The Cut List: Players to Drop or Hold in Fantasy Basketball - Week 17

February 19, 2026

Thunder Dan Palyo offers advice on which players to drop or hold in fantasy basketball leagues as of February 19, 2026. He helps managers make those tough decisions on who to cut in order to add breakout players off the waiver wire.

The good news is that NBA games return today, and we have a loaded finish to Week 17 with a bunch of games in the next four days. The bad news, of course, is that the war of attrition in the NBA continues as star players continue to drop like flies, meaning the balancing act that you've been trying to manage with your fantasy basketball rosters gets even more challenging.

The reality is that the fantasy playoffs are only a week or two away for a lot of managers, so we are entering crunch time. Tough decisions are going to have to be made, and the last thing you can afford to have is multiple injured or unproductive players on your roster down the stretch.

What do we do with some of these highly rostered star players? Very few of them are truly injured, but which of them may still actually play when it matters the most - during the upcoming fantasy basketball playoffs? In this week's Cut List, I tried to break it down for you a little differently than in the past and address every major injury and potential shutdown risk.

Easy Cuts First, No Hesitation Here

Zach LaVine is out for the season. It was another disappointing year for him, both in real life and fantasy. The Kings then announced yesterday that Domantas Sabonis is also done for the season, so that makes things easy for us.

Kyrie Irving has officially been ruled out for the remainder of the year. This wasn't too much of a surprise, but I know some were still holding out and hoping.

Jaren Jackson Jr. didn't last long in Utah. He played only a few games before the team opted to shut him down. He had surgery on his knee and is done for the year. It was a pretty underwhelming season from him based on what we had seen from him earlier in his career.

Paul George won't be eligible to return from his suspension until March 25th, which is halfway through the final week of playoffs (if your league runs the standard Weeks 20 through 22).

Franz Wagner hit a setback in his recovery and is now out at least three more weeks. I'd be surprised if he's not out longer; he just can't seem to get right this year, and Orlando doesn't need him to make the playoffs.

Aaron Gordon is going to miss another month of action, putting his potential return in the middle of the fantasy playoffs for many. He's not good enough to warrant holding in anything other than the deepest formats - IR slots are at a premium for most managers.

Barely Holding On...But Be Ready

Kristaps Porzingis is supposed to make his Golden State debut sooner rather than later (currently questionable for tonight's game), but I have some concerns as to how much he will play down the stretch. The Warriors could quickly fall out of playoff contention, and I wouldn't be surprised if Porzingis played like 20 minutes a night for a while and still sat out some back-to-backs. When the playoffs get here for your team, you'll need to maximize games, and counting on him in crunch time feels like it could be a mistake.

Anthony Davis and Trae Young are both supposed to play for the Wizards at some point this season, but I am not very optimistic, especially after the latest update on Young was that he has yet to be cleared for contact. You can hold them another week or two, but I really doubt either of them plays down the stretch or has any impact on the fantasy playoffs.

Ja Morant is going to be re-evaluated in two weeks, so he could potentially return in time for your playoffs. With Memphis punting this season, I have very little confidence in Morant playing much, if at all, the rest of the way. Zach Edey is still out at least a few more weeks, but I have no idea why Memphis would try to bring him back, and foot injuries for giant men are very dangerous situations (ask Yao Ming). Santi Aldama has missed a bunch of time lately, but is the one guy here who could return and have a pretty big role in the final weeks, but also has the least fantasy value of the group.

Ivica Zubac has yet to play a game for his new team, and Indiana has no motivation to press him into action as they are in full-tank mode. Pascal Siakam and Andrew Nembhard are risky guys to roster right now, too, but are probably more likely to be randomly rested than shut down entirely.

Russell Westbrook and DeMar DeRozan could both end up sitting out a lot down the stretch for the Kings. Neither one has been all that good in 9-CAT this season, so if they end up getting rested randomly, move on and work the wire!

Michael Porter Jr. has missed four of the Nets' last seven games. He's set to return to the lineup tonight, but has been sitting out back-to-backs all season. The Nets are probably not shutting him down entirely, but you can bet that they'll rest him plenty as he's their best asset and has massive value for the franchise - either next season as part of their rebuild or as a trade chip in the offseason.

Jusuf Nurkic is still the nominal starter at center for the Jazz, but has missed five of their last ten games. He's also seen his minutes drop, averaging just 25 over his last three. Utah has no reason to play him that much down the stretch, and I think he's the easiest Jazz guy to cut right now if you need the flexibility.

