This week's Waiver Wire Guards feature three young guys who are starting to emerge as real forces. All three play point guard and are expected to both distribute and score, but they are really score first combo guards coming off the bench to give their team a lift.  The final guy is an old face in a new place that might have revived his career after it was on life support in South Beach.

Be sure to also check out RotoBaller's NBA Waiver Wire Pickups List, as well as this week's Waiver Wire Centers.

Waiver Wire: Guards (Week 4)

Standard League Adds

Zach LaVine (MIN, PG/SG) - 42% Owned

Over the last week and a half, LaVine has put up five straight double digit point outings, including three for 20+. A lot of his recent uptick in minutes has been because of an injury to Ricky Rubio who also missed a lot of time last year because of an ankle injury. LaVine will put up points and assists while Rubio is out but should still be worth a bench roster spot as he is the clear back up scorer/distributor at the guard position for the Timberwolves. After Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns, I thought the team would rely mainly on Shabazz Muhammad and Kevin Martin for play-making and points. However, it seems that Zach is beginning to emerge ahead both of those guys and if that continues then his 13.6 pts, 3.2 rebs, and 4 asts a game are merely the floor of his potential.

Dennis Schroder (ATL, PG) - 33% Owned

I have personally never liked Schroder's game, but that doesn't matter because the Atlanta Hawks absolutely love him. The Hawks have started Schroder at shooting guard alongside Jeff Teague twice this season because they were resting Kyle Korver. The young German point guard is getting five more minutes a game than last year and is putting up three more shots as a result. He is a good assist man (around 5 per game) and has gotten double digit points in 9 of the team's last 12 games. There are a lot of bodies on this unselfish Hawks team, so he won't always be the focal point at any given night, but the team seems committed to giving him more and more playing time. Jeff Teague has an ankle injury so Schroder will be starting for the next week or so, which makes him a great short term option. Long term, I would argue the Hawks are grooming him to take over for Teague after next year, and he will continue to see plenty of opportunities even with Teague healthy.

Deep League Adds

Cory Joseph (TOR, PG) - 17% Owned

Cory Joseph has been hot off the bench over the last week for the Raptors. In his last six games, Joseph is averaging 12 points, 4 assists, and 2 three pointers made. After being basically anonymous on San Antonio's bench the last four years, Joseph has landed in a good spot to show off his talents. Kyle Lowry is the clear start at point but Joseph might be able to fill in for the departed Lou Williams who won sixth man of the year last season. Joseph is only 24 and just starting to get a feel for having to contribute a lot.  He has played well recently and there's no reason that shouldn't continue.

Mario Chalmers (MEM, PG/SG) - 15% Owned

Chalmers has had three games in Memphis so far and is averaging 18 points and 3 assists in 20 minutes! These stats won't hold up, but it definitely looks like he has found new life coming off the bench in Memphis and scoring points. He's been able to do this while also being extremely efficient shooting 52% from the field and 50% from three. Again, none of this is sustainable for a season, but there's no doubt that Chalmers has a lot more free reign and space to do what he wants as a score first point. The Grizzlies have Matt Barnes, Tony Allen, and Vince Carter as their other guards/wings and none of them have the skills to put up points consistently. Memphis traded for Chalmers for a reason, and it's to take some of the distributing and scoring pressure off of Mike Conley Jr.  That is exactly what Mario has come out of the gates doing.

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