January 28, 2017

Milos Zvekic digs up deeper league NBA waiver pickups for Week 14 of fantasy basketball. These waiver wire adds can be sleepers for fantasy basketball teams.

There have been a lot of injuries around the NBA lately. And while no true fan welcomes them, fantasy owners have an openning to pick up a player from the waivers who will step in a larger role if his fellow teammate went down. Keeping track of those situations and pouncing on such an opportunity can make all the difference in a gameweek, or maybe even the rest of the season.

Today, we will be looking at three players who's situation improved by unfortunate circumstances and that made them more fantasy desirable in short, or long term.

Here are my Week 14 deeper league waiver wire pickups for your fantasy basketball teams.

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Deep League Waiver Wire Add

Raymond Felton, PG/SG, LAC (25% owned in Yahoo! leagues)

Raymond Felton started the season off as a backup to Chris Paul in a guard rotation that also involved Austin Rivers, Jamal Crawford and J.J. Redick. That didn't spell out too much minutes for Felton. And that was true. In the first 27 games of the season, his playing time eclipsed the 20 minute mark only six times and he averaged just 17 minutes a game.

But then Blake Griffin went down and even though Felton didn't directly replace Griffin since they don't play nearly the same position, Felton's playing time did increase. He's been playing 29.0 minutes per game since then and his averages of 10.8 PTS with 0.8 3PM, 44.6 FG%, 73.7 FT%, 3.8 REB, 4.1 AST, 1.0 STL, 0.4 BLK and 1.5 TO in that time warrant a spot on fantasy rosters in very deep leagues.

Griffin did return recently, but no Chris Paul went down and won't be back for around five-seven weeks. That will keep Felton busy. Furthermore trade rumors of Carmelo Anthony joining the Clippers is heating up, and L.A. bound team would have to give up at least one, and maybe even two of their guards. And the most mentioned are Redick, Crawford and Rivers. If that were to happen Felton would see even more playmaking responsibilities. Moreover, being surrounded by the likes of Griffin, Melo and a great finisher at the rim DeAndre Jordan, would possibly give Raymond more space and more open looks which could help his FG% and generate more assists.

If you need a guard and Felton's strong suits fit your team, you should pick him up. He is in a pretty good situation, and there are indications that will improve even further. The Clippers having a pretty fantasy playoff schedule won't hurt either.

Super Deep League Waiver Wire Add

Jameer Nelson, PG, DEN (12% owned in Yahoo! leagues)

Now Jameer Nelson might just turn out to be a short-term rental, but if you need help in assists he could prove to be worth the rent. Nelson's averaging 25 minutes a night and averaging 8.8 points with 1.2 threes on 44.3% from the field and 70.6% from the charity stripe, 2.1 assists, 4.6 assists, 0.7 steals, 0.1 blocks and 1.9 turnovers so far this season. A player playing 25 minutes a game and getting his owners 4.6 assists per game this whole season doesn't sound like a rental. But with his other stats not really being worthy of a roster space he is more of a deep league assist specialist.

Denver's starting playmaker Emmanuel Mudiay went down with a back injury and missed the last three games. Nelson took advantage. He averaged 13.0 PTS with 1.3 3PM on 57.1 FG% and 75.0 FT%, 6.0 AST, 2.3 REB, 0.7 STL, 0.3 BLK and 2.0 TO in 33 minutes per game. Now that's more like it! And with Mudiay set to miss at least the next two games, Nelson could be pretty helpful to fantasy owners in "win now" mode.

So owners who need nelp in threes and assists and a push in the race for fantasy playoffs should give Nelson a look, but remain cautious about his value for the rest of the season. In addition to Mudiay's return a few games from now, another development could hurt Nelson's current value. Denver is actively looking to trade at least one of their bigs and would probably try to get a backcourt player in return. That would mean even more competition and probably less playing time for Nelson.

Nothing is imminent though at this point and Jameer could keep his value even after the trade deadline, but don't get too attached, just in case.

Super Deep League Waiver Wire Add

Arron Afflalo, SG/SF, SAC (5% owned in Yahoo! leagues)

Arron Afflalo wasn't really good this season. He was averaging 7.5 PTS with 1.0 3PM on 43.6 FG% and 91.8 FT%, 2.0 REB, 1.0 AST, 0.3 STL, 0.1 BLK and 0.6 TO in 23 minutes per outing. But then Rudy Gay's injury helped Afflalo gain some fantasy value. In the five games since Gay went down, Afflalo averaged 9.8 points and 2.4 threes on 45.0% from the field and hit his only free throw during that period. He also added 1.6 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 0.6 steals, 0.2 blocks and 0.8 turnovers in 33 minutes per game. Now that's more like it.

He is still far from being fantasy relevant in most leagues, but for fantasy owners in really deep leagues with an open roster spot for a three-point specialist who doesn't hurt your percentages and contributes a bit in all other categories, he could just be a nice pick up since Gay is out for the season.

It seems that Afflalo has been the primary beneficiary of Gay's injury, but owners should keep an eye on the battle for minutes between him and Matt Barnes. Furthermore, there have been talks of the Kings looking to move either Afflalo or Ben McLemore. If Arron is the one to go, his landing spot will determine his fantasy value, although it's hard to imagine him having more value on another team. So a trade would probably be a bad thing for his owners.

To be honest I don't see Afflalo as a long-term solution to any fantasy problems your team might have, but for owners in need of some threes right away, Afflalo could be what you're looking for.

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