RADIO
Thunder Dan Palyo offers advice on which players to drop in fantasy basketball leagues as of October 29, 2026. He helps managers make those tough decisions on who to cut in order to add breakout players off the waiver wire.
The first week of the NBA season has been a whirlwind. We've already seen several injuries to early-round picks that are going to force managers to dig deep into their bag of tricks to keep their fantasy teams afloat.
While it's going to be tempting to cut underperforming players to make room for some of these players on waiver wires who will benefit from those aforementioned injuries, I think that we have to exercise some patience and make those cuts sparingly, since we are working with only three, four, or five-game sample sizes for this season.
I don't want to send mixed messages, because I also think being proactive on the waiver wire is a really good idea. Many impactful fantasy players are being picked up this week, but you don't want to cut a good player who is just off to a rough start and then see another manager pick them up and reap the benefits either. We are engaged in a balancing act early on this season, and my goal in this piece is to help you make those tough calls on which players to drop and which players to hold onto for a little longer.
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The Cut List
I've broken down this week's analysis into three sections: the cut list, watch list, and hold list. Every league is different, and the context surrounding each player is important. It's far easier to cut a player in a shallow league or a league with small benches than it is to cut them in a deeper format. I'm basing my analysis on a standard 12-team league with 12-13 roster spots and using the top-150 as a benchmark for which players should be rostered.
The flat-out cut list is going to be shorter this week, and likely longer in weeks to come. These are players who are rostered in 20% or more of Yahoo! leagues who can be cut in all formats. There are simply better players available, and I have little faith that their situation is improving in the short term.
| Player | GP | Rank | Rostered | FG% | FT% | 3PTM | PTS | REB | AST | ST | BLK | TO |
| Rui Hachimura | 3 | 345 | 54% | 26.30% | 55.60% | 2 | 10.3 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0.3 | 2.7 |
| Precious Achiuwa | 4 | 190 | 42% | 52.60% | 36.40% | 0.3 | 11.3 | 5.5 | 0.8 | 1.5 | 0.8 | 0.5 |
| Jakob Poeltl | 4 | 322 | 37% | 57.10% | 42.90% | 0 | 2.8 | 4.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.8 |
| Draymond Green | 4 | 244 | 30% | 38.50% | 50.00% | 0.5 | 3.3 | 5.5 | 6.8 | 0.3 | 1 | 4.3 |
| Jeremiah Fears | 4 | 327 | 29% | 31.10% | 83.30% | 0.8 | 9 | 3.3 | 1.8 | 0.8 | 0 | 2.3 |
| Egor Demin | 4 | 234 | 26% | 31.00% | 100.00% | 1.5 | 7.8 | 2.3 | 2.8 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Dennis Schroder | 5 | 192 | 25% | 42.60% | 100.00% | 1 | 14 | 4 | 4.8 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 3.2 |
| Mitchell Robinson | 4 | 294 | 21% | 76.90% | 25.00% | 0 | 5.5 | 4.8 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 1 |
Rui Hachimura and Egor Demin are hurt right now, but have been underwhelming. I had high hopes for Demin after his Summer League performance, but he has been outplayed by Nolan Traore, and Mikel Brown Jr. is going to get the keys to the offense eventually. Hach is a hollow fantasy producer, so if he's not making shots, he's of no use to us.
Jeremiah Fears is a guy I get pushback on from his supporters, but the numbers don't lie. He's a terrible three-point shooter and a player who needs a lot of shot volume to produce. If the Pelicans want to feature him, then just do it, but they're stuck in purgatory with win-now players like Trey Murphy III, Zion Williamson, and Dejounte Murray who also need the ball in their hands.
Jakob Poeltl played 10 minutes last night and picked up five fouls. He's been absolutely awful, and the Raptors have other options with CMB and TJD (Trayce Jackson-Davis). I think his days of being relevant are over.
Let's put Draymond Green in that category as well. We still see him rostered in 30% of leagues despite only adding value in one category - assists. Sure, seven assists is something you can't find on the wire, but 4.3 turnovers to go with them is no bueno!
The rest of these guys were nothing more than streamers and can really only help you in one or two categories. Schroder's time as a starter is winding down by the day, and I'm not convinced that Mitch-Rob holds his starting gig over Neemias Queta all season.
