Deep Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire Adds (Week 14)

January 22, 2020

Deeper fantasy basketball waiver wire adds for Week 14. These are three NBA players owned in less than 50% of fantasy basketball leagues and should be picked up.

The turnaround Marcus Smart has made not only on the court, but in the fantasy atmosphere has been one of the absorbing narratives of the season. There are very few owners willing to trade him, seeing how they most likely drafted him in a later rounds, and this is the first time over the past four seasons that Smart has been posting top 100 production. His explosion versus Phoenix bumped him up to 7th in over the previous week, and outside of the Lakers game, he's on the upswing.

Smart has always been a player that leads with his defensive stats and finally owners are reaping the benefits. He might not have another big game like that, but he has been quoted saying that he has gone to work in the gym trying to improve his outside shot and this season has just about proved that. Players and owners alike should take note, because if this continues, Smart is going to be the guy that everyone is going to invest in.

Make sure to stay updated on injuries and return times, but as far as I'm concerned, these next three players will see the biggest benefit. As a reminder, for standard (10-12 team) league adds, we use a general rule of thumb of an ownership rate of under 50% on Yahoo. All position eligibility based on Yahoo leagues. If you have any questions find me in the NBA Chat Room or @HalfCourtJester on Twitter.

Free Agent Waiver Adds for Week 14

Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk, SG  – Detroit Pistons

Ownership: 14%

8.2 PPG /  1.7 RPG /  .437 FG% /  2.0 3MPG  

Similar to this article and its deadline, this pick is a bit late. Luckily, his ownership is still just at 14%, but Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk's previous two games has pushed his value into the top 12 over the past week. His role isn't going to change much going forward either, which is both good and bad. He will keep scoring as long as he is hitting his shot, but he doesn't really offer any value elsewhere. His scoring will translate to a few assists and a multiple nights where he will only miss a few shots, so anyone that needs help with percentages and points has to consider him while he is lighting it up.

Eric Paschall, SF/PF – Golden State Warriors

Ownership 29%

13.8  PPG /  4.6 RPG /  .495 FG% /  1.7 APG

After starting off the season on way too hot of a note, Eric Paschall experienced a cooling off period, followed by a string of injuries. Not the best start for risk-taking owners during his first real chance of being a fantasy asset, but lately he has turned it around completely. Whether it was the extra spacing from D'Angelo Russell or just the time to regroup and gather himself, Paschall has gone from fantasy irrelevance to being the 55th most valuable player over the last week. It's not much, but seeing how he wasn't even worth the consideration a few weeks ago, the spurt in production should help some owners looking to start this week strong.

Kyle O'Quinn, PF/C– Philadelphia 76ers

Ownership 1%

 3.2 PPG /  .500 FG% /  3.6 RPG / 1.4 APG

Joel Embiid is out and the 76ers will need to play a backup center. They have Norvel Pelle and Kyle O'Quinn waiting on the bench and both are more than capable of posting a few big nights in the time Embiid is out. Pelle should get consideration because he is younger and needs to develop, but O'Quinn exceeds expectations nearly every time he is given the minutes. Philadelphia might not resort to one of their backups bigs unless they absolutely need to, but in case they do, O'Quinn could be an easy way to sneak in some production with no risk. Just wait for game updates and if you hear one of the two is getting the start or is going to see extra time, don't hesitate. Embiid is expected to return around mid-February so there is definitely time for one of them to get solid exposure.

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