The Cut List: Players to Drop or Hold in Fantasy Basketball - Week 15

January 29, 2026

Thunder Dan Palyo offers advice on which players to drop or hold in fantasy basketball leagues as of January 29, 2025. He helps managers make those tough decisions on who to cut in order to add breakout players off the waiver wire.

Welcome back to this week's edition of the fantasy basketball cut list! We are getting to the point of the year where we are running into some of the same players for the second time. We are also starting to stack up injured players either on the cut list or the "hot seat," as managers are weighing their options and have to consider moving on from injured stars who may not return in time to help their teams in the playoffs.

I mentioned this last week, but you may find that some more prominent players are being featured here lately. It's important to remember that these suggestions should never be taken as the gospel and do not exist in a vacuum. The number of teams in your league, the scoring format, your team's position in the standings, and the playoff schedule are all factors that should be considered before cutting any player, let alone a highly-rostered player in which you invested a lot of draft capital back in October.

Just a reminder (or perhaps a disclaimer) that this article identifies players who can be safely cut in standard 12-team leagues. If you are in a smaller or larger league, then your level of patience with certain players will vary, and you should always trust your gut over some basketball analyst who doesn't know your team as well as you do. If you are making cuts, then you are probably looking for players to add, so check out my weekly waiver wire article. Alright, let's roll up our sleeves and make those tough decisions — who are some of our cut candidates for this week?

Highly Rostered Players to Consider Cutting

All roster percentages are courtesy of Yahoo!

Draymond Green, PF/C - Golden State Warriors (76%)

It's Draymond Green's second appearance on the Cut List this year. Folks, I am not sure what we are doing here. How is Green still rostered in 76% of Yahoo leagues? I could post his stats for the season, the last 30 days, or the last 14 days, but I think just looking at his game log might be the most impactful. So here it is.

I mean, that's bleak, right? The Warriors scored 140 points on Wednesday night, and Green had zero points, shooting 0-for-6 from the field. He's now shooting 32.6% on the season, and his counting stats are down to 6-4-5 per game.

He sits out too often for a guy who is also playing low minutes, and he's only helping in one category - assists. That's it! He ranks 240 in 9-CAT right now! My gosh, I am not sure if there is a player who is worse for fantasy that is still so highly rostered (Cam Thomas is probably the runner-up).

Reviewing Others Who Can Be Dropped

• Jordan Poole, PG/SG - NOP (74%)
• Jakob Poeltl, C - TOR (73%)
• Cam Thomas, SG/SF, BKN (69%)
• Kel'el Ware, PF/C (60%)

Poole has racked up two straight DNP-CDs and was our featured cut last week (for the second time). Move on! Poeltl's latest update was that he has no timeline for a return as he continues to get treatment on his ailing back. Don't count on him coming back anytime soon or playing enough minutes to be the version of himself we wanted when we drafted him.

Thomas has missed two of the last five games and has not played more than 25 minutes off the bench since he came back from a six-week absence. He's not even rosterable in points leagues anymore, folks.

And anyone still holding Ware got some good news Wednesday when he returned to action after missing four games. The bad news? He played seven minutes, posting four points and four boards. He continues to be buried on the bench, and I don't see that changing anytime soon unless Bam Adebayo were to go down with an injury.

Lightly Rostered Players to Consider Cutting

Neemias Queta, C - Boston Celtics (37%)

If you're punting points, threes, and/or assists, then just ignore this next part and hang onto the Boston center. Other managers who care about those stats have to consider that Queta is trending down lately and potentially hurting you in more categories than he's helping.

Queta is a four-category player, offering decent value in rebounds, blocks, FG%, and turnovers. He missed Wednesday night's game with an illness and had seen his minutes drop from the 28-minute range down into the 22-24 minute range lately.

The Celtics have no issue playing a bunch of different guys at power forward and center, with Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, and Payton Pritchard being the only rotation players with minutes over 30 per night. Queta's backup, Luka Garza, has been playing well and is a stretch-five who can also step out and hit threes. Boston also started Amari Williams on Wednesday, who is an intriguing young player that Boston may want to get a look at.

The point is that Queta is never going to get more than 26-28 minutes a night, and while that's enough to get like eight rebounds and 1.5 blocks per night, it's also not enough to make him a must-roster player, especially if he doesn't perfectly fit your build in 9-CAT leagues.

Jerami Grant, SF/PF - Portland Trail Blazers (34%)

Grant had a nice run as the Portland sixth man to start the season, putting up around 20 points per night on some efficient shooting. But even when he was doing good, he was not the player that he once was in terms of his lack of defense (he used to block shots, believe it or not).

Then, he missed a big chunk of time in December and January. He has recently returned to action, but has not been good...at all.

Jerami Grant, who started the first 26 games of the season shooting 38.9% from 3, is shooting just 23.1% since returning from injury..

Only a 6 game sample, but you obviously hope he starts trending back up soon..🤞 pic.twitter.com/wq04rMOvVO

— ᴛʏʟᴇʀ (@blazersforreal) January 28, 2026

Since returning, his numbers have dipped to 13.8 points, 2.2 boards, and just 1.0 threes on 39% shooting. That puts him at 281 in 9-CAT over that stretch, and his lack of peripheral stats is really noticeable when his scoring dips.

