Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire Adds and Weekly Planner: Week 15 (1/29-2/4)

January 29, 2024

Thunder Dan Palyo gets you set for the upcoming week of Fantasy Basketball with a schedule breakdown and his top players to add off the waiver wire for Week 15.

As we turn the calendar over to the month of February this week, we inch closer to the actual NBA trade deadline and the deadline for deals in your fantasy league, too. While this article isn't about trades, I do want to remind you to constantly evaluate and re-evaluate your roster as we come down the stretch. If your league allows a lot of weekly moves then making a 2-for-1 deal where you get the best player and free up a spot to stream a player is a great way to start molding your roster into a championship contender!

I think it's become conventional wisdom to some extent, but I will restate this anyway. The key to winning fantasy basketball leagues is NOT about how you draft, but what you do afterward with waiver additions and trades. And while you might make a handful of trades during a season, you're most certainly going to make dozens of waiver adds and drops as you try to cope with injuries to players or just try to maximize your games played each week in H2H formats.

Working the wire is an incredibly important skill and being one step ahead of your fellow league managers means always planning and keeping tabs on players who starting to play better or earn more minutes. Every week, I will do my best to help you plan out your week and give you my top recommendations to add from waivers in both standard (10-12 team leagues) and deeper formats (more than 12 teams).

Week 15 Schedule Breakdown

Notes:

We have another awesome schedule this week for fantasy with every team playing at least 3 or 4 games!

Tuesday (5) and Thursday (4) are the light days on the schedule with Monday (12) and Friday (10) being the heaviest.

Standard League Adds For Week 15

Percentage owned numbers in parentheses are from Yahoo!

Josh Hart - SG/SF (50%)

I don't often mention players up around 50%, but I think it's prudent to remind everyone that Hart is a must-add in all formats with Julius Randle going down with an injury that could keep him out for a significant amount of time. Hart isn't likely to pick up much of the scoring vacated by Randle, but he is a superb rebounder and is probably looking at 36-38 minutes a night now with how tight Thibs runs his rotations.

Caris LeVert - SG/SF (47%) 

While Evan Mobley is set to return tonight for Cleveland, Darius Garland is still probably about a week away from returning. That means LeVert still has some time left as a decent fantasy option. He's still functioning in his sixth-man capacity, but with Garland out he sees a boost in minutes and usage that makes him fantasy-relevant. His shooting percentage is not reliable, but he is a solid source of points, rebounds, and assists.

Ayo Dosunmu - SG (24%)

Dosumu is trending up for the Bulls right now as he's played 28 minutes or more now in five straight games. Zach LaVine continues to miss time and could be held back until he's traded (or the deadline passes) clearing the way for Dosunmu and Alex Caruso to play major minutes alongside Coby White in the Chicago backcourt.

Ayo isn't much of a scorer but has hit double-digits in points no in seven straight games. His value is in defensive stats as he has averaged 1.1 steals + blocks in 23 minutes per game this season.

Jarred Vanderbilt - PF (23%)

The backup big man minutes in L.A. have been largely a mess this season with Christian Wood, Rui Hachimura, and Jarred Vanderbilt all taking turns with good games and constantly eating into each other's value. But Vanderbilt is the hot hand right now without question. He's posted double-digit points in three straight games while securing 23 rebounds and adding 10 steals over that stretch. It's the first time all season that he has played 25 minutes or more in a row and perhaps he's emerging as the backup Laker big man that we want.

Jarred Vanderbilt in his last 6 games

22.7 MIN
9.5 PTS
1.5 OREB
6.0 REB
2.0 STL
64.7% FG
60.0% 3PT
71.0% TS

The Lakers are 4-2 in this stretch

Is the Vandolorian back? pic.twitter.com/kivWhTAEHl

— Tristan (@TBeckmann24) January 26, 2024

Deep League Adds For Week 14

John Konchar - SG/SF (14%)

Konchar is the definition of a glue guy or a "jack of all trades, master of none." With Memphis being so short-handed, he's starting and playing around 27-30 minutes and can fill out a stat line quite nicely without even cracking double-digits in points. He does a little bit of everything and has been incredibly valuable in blocks lately, swatting 12 shots over his last five games.  You just don't get that from a wing player - let alone a career backup all that often. Ride Konchar as long as you can, he should see plenty of playing time until Memphis gets some regulars back.

Cam Whitmore - SF (14%)

Whitmore's rostership is on the rise, and I would recommend grabbing him while you can and even stashing him if you have to. Playing time has opened up on the wing for the Rockets this season due to injury and the rookie shooter has looked like he belongs with the opportunities he's been given.

Cam Whitmore’s last 2 games:

24.5 MPG
21.5 PTS
10.0 REB
3.5 3PM

The last teenager to average 20/10 with 3 threes on a 2 game sample size was Jabari Smith Jr.

Houston’s young core>>> pic.twitter.com/RjTjAFsac1

— Bradeaux (@BradeauxNBA) January 29, 2024

He looks like a star in the making to me and Houston is simply going to want to keep finding minutes for him down the stretch with how well he's playing. He's perfectly capable of being an asset to fantasy teams if he can sustain even a 20 to 24-minute role off the bench.

Mason Plumlee - C (11%)

Plumlee continues to get a chance at being relevant as he's starting for the injured Ivica Zubac, but other than his 12-point, 12-rebound double-double against Toronto last Friday night he's been rather underwhelming. We know he has a solid fantasy skill set in terms of being a plus rebounder, passer, and shot-blocker, so he's still worth a shot while Zubac is out, especially because the Clippers get sweet matchups against the Wizards and Pistons this week - two teams that get destroyed by big men.

Jonathan Isaac - SF/PF (4%)

I know Isaac's name shows up in these types of articles all the time and I am well aware he often disappoints after you add him with a handful of 10-minute outings or another injury that forces him back out of the rotation. But we all know the tantalizing upside that this player possesses when given minutes and that's why we keep going back to him.

Don't look now but he has played 22 and 23 minutes in consecutive games. The games had a day off in between them, which is crucial as he's much more likely to be rested in the second half of back-to-backs. His 1.3 steals+ blocks in only 16 minutes per game this year is impressive and he's able to contribute in FG%, rebounding, and even a few threes without many turnovers. I like him this week with Orlando having four games and NO back-to-backs, that gives him a chance at playing in each game.

That's it for this week, good luck in your leagues, and thanks for reading!

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