If you picked up Precious Achiuwa this week and then proceeded to watch him play only 13 minutes on Tuesday night, then welcome to the Sacramento Kings experience!
Injured Players
I'd try to hold Murray or Missi if you have the room, but I am already hearing from managers with only one or two IR slots, and they're filling up. Murray looked bad in preseason and in his limited action before getting hurt, and Missi has to contend with the Pelicans' disastrous rotations and whims, so his first big game could easily have been his best of the season.
Wallace could be out a while, and Caruso is perpetually hurt. I know both guys probably have value in OKC with Jalen Williams out indefinitely, but they're just not priority holds right now if you need IR slots for other players.
The Watch List
These are players who I am officially worried about, and I am monitoring closely. A few more bad games due to a decrease in their minute, or an inconsistent role, and I'd consider moving on from them. In other words, give them a few more chances, but they're the next guys to go when the time comes to make a move.
I will most assuredly miss someone in this process, so feel free to grill me about those players on social media.
| Player | GP | Rank | Rostered | FG% | FT% | 3PTM | PTS | REB | AST | ST | BLK | TO |
| Mikal Bridges | 5 | 295 | 85% | 27.00% | N/A | 1 | 5 | 2.4 | 2 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.8 |
| Day'Ron Sharpe | 4 | 221 | 78% | 52.20% | 50.00% | 0.5 | 7.5 | 6.5 | 1.3 | 0.8 | 1 | 2 |
| Jalen Green | 3 | 184 | 76% | 48.60% | 80.00% | 1.3 | 14 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 0.3 | 0.7 | 2 |
| Andrew Wiggins | 5 | 188 | 76% | 44.90% | 75.00% | 1.2 | 10.6 | 3.2 | 1.4 | 0.4 | 0.8 | 1 |
| Myles Turner | 5 | 162 | 72% | 35.10% | 100.00% | 0.8 | 6.6 | 4.8 | 2.2 | 0.4 | 2.6 | 2.8 |
| Collin Murray-Boyles | 4 | 183 | 70% | 42.90% | 87.50% | 0.5 | 6.8 | 5 | 1.5 | 1 | 0.5 | 1.5 |
| Neemias Queta | 4 | 213 | 63% | 57.90% | 60.00% | 0.3 | 8 | 4.5 | 1.5 | 0.3 | 1.8 | 1.3 |
| Christian Braun | 4 | 108 | 41% | 46.50% | 50.00% | 1.3 | 11.5 | 4.5 | 2.3 | 2.3 | 0.3 | 2 |
| Dillon Brooks | 3 | 187 | 41% | 37.80% | 68.80% | 1.7 | 14.7 | 3.7 | 3.3 | 1 | 0.3 | 1.3 |
| Collin Gillespie | 3 | 242 | 39% | 29.20% | 25.00% | 1.7 | 6.7 | 2 | 4.3 | 2.7 | 0 | 2.7 |
| Reed Sheppard | 4 | 107 | 33% | 37.50% | 100.00% | 2.3 | 10.5 | 2.8 | 4.8 | 1.8 | 0 | 1.8 |
| Quentin Grimes | 5 | 151 | 31% | 47.10% | 84.20% | 0.6 | 10.2 | 3.6 | 2.8 | 1.2 | 0.2 | 1.2 |
Let's start with players who are on the thinnest ice.
Quentin Grimes was on the chopping block before a big game last night. The caveat is that Luka Doncic and Ziaire Williams were both out, and they played the Clippers, who are not exactly the toughest opponent. Let's see where his minutes settle when Luka returns; maybe this good game gets him going.
Mikal Bridges is coming off a career year and looked like maybe he had turned the corner with 12 points and four threes on Tuesday night. Then he went out and scored 3 points in 13 minutes and was benched by Mike Brown for most of the second half in favor of Landry Shamet.
Mikal Bridges played just 13 minutes tonight, his lowest as a Knick by a large margin
Previous low was 19 min in the Knicks' first-round Game 4 win over Atlanta https://t.co/cEDt8LYnWR
— The Strickland (@TheStrickland) October 29, 2026
You can cut him if you want, but he is a pretty good player in 9-CAT formats historically. We are comparing a really small sample size of games of him sucking to years of being pretty competent. I don't have him rostered anywhere, but I might wait a bit longer.
