X
Lost password?

Don't have an account?
Gain Access Now

X

Receive free daily analysis

NFL
NBA
NHL
NASCAR
CFB
MLB
MMA
PGA
ESPORTS
BETTING

Already have an account? Log In

X

Forgot Password


POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Import Your Leagues
Weekly Rankings
Compare Any Players
Projections
Articles & Tools
Weekly Planner
24x7 News and Alerts

Waiver Priority and FAAB in Fantasy Basketball

Trevor Crippen considers how to make waivers and FAAB work in fantasy basketball, and if it's worth it.

Donovan Mitchell went undrafted in the majority of fantasy basketball leagues last season, and finished the season as a top 50 player. How did Mitchell end up on his owner's team? Was he added using a waiver claim? Did the owner have to spend FAAB (free agent acquisition budget) dollars to acquire him? Or, as was the case with the vast majority of players added in fantasy basketball, was Donovan Mitchell picked up as a free agent, freely available to anyone on first-come, first-serve basis?

Now compare how you answered that question to how big breakout players were acquired in your fantasy football league. For example, let's think about Alvin Kamara, who similarly broke out from being a rookie who wasn't expected to do much into becoming a top fantasy performer. Some people may have added him freely off waivers if they snagged him before he broke out for 96 yards and a touchdown on 5 carries and 10 receptions in week 4. But for those owners who acquired him after that big game -- especially after the trade on the following Tuesday which sent Adrian Peterson to the Arizona Cardinals, moving Kamara up a notch on the RB depth chart -- they likely had to have a high waiver priority or be willing to part with a decent chunk of FAAB dollars to obtain the services of the breakout star.

Let's talk about that a little bit. If waivers and FAAB dollars weren't used to pick up a breakout star like Donovan Mitchell, do they have any purpose? Is there a way to tinker with how they work so they'll be more often required to pick up a player like Mitchell? Or are the fundamental differences in how the NBA works in comparison to the NFL that there's no level at which there's much of a point using them in your league?

Upgrade To VIP: Win more with our NBA and DFS Premium Pass, get expert tools and advice from proven winners! Jamie Calandro and Dan Palyo lead the RotoBaller team in 2024-25 with exclusive DFS picks, Prop picks and more. Gain VIP access to our Lineup Optimizer, Research Station, DFS Cheat Sheets and VIP Chat Rooms. Go Premium, Win More!

 

Making Waivers and FAAB Work in Fantasy Basketball

Waivers Only After Drops: Taking Advantage of Unlucky, Foolish, and Sabotaging Owners

What is still the default setting in most public leagues is to have players start on waivers after the draft, then become free agents for the rest of the season. From that point on, the only players to go on waivers are those who are dropped by their fantasy teams. That means all the players on waivers were unwanted by at least one team in your league, and the vast majority of those guys were dropped with good reason -- there were available free agents who were equal or greater in value. Only a small fraction of the players who end up on waivers end up being highly desirable commodities, on whom it's worth spending a high waiver priority. That tiny group of players tends to fall into three categories, which will shrink in size the better your league is.

1. Unlucky. An owner has too many injuries, and not enough IR spots. They can't afford to hold onto an injured player and still compete. Perhaps last year you started out trying to stash Nikola Mirotic in your one IR spot. However, you then lost your star C Rudy Gobert to a knee injury a few weeks into the season and got off to a very bad start overall. Instead of wasting a bench spot to hold onto both injured players, you needed all hands on deck to stay competitive and keep yourself within sniffing distance of a playoff spot. So you kept Gobert in your IR spot and dropped Mirotic to add a player who could help you immediately. Mirotic immediately became a desirable add for competitive teams who could wait him out, or for any team that had an open IR spot.

This type of desirable waiver add obviously becomes more prevalent leagues without an IR spot, where some owners may have been faced with the decision of whether to hold onto even a star level player like Gobert.

2. Foolish. Perhaps an impatient fantasy manager lost faith in a good player who got off to a bad start, and dropped him. An example of this was Nikola Jokic in 2016-17. Jokic only averaged 23.5 minutes per game in October and November of 2016, and was poorly misused by head coach Mike Malone. As a result, fantasy owners were staring at a guy who they drafted in the third round averaging only 9.4 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 2.8 assists, along with next to no contribution in threes, steals, or blocks. His name was appearing on bust lists everywhere. Some of those owners concluded he was a sunk cost and foolishly decided to cut bait if they couldn't find a trade deal. More forward-looking owners with good waiver priority were able to take advantage to the tune of 19.1 points, 10.8 rebounds, and 5.8 assists along with his usual monstrous percentages from December on.

