RADIO
After a lackluster trade deadline day there are only so many days until the basketball season comes to a close. The few moves that did happen changed things enough on certain teams, most notably Detroit and Orlando, that there are a few waiver wire guards worth considering.
Position Eligibility & Ownership Rate Based on Yahoo! Fantasy Basketball Player List
NBA Guards: Week 17 Waiver Wire Pickups & Sleepers
Stanley Johnson (SG/SF, DET) - 45% Owned
The Pistons got rid of Brandon Jennings and Ersan Ilyasova for a young and upcoming Tobias Harris. Harris has slotted right into Detroit’s rotation and is being used as a stretch big man giving Reggie Jackson/Andre Drummond more freedom to do their own work or run the pick and roll.
Amidst all of these changes (the Pistons also acquired Donatas Montiejunas from the Rockets), do not forget about rookie sensation Stanley Johnson. He has gotten better every month this season and really started coming on over the past 12 games before the All-Star break. Hopefully the shakeup in Detroit doesn’t change Johnson’s role too much because he was averaging 11.4 points and 7.6 rebound a game during his hot stretch.
Brandon Jennings (PG/SG, DET) - 38% Owned
Jennings has been recovering from an Achilles injury for most of the year, so he hasn’t fully shown if he’s still capable of scoring at the clip he was before he got injured. Now that he’s playing for Orlando, he's already started claiming minutes from young point guard Elfrid Payton because Scott Skiles doesn’t seem to fully trust the second year pro. In Jennings’ first game for Orlando, he played all five of the overtime minutes. As Jennings continues to get back into basketball shape, expect coach Skiles to play the veteran guard more than anyone expects.
For some reason the Orlando Magic are in a “win now” mode, so they expect both veterans acquired in the Harris deal--Jennings and Ersan Ilyasova--to contribute heavily for the rest of the season. Jennings has never been the most consistent or efficient player, but expect him to get the opportunity to put up big stats in his stint in Orlando.
Dennis Schroder (PG, ATL) - 29% Owned
Schroder is going to be the beneficiary of a Jeff Teague wrist injury for at least the next week. It seems that the Hawks are starting to move on from Teague even when both guards are healthy, as Schroeder has been getting more consistent minutes as of late. The young German point guard seems to be a team favorite and has always put up solid numbers whenever he’s gotten the call for more minutes.
On the season, Schroder averaging 11.1 points, 4.7 assists, 1.0 steals, and 1.3 three pointers made a game. That stat line alone should make him worthy of being owned in more than 29% of Yahoo! Fantasy Basketball leagues but for whatever reason Schroeder continues going unnoticed. For somebody playing behind an All-Star caliber talent Schroder has consistently been able to put up solid numbers even though he hasn’t always gotten the minutes -- and now with Teague banged up and third-stringer Shelvin Mack in Utah, Schroder is going to get his share of minutes.
T.J. McConnell (PG, PHI) - 5% Owned
McConnell is one of the few bright spots in an otherwise awful season in Philadelphia. McConnell went undrafted coming out of Arizona, but has played his way into deserving consistent backup point guard minutes. Right now McConnell is averaging the second most assists for all rookies and is basically guaranteed his backup point guard role.
While he might not be part of Philadelphia's long term plans (see Kendall Marshall), McConnell is worth picking up for the rest of this season. He is an assist machine that knows every time he sets up one of his teammates, there’s a chance that tape helps him stay in the association for future season. While everyone on Philadelphia might already be thinking about their offseason plans, McConnell has to only be concerned with playing his best ball until the year ends.