Jalen Green and Collin Gillespie are both off to shaky starts. I don't have any shares of either Phoenix guard, but they both play enough minutes and provide (just) enough stats to be worth holding onto. Green's most recent game (20-4-4) was a good sign, and Gillespie had one really bad shooting night (0-for-8 in the opener) that is dragging down his stats.
Dillon Brooks is another pretty hollow player that I rarely use in fantasy, other than perhaps as a points and threes streamer. I wouldn't care if you cut him, but he typically does enough in steals to justify being rostered and he won't shoot this bad all year.
Collin Murray-Boyles and Day'Ron Sharpe are two players that I have heard from you the most about. Yes, I am also very frustrated with the starts from both players, especially CMB, who was getting pumped up by every analyst in the industry last month. The reality is that you likely invested a top-90 pick to get either player, and that they are both very good per-minute producers. Both have unique fantasy skill sets that you can't find on the wire, and they are definitely two guys I am willing to wait on because of their upside.
Neemias Queta's minutes are troublesome, but his 15 minutes against Brooklyn were a result of foul trouble. He's still blocking 1.8 shots per game and is worth holding onto until we see if he can win his job back from Mitch Robinson.
Christian Braun and Reed Sheppard are players you want to drop but probably shouldn't! Braun is never going to light it up nightly, but his combination of threes and steals with good FG% and relatively low turnovers gives him some 9-CAT appeal. Sheppard is doing enough with Marcus Smart out to stay in the mix, but the real question is where his minutes will settle when FVV is no longer resting on back-to-backs and Smart (a Udoka favorite) is healthy.
Myles Turner should probably be on the "Hold List," but he's already tested our patience so much last season that people are itching for a bad night to drop him. Just know that as soon as you do, he's going to hit 4 threes and block five shots. Hey, I don't make the rules, but it's going to happen!
The Hold List
These are players who you should absolutely NOT cut right now, even in the shallowest of formats. I have a lot of confidence that they'll get it turned around, and you should be shopping them in trades before cutting them outright.
A few players who I know you were worried about played their way off this list with good performances last night. Fred VanVleet, Alex Sarr, and Matas Buzelis are three guys I don't think we even need to discuss any further, but here's the rest of the players who are testing our patience, but who are absolutely NOT drops!
| Player | GP | Rank | Rostered | FG% | FT% | 3PTM | PTS | REB | AST | ST | BLK | TO |
| Josh Giddey | 5 | 174 | 98% | 35.70% | 71.40% | 0.6 | 7.6 | 5.6 | 8 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 2 |
| Onyeka Okongwu | 5 | 155 | 95% | 43.20% | 75.00% | 0.8 | 9.6 | 5.6 | 3 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 1 |
| Zach Edey | 3 | 125 | 89% | 53.80% | 80.00% | 0 | 6 | 7.3 | 1.7 | 0.3 | 2 | 1 |
| Darryn Peterson | 5 | 145 | 76% | 34.90% | 92.90% | 1.4 | 12.8 | 4.4 | 2.6 | 1 | 0.2 | 0.8 |
| Jalen Suggs | 3 | 170 | 69% | 35.70% | 75.00% | 0.3 | 8 | 5 | 5.7 | 2 | 0.3 | 3 |
| Peyton Watson | 4 | 99 | 63% | 41.70% | 86.70% | 0.8 | 14 | 4.5 | 2.3 | 1.5 | 1.8 | 2.8 |
| Khaman Maluach | 3 | 158 | 56% | 53.30% | 75.00% | 0.3 | 7.7 | 7.3 | 1.7 | 0.7 | 1.3 | 2.3 |
| Devin Vassell | 5 | 78 | 44% | 41.80% | 100.00% | 1.8 | 12.6 | 4 | 3.8 | 1.8 | 0 | 1.4 |
| Sandro Mamukelashvili | 5 | 138 | 37% | 51.40% | 72.70% | 1 | 10.2 | 4.8 | 1.8 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 0.6 |
Let's dive into a few of the more highly-rostered players first.
Josh Giddey was drafted too high (I said this, check my rankings!), but is not a cut candidate. He's probably not really a good sell-low guy either. His minutes are way down right now, but the Bulls finally played a good game last night, even in a loss to the Knicks, and Giddey flirted with a triple-double. I don't think he'll touch 17 points per game this season, but his out-of-position boards and elite assists have value. Wait for some more good games, then move him (if you want).