Reasons For Optimism: Hang in There as Long as You Can

Lauri Markkanen and Keyonte George are having really nice seasons, but have been missing games lately or getting benched in the fourth quarter as the Jazz blatantly tank. The commissioner recently fined them, but it remains to be seen whether that changes Utah's approach at all. I have a little more optimism for George, who needs to play in another 17 games in order to be eligible for Most Improved Player. However, he's still out tonight with an injury, so stay tuned.

Darius Garland has yet to debut for the Clippers since being traded there a few weeks ago. His toe injury continues to linger, and the latest update on his return quickly went from "out a few more games" to "out at least ten more days" in a hurry.

An addendum to this: I'm told that Darius Garland is week-to-week. Expected to play this season, but debut will likely be in March. Clippers want Garland to be fully over the toe injury when he returns to play. https://t.co/WqtsRo1mjB

— Law Murray 🏴‍☠️ (@LawMurrayTheNU) February 18, 2026

I think the Clippers want to see their new franchise point guard this year, and they're not actively tanking, so hang onto Garland as long as you can. He has some upside as the lead guard on his new team if he can work his way back to regular minutes at some point in March.

Jayson Tatum hype is reaching a fever pitch, but I am still not convinced that we see him until mid-to-late March. I know a lot of folks think it could be in a few weeks, but I remain much more conservative with my prediction. Theoretically, he could be back just in time to make an impact in the fantasy playoffs, and even 20 minutes of Tatum could be a boost to squads, so I am okay with holding for now until we get some more updates.

pic.twitter.com/B7KL47Hk6j

— Fantasy 365 (@FantasyBall365) February 18, 2026

Dejounte Murray gets included here only because he has been practicing with the Pelicans now for a while and could return at any point. Does that mean that he does? Anything is possible with New Orleans, though it would likely be on a very limited basis. Like Tatum, he'd probably be playing 20 minutes a night for a while and sitting out back-to-backs.

Others Who Can Be Dropped (Non-injured Players)

• Deandre Ayton (91%)
• Devin Vassell (81%)
• Jakob Poeltl (78%)
• Cam Thomas (77%)
• Draymond Green (76%)
• Jordan Poole (65%)
• Donte DiVincenzo (46%)
• Wendell Carter Jr. (32%)
• Peyton Watson (24%)
• Quentin Grimes (20%)
• Ajay Mitchell (20%)
• Herbert Jones (20%)

If you have been reading the cut list this season, then a lot of these names should look really familiar! I'll spare you any more of my rambling about Poole, Thomas, and Draymond and focus on a few new additions.

Ayton has been trending down for a few weeks and is always nursing some kind of injury. He's just not a must-roster player anymore, especially with Jaxson Hayes playing really well behind him. Devin Vassell finally hit the inevitable wall that was coming when the Spurs got everyone healthy, and it's clear he's the odd one out in San Antonio with DeAaron Fox, Stephon Castle, and Dylan Harper all getting to eat first on offense.

Donte DiVincenzo still has some upside in steals, but the arrival of Ayo Dosunmu in Minnesota has really eaten into his minutes and production. I'm not rushing to cut him, but he's a possible cut candidate in the coming weeks.

WCJ has been a marginal guy in 12-team leagues pretty much all season, but the last few weeks, he's been disappearing with single-digit points in seven straight games and just one game with 10+ boards.

Underperforming Fantasy Basketball Players to Hold

Jalen Smith, PF/C - Chicago Bulls (21%)

Smith missed some time heading into the break, but is probable to return for the Bulls tonight. I know Chicago brought in a few big men at the deadline (Nick Richards, Guerschon Yabusele), but Smith should continue to start down the stretch for the Bulls and has the type of fantasy skill set that we want in 9-CAT. Even a 25-28 minute role for Smith in Chicago is plenty, and we know he can comfortably play at the four or the five and still produce.

Jaylon Tyson, SG/SF - Cleveland Cavaliers (26%)

Yes, I know by now you probably think I have a life-size Tyson poster in every room in my house (so what if I do?) but I think Tyson is worth holding for at least a few more games until we see what his role and minutes look like with Evan Mobley and Dean Wade back in the lineup. He could be a cut if it's only like 20 minutes, but a move to the bench could actually help his usage, which was suffering playing alongside both James Harden and Donovan Mitchell in the starting five. He probably needs 25 minutes, and the ceiling here is like 13-5-4, but his efficiency and well-rounded game is still appealing.

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

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