Week 11 Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire Pickups: NBA Guards

January 8, 2015

In his Week 11 NBA Waiver Wire column, Lou Cappetta focuses on a few guards that could deserve some attention in your fantasy basketball league.

Another week is in the books, and with it comes a trade that is surely going to shake up waiver wires everywhere. In case you missed it some how, guards J.R. Smith, Iman Shumpert and Dion Waiters were all involved in a three team deal this week, and the fallout is going to take up a solid portion of our weekly waiver wire pickups this week.

Position Eligibility & Ownership Rate Based on Yahoo! Fantasy Basketball Player List

Waiver Wire Pickup For Right Now

Tim Hardaway Jr. (NYK, SG) - 30% Owned

I have talked about Hardaway in this column a couple of times so far this year, so I will briefly rehash what you are guaranteed to get here... points and threes.

What you also will get now, is an increased opportunity for Hardaway going forward, that should play out as an extended audition to show Phil Jackson what he has to offer the Knicks going forward. With Smith and Shumpert now in Cleveland, there is now zero competition for minutes at the wing positions. Throw in the increased speculation that Carmelo Anthony is going to be shut down due to his ailing knee, and Hardaway suddenly becomes the only legitimate scoring options for the woeful Knicks.

Hardaway is going to put up some impressive scoring nights with plenty of three pointers going forward to go with a handful of rebounds. He's also going to have his fair share of poor shooting nights, few assists due to a lack of supporting cast, and little help in defensive categories, but if you can survive those deficiencies, Hardaway could end up paying huge dividens for your team going forward. He is a must add in all formats.

Waiver Wire Pickups For Deep Leagues

Shane Larkin (PG, NYK) - 3% Owned

Staying in the Big Apple, the focus shifts to a guy you should think about grabbing if you need a point guard in a deep league in Larkin.

The Knicks made it clear after they traded Smith and Shumpert for nothing that they are playing for the future. They now have only two players that will be rostered next season for more than $2 million, Anthony and Jose Calderon.

Of course now the rumor is that the Knicks are shopping Calderon, and it makes plenty of sense. I'm confident in saying that he'll definitely be dealt, as there is always a market for point guards who can dish the rock and hit threes (even if they are defensive turnstiles). When that happens, the young son of a baseball Hall of Famer is going to find himself as the Knicks starting point guard.

Larkin's scoring is going to be inconsistent, and he's going to be no help at all from three. However, he should be able to slash and dish his way to respectable assist totals. He also could offer elite level production in the steals department, as his 1.3 average in only 24 minutes could easily reach the two-plus total if he starts playing 30 minutes per game.

Larkin is not a must add, but he is a guy to think about grabbing speculatively or in deep leagues of more than 12 teams.

Waiver Wire Guard To Keep An Eye On

Dion Waiters (SG, OKC) - 39% Owned

First, let me say that I think it's crazy that Waiters is owned in more Yahoo leagues than Hardaway. He has spent this season as a reserve who's game doesn't mesh well with what Cleveland has been trying to do this year, and it was obvious he was going to be gone.

With that said, I think Waiters finds himself in an interesting spot going forward with the Thunder. Original reports that had free agent-to-be Reggie Jackson heading to the Knicks in return for Waiters could be signs that the Thunder are preparing for life without there sixth man. Don't be surprised if the Thunder, knowing they won't be able to afford to keep Jackson after this year, end up making another trade. They did it with James Harden.

I'm convinced that Waiters is Jackson's replacement, and that there is no way Jackson ends this season in Oklahoma City. While I'm no fan of Waiters' ball dominant, volume shooting, no defense game, the thought of him adding instant offense against second stringers as the Thunder sixth man is intriguing.

I wouldn't add Waiters until Jackson is dealt, and maybe even then I'd wait to see how he plays. The former lottery pick may have found a place where he can finally live up to his potential, and that alone should have you keeping a close eye on Waiters going forward.