Brandon Jennings (PG, ORL) - NBA Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add for Point Guard Depth

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Back in December, I wrote a waiver wire piece about stashing Detroit point guard Brandon Jennings, an All-Star caliber talent who was several days away from working his way back from an Achilles injury last January. Despite the historically bleak outlook on players’ careers following that type of injury, Jennings, only 26, was coming off an impressive string of D-League “warm up” games and after knocking off a week or two of rust. He looked poised to return to his useful status as a second or third tier fantasy point guard, where he would provide your team with a significant boost in several categories, particularly points (16.0 ppg career average), three-pointers (1.8 3pg), assists (6.0 apg), steals (1.3 spg), and free-throw percentage (80.1%). Several factors, such as a career year from Reggie Jackson, a slow return from his big injury, and a poor fit with Pistons head coach Stan Van Gundy prompted last week’s trade to Orlando.

With the Magic, Jennings faces less competition at the point guard position in the form of the raw and still developing Elfrid Payton. While a bench role seems to be the most likely scenario for the time being, Jennings has managed to play 25 minutes in his first two games in a Magic uniform, averaging 15 ppg, 5.5 apg, 3.5 rpg, 3.0 3pg, and 1.0 spg in those contests. If those impressive numbers weren’t enough to feel good about, Magic head coach Scott Skiles has mentioned how impressive Jennings looks, and backed that up by starting him in overtime during his first game with Orlando Friday night.

Bottom Line: We know the type of player Jennings has been to this point in his career. He will provide a boost in several categories, but can’t shoot the rock well and is turnover prone. His bench role behind Payton may not last very long with the way he has played in two games for the Magic. Jennings is not a “home run” of an addition, but he certainly can provide a spark down the stretch for those teams that are point guard needy.