I have heard him tossed out in trade rumors, but his contract is a massive deterrent for other teams as he's owed a ton of money through the 2027-2028 season. His value is bottoming out, and he's simply not doing enough to be worth hanging onto in any format, even 12-team points leagues.

Others Who Can Be Cut:

• Quentin Grimes, SG/SF - PHI (25%)
• Herbert Jones, SF/PF - NOP (20%)
• Dejounte Murray, PG/SG - NOP (20%)
• Tre Jones, PG/SG (INJ) CHI (19%)
• Davion Mitchell, PG (INJ) MIA (19%)
• Collin Sexton, PG/SG - CHA (17%)
• Jaden Ivey, PG/SG - DET (14%)
• Caleb Love, PG/SG - POR (11%)

On the Hot Seat

You don't have to drop them yet, but these players are getting closer to drop territory. This week, we have two injury stashes that may not be worth stashing here soon.

Trae Young, PG - Washington Wizards (98%)

I believe that we will not see Trae Young on the court for the Wizards this season. I don't have any proof of that, and I think it's probably wise to hold on for another week or two in case Washington makes its plans for Young known to the public.

However, the Wizards have no real reason to run Young out there in a tanking season. They have young guards that they want to develop (Bub Carrington, Tre Johnson, Kyshawn George), and all three guys like the ball in their hands. Even if Young does play this season, we have to entertain the idea that he'll likely play fewer minutes than he did in Atlanta and could be rested randomly down the stretch.

Washington has done that before with veterans, and is a handful of Young games worth hanging onto in H2H leagues where we want to maximize games played? I don't have any Young shares, but if I did, I would be holding through the deadline and then probably moving on if we don't get a positive update on him actually returning to court this season.

Kevin Porter Jr., PG/SG - Milwaukee Bucks (65%)

I've been getting asked about Porter as a cut candidate over the last week. The lack of a timeline for his injury is troublesome, and oblique injuries usually keep players out at least 3-4 weeks, even when they are on the mild side. If it's a more severe injury, it could be 6-8 weeks, which would put his return far too late to have an impact for fantasy teams in the playoffs.

Kevin Porter Jr. ended up playing 28 minutes against the Hawks, but to Rivers' observation, you can see him grabbing at his oblique on the first possession he played in Atlanta (video below).

He never made it down the floor on the defensive possession that followed: https://t.co/VZgqgNViMD pic.twitter.com/jig7Qk03z6

— Eric Nehm (@eric_nehm) January 22, 2026

The reason I have him on the hot seat and not as a flat-out cut is partly that we don't know the severity of his injury. Three weeks compared to eight weeks is a massive difference, and if you have an IL spot open and can wait a bit longer, Porter was a top-30 player on the season before going down.

Furthermore, Giannis Antetokounmpo is now on the trade block and could be dealt ahead of next week's deadline. If Porter comes back healthy by March on a team without Antetokounmpo, he could post some big numbers. I think he should probably be held at least one more week to see if we get an update on his injury timeline and to see how things shake out with the Bucks at the deadline.

Other Injured Players Still On the Hot Seat:

• Tyler Herro, PG/SG - MIA (94%)
• Kristaps Porzingis, PF/C - ATL (91%)
• Keegan Murray, SF/PF - SAC (36%)

Hopefully, we get updates on these three players by next week, but if we get some bad news on Herro or Porzingis, be ready to move on. Murray is a compelling hold through the deadline since the Kings could potentially deal Domantas Sabonis elsewhere.

Underperforming Players to Hold

Jrue Holiday, PG/SG - Portland Trail Blazers (54%)

Unlike his teammate, Grant, who offers us little beyond scoring, Holiday has been one of the best assist guys in the league on a per-minute basis. The issue has been that Holiday has been limited to only around 20 minutes per game since returning from his calf injury.

However, his minutes are trending up as he's played 24 and 25 minutes in his last two games, and he played in both games in Portland's two most recent sets of back-to-backs. Sprinkle in some trade rumors (though I am not sure he actually gets moved), and Holiday is an asset who should have solid value the rest of the way.

His value might take a hit somewhere else, as he probably wouldn't be the starting point guard on a contending team that dealt for him. But his all-around game is still quite fantasy-friendly with 25 minutes a night, regardless. Just stay healthy, and managers should continue to enjoy this late-career renaissance.

Derik Queen, PF/C - New Orleans Pelicans (51%)

The last two weeks have been rough for the rookie (nine points, seven boards, four assists, 43% shooting), and his minutes have taken a hit as he's playing just 25 minutes a night.

He may be hitting the rookie wall, or the Pelicans may also be playing his backup, Yves Missi, more minutes to showcase him for a trade. Missi has played well and earned those minutes, but if he's dealt at the deadline, then Queen's path to 30+ minutes is paved quite nicely.

With Zion Williamson as a prime shutdown candidate, too, we could see Queen get more usage, boards, and assists in the closing month of the season. He's still doing enough to stay on rosters, and his upside during the "Silly Season" is enough to hold on to him - even in 10-team leagues.

Thanks for reading, and good luck making those tough roster decisions this week!

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