3. (Listen All Y'All, It's) Sabotage! Sadly, this category describes a decent chunk of the experiences I've had in leagues where waiver priority has suddenly become relevant. Joe Jerkface is tired of losing or tired having the league veto his obviously collusive trades, so he drops all his players in protest. Suddenly it becomes a scramble for the remaining competitive teams to add all those valuable dropped players, and waiver priority can actually tip the balance of the league -- a guy with top priority might grab Kevin Love, while a guy with a mid-to-low priority might only end up with Rondae Hollis-Jefferson.

This is not something you should plan for, and I hope it doesn't happen in your league. But I find it illustrative to point out as a matter of personal experience. Sabotage represents a not-insignificant percentage of time I've seen waivers come into play, and it certainly represents the situation when waivers end up having the biggest effect on the outcome of a league.

FAAB: All that Cash and Nowhere to Spend It

We've established that in most set-ups, waivers are rarely needed to add a player, and when they are it very rarely matters. FAAB waivers do not do anything to change that -- they just make it all the more obvious. Under FAAB waivers, you receive a set budget (usually something like $100 or $200) to spend adding players off waivers over the course of the season, in each case bidding a number of dollars on a player on waivers. In some systems you can make $0 bids, some systems you have to spend at least $1. Highest bid wins, with waiver priority still existing as a tie-breaker in the case of multiple bids at the same value.

In leagues where players aren't on waivers except right after the draft or when dropped, it's crystal clear when how pointless waivers usually are when you use FAAB dollars. Most of the time you won't want to bid more than the minimum. Maybe up to $2 or $3. Then in those few exceptions above where a useful player is dropped, it's usually worth going all-in, since you probably won't get another chance to make a truly meaningful add. Most of the league will end the season with most of their FAAB dollars unspent, because there won't be enough meaningful adds for all of the teams to spend their money on.

Daily Rolling Waivers: Would that Make a Difference?

Maybe the problem is all those players always being on free agency. In fantasy football, players lock once their games start. Then we watch as players breakout and injuries happen, and react to the effects of those performances and injuries in the next waiver wire cycle. Maybe that would work in basketball? Maybe all players should be on waivers all the time, and we should have to bid against other owners for the right to add a player coming off a breakout game or who may benefit from an injury ahead of him. I believe in this sort of system, you almost have to go FAAB. Using waiver priority would mean you'd have to blow your top priority just to make a single add that no one else might have wanted. You'll want to use FAAB so you can still make small waiver claims, without blowing your chance a big catch later on.

It helps a little, but doesn't truly add meaning to the process. The vast majority of pickups can be made for $0 or $1. Only occasionally, will a single game make the difference and create such a demand for a player that there will be multiple bids and you'll have to reach into your pockets to make a bid. But a single game just isn't that big of a data point when it comes to the NBA, like it is for the NFL. And injuries don't have the same star-making impact in the NBA as they do in the NFL, either.

Weekly Waivers: If Fantasy Football is Our Inspiration, Why Not Make it Once a Week?

Perhaps the best solution, if you want to make the waiver wire have meaning, is to only do it once a week. In this case, you'll get to see a full week's worth of performances and a full week's worth of injuries, before claims process and you add players to your team. People will really have to put thought into their claims and make serious bids against other players. There will be larger sample of new performance to drive demand (for a player) and a lot more people looking to make a move to drive supply (of roster spots and FAAB dollars).

The drawback to this is that you can't fill in for a key injury early in the week. You also can't take advantage of streaming as a strategy -- which someone people will see as a perk, not a drawback, I suppose. And you're especially screwed if you were trying to fill an open roster spot, and you don't fill in enough back-up options in case you get out-bid on your first choices for waiver adds -- you'll have to wait another full week to make a move.

Some platforms -- including ESPN -- allow you to choose which days FAAB waivers run. So you could make them run two or three times a week, which could alleviate some of those concerns. There's an extra cycle for minimal weekend streaming, and you don't have to wait a week to get an injury substitution. But this does come at the cost of lowering the increased need to commit FAAB dollars that making it weekly really imposed -- since you're then back down to seeing just 1 or 2 games of evidence for each player.

Should We Really Care About Waivers?

