This article is part of our NBA Waiver Wire series.
According to reports circulating in the Twittersphere, the Dallas Mavericks' worst fears have been confirmed - Caron Butler tore his patella tendon and is done for the season. Fantasy players take note - that could mean a significant shakeup in the Mavs' lineup.
For now, the biggest beneficiary is probably Shawn Marion (67% owned). His days as a top-five fantasy player are long gone, but his value will certainly get a boost - though I'm not sure if he's able to be a full-time three at this stage of his career.
DeShawn Stevenson (4% owned) will also get a boost in playing time, but he's primarily a defensive specialist. Rookie Dominique Jones (1%) could be an interesting sleeper candidate. Jones tore up the D-League during his recent stint with the Texas Legends.
The Knicks' rotation is in flux this week as well, as New York will lose Danilo Gallinari (sprained knee) for two-to-three weeks. Mike D'Antoni will replace Gallo with Ronny Turiaf (12% owned) for now - which will give New York a bigger starting lineup - makes sense, with San Antonio, the Lakers, the Blazers and the Jazz looming on the schedule. Turiaf won't score a ton, but he'll block some shots as long as he can stay healthy.
Shawne Williams (1% owned) will have a more important role while Gallinari is sidelined; D'Antoni likes his ability to stretch the floor (.645 from three this season). It's not clear who else D'Antoni will add to his very short rotation.
According to reports circulating in the Twittersphere, the Dallas Mavericks' worst fears have been confirmed - Caron Butler tore his patella tendon and is done for the season. Fantasy players take note - that could mean a significant shakeup in the Mavs' lineup.
For now, the biggest beneficiary is probably Shawn Marion (67% owned). His days as a top-five fantasy player are long gone, but his value will certainly get a boost - though I'm not sure if he's able to be a full-time three at this stage of his career.
DeShawn Stevenson (4% owned) will also get a boost in playing time, but he's primarily a defensive specialist. Rookie Dominique Jones (1%) could be an interesting sleeper candidate. Jones tore up the D-League during his recent stint with the Texas Legends.
The Knicks' rotation is in flux this week as well, as New York will lose Danilo Gallinari (sprained knee) for two-to-three weeks. Mike D'Antoni will replace Gallo with Ronny Turiaf (12% owned) for now - which will give New York a bigger starting lineup - makes sense, with San Antonio, the Lakers, the Blazers and the Jazz looming on the schedule. Turiaf won't score a ton, but he'll block some shots as long as he can stay healthy.
Shawne Williams (1% owned) will have a more important role while Gallinari is sidelined; D'Antoni likes his ability to stretch the floor (.645 from three this season). It's not clear who else D'Antoni will add to his very short rotation. Bill Walker (1%) has been getting more run of late, and could potentially step up, or D'Antoni could decide he needs size and take a second look at Anthony Randolph (36% owned) or Timofey Mozgov (1%). Don't count on the latter two - they've done little to suggest they're ready to play significant minutes in the Knicks' system thus far.
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:
Taj Gibson (35% owned) - The after-effects of a concussion Gibson suffered before Christmas lingered longer than expected, and may have contributed to his disappointing play of late. But he's been declared symptom-free, and we still think he's a great value for as long as Joakim Noah is sidelined.
JJ Redick (20% owned) - Orlando is knee-deep in perimeter players after the acquisitions of Jason Richardson, Gilbert Arenas and Hedo Turkoglu, but Redick continues to get significant minutes off the bench. Like Ryan Anderson (see below), he could get a bump in playing time if Brandon Bass is sidelined.
Tracy McGrady (22% owned) - T-Mac is starting for the Pistons now, and just missed a triple-double on Monday. Do I think it'll last? Of course not. But I'm not above riding the hot hand. Speaking of which...
Kenyon Martin (13% owned) - Is back in the starting lineup for the Nuggets. File these last two under "enjoy it while it lasts."
Deep Leagues:
Ryan Anderson (10% owned) - Couple of reasons to like Anderson right now - he's a very good shooter, and, as Dwight Howard's new backup, he's picking up center eligibility in lots of formats (including Yahoo!). He'll be even more valuable if and when Brandon Bass (27%) decides to have his ailing knee 'scoped.
Marreese Speights (4% owned) - Speights will get another shot to win Philly's starting center job while Spencer Hawes (back) is out of the lineup. He put up pretty good numbers in that role last season, before injuries and Eddie Jordan's unhealthy devotion to Sam Dalembert hurt his progress.
Kwame Brown (1% owned) - I hate myself for even bringing up Brown's name in the context of a recommendations column, but facts are facts: DeSagana Diop (Achilles) is done for the season, Nazr Mohammed is dealing with a bone bruise of unknown severity, and that makes Brown Charlotte's center by default. (Can't say I'm disappointed to see Michael Jordan saddled with his most infamous draft pick, but that's me.)
Weekend Waiver Deadline?
Don't forget to check the Rotosynthesis blog for updated waiver suggestions every weekend.
Follow Charlie on Twitter - @charliezegers