Onyeka Okongwu has me worried, I won't lie. We were all expecting a lot more from him after the best season of his career last year. But his minutes have stabilized lately, playing 29 and 31 minutes in his last two games, and his shot attempts are back up, too. I think the steals and blocks will come with time, and in a few weeks his numbers will look closer to what we expected.
Zach Edey is simply too good to give up on this quickly or sell low on right now. His minutes are being managed and the Grizzlies are being cautious with him, which might be the right approach considering what has happened to Tyrese Haliburton and Anthony Edwards already. We need more than 21 minutes a night, but even 26-28 minutes eventually is enough for him to have a lot of value in boards and blocks without hurting FT%, a valuable combination.
I'm not sure who's looking to cut Darryn Peterson, but stop it. He's a rookie and other than some poor FG% (which we expect from rookies), he's been just fine. If you were expecting assists, you shouldn't have been; he's not really a point guard, and Keyonte George is already locked into that role. But he's clearly going to play a lot this year and had his best scoring total last night against a good Spurs team.
behind-the-back cross 👀 DP dials long distance ☎️ #TakeNote https://t.co/WYkoSLIazf
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) October 29, 2026
Devin Vassell, Andrew Wiggins, and Peyton Watson are all officially boring and prone to some nights where their stats look ordinary at best. But I'm holding all three of them for now.
Wiggins finally had a good offensive game last night (18 points, 4 threes), and was a 1-1-1 (threes, blocks, steals) guy last season. Miami needs his offense. HE WILL BE BETTER.
Vassell is the last option on offense for the Spurs, but he's still starting and playing 30+ minutes a night. He had 21 points last night and is averaging 1.8 steals per game. The shot volume is going to be low some nights, but he's not hurting you anywhere. 12-4-4 is boring, but there's value there when it comes with good percentage and low turnovers!
Devin Vassell scores two consecutive clutch buckets, putting the Spurs up 5.
The second one includes a nice fake on two defenders. https://t.co/zCveA7GToK— MrBuckBuck (@MrBuckBuckNBA) October 29, 2026
I was not someone who drafted Peyton Watson, and my concern was that he was going to stand in the corner and only shoot some occasional threes on offense. But his last two games (15 and 22 points, respectively) have been really good, and he's doing more with the ball in his hands that I expected.
The solution to getting Peyton Watson going offensively?
Have him attack instead of react.
Watson is 5-for-8 on drives but 1-for-15 on spot-up jumpers.
He's been better with the ball in his hands getting downhill instead of waiting for C&S 3's -- use that dynamic more. https://t.co/98Le49ioLy
— RealCavsFans.com (@realcavsfans) October 28, 2026
If we're getting some decent offensive production to go along with his elite defense (1.5 steals, 1.8 blocks) then we're looking at a really good fantasy basketball player. Don't bail on Watson; he's making me a believer (and a very happy Cavs fan).
Khaman Maluach and Sandro Mamukelashvili are two players that I have on multiple teams. Maluach is a starting center with the potential for double-doubles and 2+ blocks per game. Hang in there, guys; he's 20 years old and has never played this many minutes before. His last game (12-7-1, 1 steal, 1 block) was a good sign that he's trending in the right direction. I don't see Oso Ighodaro taking the starting center job back, though he could eat into Mal's minutes.
Mamu has been really good in his last two games and is going to be a fixture in the Lakers' rotation this year. He'll have some ugly box scores occasionally, but not many C-eligible guys can do what he does. He played 30 minutes last night and had a nice line with 13-8-3, 2 steals, and 1 block (but no threes).
Injured Players
- Ivica Zubac
- Jalen Suggs
Zubac didn't make the list, but please don't cut him. I know Haliburton is out for a few weeks, but he was looking really good in the pick-and-roll with Hali. He's worth an IR spot, trust me. You're not cutting Anthony Edwards, Tyrese Haliburton, or Jalen Duren either (obviously)
Suggs should be stashed for now, but I will say this. If his timetable keeps getting pushed back and you need room on the IL for other, better players, he's probably the first one to go. His fantasy game is ugly at times, but assists and steals are not easy to come by, and he can pile them up in bunches when healthy.
Thanks for reading, and good luck making those tough calls on who to cut and keep!
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