This article is part of our NBA Waiver Wire series.
"The early bird gets the worm." That's the thinking behind this week's top add, a player who might not even see the floor this week. But for many managers, the chance to add a player with long-term top-60 potential is worth the useless week. As is often the case, this column is dominated by injury reactions, but it also includes a surging Knick and a few players returning from injuries.
Week 7 has a much more balanced schedule than Week 6, which means there is less of a difference between the players targeted by managers in weekly and daily leagues – every player in this article is similarly attractive in both formats.
As always, all players listed must be owned in less than two-thirds of leagues.
Adds for All Leagues
Milos Teodosic, Clippers (54 percent owned)In case you missed it, Patrick Beverley (knee) is out for the year. That news upends the Clippers' backcourt depth chart, which suddenly flips from overloaded to shallow. Teodosic (foot) has been out since the second game of the season, so we still lack evidence as to how the 30-year-old rookie's game will translate to the NBA. But once he's active, Teodosic might be given the keys to the kingdom by default. His stat lines are likely to look a lot like Ricky Rubio's – tons of assists, plenty of steals, and some threes, accompanied by low scoring and poor field goal shooting. It's still uncertain when he'll return, but it's starting
"The early bird gets the worm." That's the thinking behind this week's top add, a player who might not even see the floor this week. But for many managers, the chance to add a player with long-term top-60 potential is worth the useless week. As is often the case, this column is dominated by injury reactions, but it also includes a surging Knick and a few players returning from injuries.
Week 7 has a much more balanced schedule than Week 6, which means there is less of a difference between the players targeted by managers in weekly and daily leagues – every player in this article is similarly attractive in both formats.
As always, all players listed must be owned in less than two-thirds of leagues.
Adds for All Leagues
Milos Teodosic, Clippers (54 percent owned)In case you missed it, Patrick Beverley (knee) is out for the year. That news upends the Clippers' backcourt depth chart, which suddenly flips from overloaded to shallow. Teodosic (foot) has been out since the second game of the season, so we still lack evidence as to how the 30-year-old rookie's game will translate to the NBA. But once he's active, Teodosic might be given the keys to the kingdom by default. His stat lines are likely to look a lot like Ricky Rubio's – tons of assists, plenty of steals, and some threes, accompanied by low scoring and poor field goal shooting. It's still uncertain when he'll return, but it's starting to look like it could be soon, and the injury to Beverley increases Teodosic's upside once he takes the reins of this offense. If things break right for the former EuroLeague MVP, he could end up providing top-60 value.
Tim Frazier, Wizards (18 percent owned)
John Wall (knee) is out for "approximately two weeks," a vague timeline, but certainly long enough that it's worth picking up his backup. Frazier began 2016-17 filling in for Jrue Holiday in New Orleans, providing solid and consistent fantasy value as a starter over the first few weeks of the season. For 12 games, he averaged 29.7 minutes, 10.8 points, 7.5 assists, 3.4 rebounds, 2.2 threes, and 1.0 steals. Of course, that was for a different team, but it provides a glimpse at the kind of production he can provide when given a larger role. Frazier played 28 minutes in his first start with Wall on the sideline.
Mario Chalmers, Grizzlies (45 percent owned) and Allen Crabbe, Nets (61 percent owned)
Last week's top adds are still widely available and remain among the top recommended pickups. Both players have stepped up after their teams' respective starting point guards -- Mike Conley (Achilles) and D'Angelo Russell (knee) -- were sidelined for extended injury absences. Chalmers has taken over the point guard duties in Memphis and is averaging 31.2 minutes per game with Conley out. Crabbe's minutes are effectively unchanged, but he has taken over most of Russell's scoring responsibilities, increasing his field goal attempts from 8.8 to 13.8 and his three point attempts from 5.5 to 7.8 per game. Crabbe will miss a second straight game Monday night due to a sore back, but the issue isn't considered serious.
Courtney Lee, Knicks (50 percent owned)
Lee is shooting an insane 50.0 percent from behind the three-point line over his last nine games. And that's no small sample size – he's hit 19 of his past 38 attempts, averaging 2.1 makes out of 4.2 attempts per game. Lee's sharpshooting hasn't been limited to his long-range work, as he's scoring 15.2 points per game while making 53.2 percent of his overall field goals. Plus, his workload is stable. Lee has played at least 30 minutes in 15 of his 19 games, and is yet to play fewer than 24 minutes. This hot streak will inevitably end come to an end at some point, but Lee warrants ownership in all leagues as long as he's playing this well.
Other recommendations:Larry Nance, Lakers (40 percent owned); Kenneth Faried, Nuggets (37 percent owned); Wesley Johnson, Clippers (20 percent owned); Denzel Valentine, Bulls (64 percent owned)
Daily Leagues Special
Jahlil Okafor, 76ers (26 percent owned)The 76ers play a Wednesday/Thursday back-to-back, which might mean Joel Embiid misses one of those games for rest. Embiid has missed two games so far this season, and they are the only two games in which Okafor has seen the court. In the first, Okafor racked up 10 points, nine rebounds, and two blocks in 22 minutes. In the second game, he played only three minutes and his only fantasy contribution was a single assist. He has no value in leagues that set weekly lineups, but for daily lineups leagues that allow for a one-night streamer, Okafor is someone to consider if Embiid rests.
Deep Leagues Special
Pascal Siakam, Raptors (8 percent owned)Minutes are king in fantasy, and Siakam has averaged 28.7 minutes per game over the Raptors' last six games. He's averaging a comfortable, albeit unexciting, 8.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.0 steals, and 1.3 blocks per game. Dwane Casey has been notoriously inconsistent with his frontcourt rotation over the past couple seasons, so it's probable that Siakam will find his way back onto waivers as his minutes decrease. On the other hand, the sophomore has demonstrated solid growth so far this season, so it's not totally unreasonable to think he's carved out a permanent rotation spot. Either way, he's getting it done right now and can be used in deep settings.
Short-Term Streamer
The LakersThe only Laker who jumps out as a waiver candidate and qualifies for this article is Larry Nance,who's set to return to action Monday night. But the Lakers have the best schedule for streaming this week, so they're getting the nod here. Streaming teams can pick their favorite of whichever ones are available in their own leagues. The Lakers are one of just 11 teams with four games. Three of the Laker's four opponents are ranked in the top-11 of the league in pace, and the fourth team is ranked 17th. An extra game and a lot of extra possessions are exactly what fantasy managers are looking for in a streaming option.