In the end, maybe we shouldn't care about making waivers meaningful. It's not necessarily a bad thing that fantasy basketball doesn't live or die on the waiver wire like fantasy football does. It's also not a bad thing that the first person to figure out a breakout is happening, or going to happen, should reap rewards from adding that player as a free agent. If you want to reward speedy owners, keep roster flexibility, and encourage streaming, then stay with the standard default free agency set up, where waivers only apply to players dropped.

But if you want to try something different, where waivers actually mean something and give everyone -- not just the quick on the draw -- an equal opportunity to add top players on the waiver wire, then go full hog. Don't mess around with regular waivers processing daily. Make it a weekly or biweekly event using FAAB. There's less streaming and it's less forgiving to those who suffer injuries at key moments. But it means choosing your FAAB bid now requires skill on a weekly basis. It gives you and your league mates more to compete over and more to talk trash about.

More Fantasy Basketball Analysis




POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Import Your Leagues
Weekly Rankings
Compare Any Players
Projections
Articles & Tools
Weekly Planner
24x7 News and Alerts

REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

New York Knicks

Tosan Evbuomwan Joins Knicks
NBA

Kai Jones Links Up With EuroLeague Team
San Antonio Spurs

Bismack Biyombo Returns to Spurs
Minnesota Timberwolves

Bones Hyland Rejoins Timberwolves
Kobe Bufkin

Moves to Brooklyn
Trey Yesavage

Sets Franchise Strikeout Record On Monday
Yordan Alvarez

To Receive MRI For Sprained Left Ankle On Tuesday
Willson Contreras

Exits Early Monday With Right-Biceps Tightness
Yordan Alvarez

Exits With Ankle Sprain
Brock Bowers

Officially Active on Monday Night
Jauan Jennings

Day-to-Day With Ankle Injury
Logan O'Hoppe

Activated Off Seven-Day Injured List
CBJ

Denton Mateychuk Dealing With Groin Issue
Bo Horvat

Fine for Training Camp
Kirby Dach

on Track to Be Ready for Opening Night
Jose Altuve

Returns Against Rangers
J.J. McCarthy

Expected to Miss 2-4 Weeks With High-Ankle Sprain
J.J. McCarthy

Likely Out for Week 3 With High-Ankle Sprain
Jean Silva

Gets Finished For The First Time In His Career
Aaron Jones Sr.

Unlikely to Play in Week 3 Due to Hamstring Injury
Diego Lopes

Returns To The Win Column
Jayden Daniels

' Week 3 Status in Doubt
Rob Font

Outclassed In The Noche UFC 3 Co-Main Event
David Martinez

Wins His Second UFC Fight
Jared Gordon

Suffers Brutal TKO Loss At Noche UFC 3
Rafa Garcia

Wins Back-To-Back Fights
Brian Thomas Jr.

Dealing with Wrist Injury
Dustin Stoltzfus

Drops A Decision At Noche UFC 3
Kelvin Gastelum

Gets Back In The Win Column
Diego Ferreira

Suffers Second-Round TKO
Alexander Hernandez

Extends His Win Streak With A Brutal TKO
Quang Le

Suffers First-Round Knockout
Santiago Luna

Shines In His UFC Debut
Christopher Bell

Earns his First Bristol Cup Series Victory
Alex Bowman

Falls Short of Advancing Through Cup Series Playoffs
Chase Briscoe

Collects his Third Top-10 Finish at Bristol
Ryan Blaney

Strong Top-Five Bristol Performance Advances him to the Playoffs
Corey Heim

Earns his First Career Cup Series Top-10 Finish at Bristol
Giannis Antetokounmpo

Leads Greece to Bronze Medal
Alperen Sengün

Alperen Sengun Drops 28 Points in EuroBasket Finals
CFB

Indiana's Lee Beebe Jr. Out for Season with Knee Injury
Dennis Schröder

Dennis Schroder Named EuroBasket MVP
Bryce Eldridge

Giants to Promote Bryce Eldridge
Jaren Jackson Jr.

Progressing in Recovery
Jonathan Kuminga

Receives New Offer From Warriors
Kenneth Walker III

Bounces Back with Big Week 2 Performance
Bijan Robinson

Rushes for 143 Yards in Week 2
Justin Fields

Currently in Concussion Protocol
Cincinnati Bengals

Bengals Calling Around to Available Free-Agent Quarterbacks
Joe Burrow

to Undergo Surgery, Out at Least Three Months
Emil Heineman

Aiming to Take the "Next Step" This Season
Braeden Cootes

Good to Go for Camp
Ivan Fedotov

Blue Jackets Acquire Ivan Fedotov From Flyers
Aaron Jones Sr.

