RADIO
What's up, Rotoballers, welcome back to the cut list! Can you believe that we're already a month and a half through the NBA season?! The first-ever in-season tournament is in the knockout stages and we're approaching the championship game in Las Vegas. So, this is where the schedules get funky and we get huge slates one day but only two games on the next day.
For those of you who may be new to the cut list, what we're here to do is give a list of players that we're comfortable dropping to the waiver wire because there are better options out there or they're the ones to cut to bring someone back from IR. Sometimes it helps to know that it's okay to cut someone after debating it for hours. We aim to give that extra push to just let them be free.
Let's get right down to it and go over who can be dropped in this Week 6 installment of the cut list. As always, let me know on X (@__Fisch), if anyone ends up finding great replacements for the following players or if you have someone to add to the list as well!
Editor's Note: Our incredible team of writers received five total writing awards and 13 award nominations by the Fantasy Sports Writers Association, tops in the industry! Congrats to all the award winners and nominees including NBA Writer of the Year, Best NFL Series, MLB Series, PGA Writer and Player Notes writer of the year. Be sure to follow their analysis, rankings and advice all year long, and win big with RotoBaller! Read More!
Players to Consider Dropping or Replacing
Skylar Mays (PG/SG, POR) - 16% rostered
One of the best streaming options across the league, when starters aren't playing, has now come down to Earth because the starters are back in the lineup. Skylar Mays had a great six-game stretch where he averaged 13.0 points, 8.7 assists, 3.2 rebounds, and 1.2 steals per game. He probably won a game or two for many fantasy managers in that span, so shout out to those of you quick-witted managers who jumped on him as a waiver pickup.
The issue is that Malcolm Brogdon and Scoot Henderson have both returned which has relegated Mays to three straight DNP-CDs. If he can't even get on the floor anymore, he can't contribute to anyone's fantasy lineup. Dynasty managers could hold on to him on their bench for when the day comes to stream him again.
Everyone else can leave Mays on the waiver wire until Brogdon either gets moved or misses more time.
Lonnie Walker IV (SG/SF, BKN) - 24% rostered
Lonnie Walker IV has revitalized his career in a big way as a big-time contributor off of the bench for the Brooklyn Nets. He's had his name brought up in Sixth Man of the Year discussion already after going on a streak of eight games with double-digit points. With that being said, he's susceptible to some ice-cold streaks, especially when the team is at full strength.
Cam Thomas and Cameron Johnson are both back on the floor after some lengthy absences and Walker has hit his cold stretch in the process. Over the last five games, he's averaged 10.0 points, 1.4 rebounds, and 1.8 turnovers per game. Other than one 20-point performance, the rest of them were single-digit outcomes.
Walker, much like Skylar Mays, is a great fill-in when everything lines up. Right now, he's better left on the waiver wire.
Dyson Daniels (PG/SG, NOP) - 19% rostered
As you might be able to see, there's a common theme starting to form in this week's cut list. Players who were filling in for hurt starters now return to their depth roles as the teams get healthier. Dyson Daniels was another one who saw his minutes get cut once C.J. McCollum and Trey Murphy III returned to the court.
There's not much else to say that hasn't already been said with the likes of Skylar Mays and Lonnie Walker IV. Daniels should remain on dynasty teams as he can still improve in the long term, but redraft managers can safely drop him to the waiver wire until someone is missing from the starting five again.
Caris LeVert (SG/SF, CLE) - 43% rostered
One of the streakiest players in all of fantasy basketball, Caris LeVert is hitting his cold streak once again. LeVert can go on a week or two-week streak of big scoring outputs along with some high-assist performances and then follow it up by shooting under 40% and adding no other stats to help in other categories.
This season, overall, he's ranked 177 in per-game fantasy value, but over the last two weeks, he's fallen all the way down to 282. LeVert has posted multiple performances under 35% shooting while adding just one or two assists and rebounds over the last couple of weeks. While the Cavaliers are competing for a championship, they're not just going to leave him out there during this cold spell.
Don't let LeVert cause any more frustration when you need just a handful of points, assists, and rebounds to win a matchup and he doesn't follow through.
Bobby Portis (PF/C, MIL) - 68% rostered
The fall of Bobby Portis, in fantasy terms, has been a surprising one, to say the least. He's been incredibly consistent as an undrafted waiver pickup or a late-round selection. Unfortunately, he's hit his lowest rank in category leagues since the 2019-20 season. This doesn't mean that he shouldn't be rostered in deeper leagues though, let's just make sure that is clear.
In 12-team leagues and smaller, Portis isn't producing the type of results that will consistently win fantasy matchups. He's currently 141st in per-game fantasy value for nine-category leagues and his usage is the lowest it's been since the 2016-17 season. Portis is averaging 11.1 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game while shooting his lowest field goal percentage since 2019-20.
Essentially what this comes down to is the fact that Portis hasn't been nearly as consistent or trustworthy as he once was in his time in Milwaukee. Players that are producing higher value and have a lower rostered percentage, according to Basketball Monster, are Nicolas Batum, Obi Toppin, Duncan Robinson, Aaron Nesmith, Grayson Allen, and Royce O'Neale. All of these names should be available in shallower leagues and can provide some more value until Portis turns things around.
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