Waiver wire pickups: Get Dennis Smith Jr., Bol Bol
Working the waiver wire is pivotal to succeeding in fantasy basketball. With so many games, injuries and endless shifts in rotations throughout the marathon campaign, we’ll need to source stats from free agency to maximize imaginary rosters.
Create or join an ESPN Fantasy Basketball league today and draft your league any time before the first game tips off every Monday. Your league starts fresh with 0-0 records for the new matchup period.
A willingness to entertain competition for the last few spots on your fantasy hoops roster can prove rewarding. When curating this fluid collective of statistical contributors, it helps to consider your end-of-bench players in direct competition with the talent floating in free agency.
The goal of this weekly series is to identify players at each position widely available in free agency in ESPN leagues. Some nominations are specialists capable of helping in one or two categories, while others deliver more diverse and important statistical offerings. In the breakdowns below, I’ve ordered players at each position with the priority of acquisition in mind, rather than roster percentage in ESPN leagues.
Monte Morris, Washington Wizards (Rostered in 57.6% of ESPN leagues): Sporting one of the best assist-to-turnover ratios since joining the league as a complementary playmaker for Denver, Morris is beginning to thrive in a starting role for the Wizards.
Dennis Smith Jr., Charlotte Hornets (40.9%): While we wait for LaMelo Ball to recover from a lingering ankle injury, it’s been riveting to see “DSJ” revive his professional career back in his home state. Until we see Ball and Terry Rozier back as full-time lead, Smith is an impact interim addition to your fantasy roster.
De’Anthony Melton, Philadelphia 76ers (7.2%): A far more capable offensive threat than fellow defensive specialist and teammate Matisse Thybulle, Melton’s game is ideal for roto and category formats given he leads the entire league in steal percentage.
Kevin Huerter, Sacramento Kings (44.4%): A descriptive stat that helps capture Huerter’s new role in Sacramento is that he’s taking nearly 50% more 3-pointers per game than he had last season for the Hawks. As the team’s resident floor-spacer, Huerter brings enough playmaking (4.3 dimes per game over the last week) to offset some of those leaner shooting outings.
Trey Murphy III, New Orleans Pelicans (26.5%): Even if some shooting regression and fewer minutes could both eventually slow down Murphy’s impressive offensive start to his second season, this is still a rising offensive talent who should still be a key part of the rotation whenever Brandon Ingram returns to the fold.
Jaylen Nowell, Minnesota Timberwolves (10.5%): An emergent scoring microwave off the Minnesota bench, Nowell also claims atypically stellar rebounding rates for a guard.
Caris LeVert, Cleveland Cavaliers (57.5%): Even as he couldn’t find his shot against the Knicks in recent matchup, this playmaking wing was still able to drive real value via his passing proficiency. A 41-point opus against Boston over the past weekend also signals how high the ceiling can be when the shot is falling. On a team in need of his perimeter creation while Darius Garland heals, LeVert can keep this up.
Jaden McDaniels, Minnesota Timberwolves (31.6%): The fantasy market often undervalues elite defenders. Posting a blend of blocks and steals reminiscent of a young Robert Covington, McDaniels is difference-maker despite not being a big source of scoring.
Norman Powell, LA Clippers (21.8%): A sluggish start to the season for Powell has given way to some impressive lines, as he’s finally found his touch from beyond and should see plenty of opportunities to find his shot as Kawhi Leonard deals with a knee issue.
Eric Gordon, Houston Rockets (3.7%): Sometimes we forget about steady vets on young teams. It’s tough to ride with Gordon for long stretches given how often he’ll rest due to load management, but streaming value is present for a player who has averaged nearly 16 PPG during the last week.
Jalen Smith, Indiana Pacers (56.6%): Nearly averaging a double-double in his first season as a full-time starter at the four for the Pacers, Smith is the rare 3-and-D power forward capable of producing solid 3-point and block results.
Santi Aldama, Memphis Grizzlies (19.6%): The numbers have cooled since a hot start, but this second-year forward is still playing heavy minutes while maintaining some helpful defensive rates.
Brook Lopez, Milwaukee Bucks (40.5%): Second only to Orlando’s Bol in block percentage on the season, Lopez is finally posting enough points and boards to be one of the more popular free agent pick-ups at the position the past week.
Bol Bol, Orlando Magic (16.2%): His father Manute Bol led the NBA with five blocks per game as a rookie back in 1986. No really. Like his father, Bol is a fun rim protector, but he’s also a far savvier player in transition and as a floor-spacer, making him a fun addition while Orlando is finding room for him in the rotation.
Kelly Olynyk, Utah Jazz (23.5%): Danny Ainge clearly likes having Olynyk on his rosters, as he’s proved since his Boston days. A stretch big with enough passing and defensive skills to provide full fantasy lines, Olynyk joins is a productive vet the market has overlooked.