are probably several teams in any 12- or 14-team leagues who should take advantage of his boring consistency.
Short-Term Streamers
Bojan Bogdanovic, Pacers (61 percent owned)Anyone who rostered Bogdonovic at any point last season knows that he's a streaky player. He was in and out of fantasy teams and waiver columns all season. But he's currently riding one of those hot streaks, and just in time – the Pacers are one of just six teams that plays four games this week. Over his last seven games, he's seen his nightly minutes jump to 30.9 per game, and he's responded with 14.4 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 2.0 threes while shooting 50.0 percent from the field. The strong play, plus the extra game, is more than enough to make Bogdanovic a strong option in all settings that permit streaming. Just don't accidentally add the similarly named Bogdan Bogdanovic, who plays for the Kings. The Kings' Bogdanovic is a deep-league steals specialist only.
John Henson, Bucks (22 percent owned)
Just seeing Henson's name on a waiver list might bring about some unpleasant flashbacks for fantasy veterans, but fear not, this recommendation comes with a built-in "release by" date. Greg Monroe (calf) is out for one more week, opening up an extra 15.8 minutes per game at center. Since Monroe got hurt, Henson is averaging 26.5 minutes. Coach Jason Kidd has never played Thon Maker more than 27 minutes in a single game, and Maker has played more than 20 minutes only five times – all late last season. It's safe to assume, therefore, that Henson will continue to eat up the majority of center minutes while Monroe is out. Henson may be a frustrating player to own, but his ability to block shots in bunches is undeniable, and it is absolutely enough to warrant adding him in leagues of any size while Monroe is sidelined. Feel free to cut bait the moment Monroe steps back on the floor, however. Henson's history says a wait-and-see approach after Monroe's return is likely to leave you disappointed.
Follow Alex on Twitter @Rikleen.