Injures Hamstring During Sunday Night Football
Darren Waller

Not Expected to Play in Week 3
Garrett Crochet

Punches Out 12 in Win
Cole Ragans

to Return on Wednesday
Jameson Williams

Records Long Touchdown in Week 2, Still Limited to Downfield Role?
George Kirby

Strikes Out 14 in Win
Jayden Daniels

Considered "Day-to-Day" with Knee Injury
Carlos Estévez

Carlos Estevez Exits with Back Tightness
Jonathan Taylor

Tops 200 Yards From Scrimmage in Week 2 Win
Joe Burrow

Could Miss Three Months if he Requires Toe Surgery
Davante Adams

Headlines Rams Receiving Corps Sunday
Wan'Dale Robinson

Explodes for 142 Yards, Touchdown in Overtime Thriller
Joe Flacco

Browns Not Considering Benching Joe Flacco After Week 2
Quentin Grimes

Still Not Close to a New Contract Agreement
Joel Embiid

"Looking Slender, Spry and in Positive Spirits"
Ty Gibbs

Has Arguably his Best Career Drive, but Only Finishes 10th
Chase Elliott

Despite Crashing Out at Bristol, Chase Elliott Advances to Round of 12
Austin Dillon

Misses Round of 12 After Extremely Mediocre Bristol Run
Shane Van Gisbergen

Shane van Gisbergen Fails to Advance to Round of 12
Josh Berry

Finishes Last in All Three Round of 16 Races to Fail to Advance
Luis Arraez

Takes a Seat on Sunday With Head Injury
Adolis García

Adolis Garcia Activated, Starting on Sunday
CFB

Ryan Williams Explodes In Return To Field
CFB

Drew Allar Plays Mediocre Game In Blowout Win
CFB

LaNorris Sellers Exits Game In Blowout Loss
CFB

DJ Lagway Tosses Five Interceptions In Loss
CFB

Garrett Nussmeier Plays Game Manager in Saturday's Win
CFB

CJ Carr Remains Poised In Narrow Loss
CFB

John Mateer Leads Oklahoma In Rout
CFB

Arch Manning Struggles Against UTEP
CFB

Jeremiah Smith Impresses In Win
Bryan Woo

Records Career-High 13 Strikeouts
Max Muncy

Exits Early on Saturday
CFB

Sam Leavitt Shines As Arizona State Rebounds From Week 2 Loss
Salvador Perez

Reaches 300 Home Runs, 1,000 RBI
Jose Altuve

Exits Early With Foot Discomfort
Trey Yesavage

Heading to Big Leagues
Will Smith

Placed on 10-Day Injured List
Ivan Demidov

Turning Heads in Rookie Camp
NHL

Calvin de Haan Signs With Swedish Team
Samuel Girard

Skates With Non-Contact Jersey
Mackenzie Blackwood

Dealing With Injury Ahead of Training Camp
Spencer Knight

Signs Three-Year Extension With Blackhawks
Chris Buescher

May have Another Solid Run at Bristol
Corey Perry

Out 6-8 Weeks Following Surgery
Kyle Busch

Should DFS Managers Roster Kyle Busch at Bristol?
Ricky Stenhouse Jr

Is Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Too Risky to Consider Rostering at Bristol?
Michael McDowell

Could be A Solid Value Option For Bristol DFS Lineups
Chase Elliott

Probably Won't Factor in for Bristol Win
NASCAR

Bubba Wallace Not as Strong at Bristol as Other Short Tracks
Alex Bowman

Needs to Win to Make Round of 12
Ross Chastain

has Never Led at Bristol but Has Been Pretty Consistent
Austin Dillon

Richmond Speed Unlikely to Carry Over to Bristol
Josh Berry

Might Run Well at Bristol, but Almost Certainly Won't Win to Advance
Justin Haley

Bristol One of Justin Haley's Few Recent Bright Spots
Tarik Skubal

Avoids Serious Injury, Expected to Make Next Start
CFB

Austin Simmons Listed As Game-Time Decision Against Arkansas
CFB

Nico Iamaleava Struggles In Fourth Straight Loss
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen

Dealing With a "Tweak"
BUF

Alexandar Georgiev Joins Sabres on One-Year Deal
Corey Perry

Injured During Pre-Camp Skate
Tanner Bibee

Fans 10 in Two-Hit Shutout
CFB

Antonio Williams Out Against Georgia Tech
CFB

CJ Bailey Flashes Again in Win Over Wake Forest
CFB

Jaxson Moi a Game-Time Decision for Tennessee on Saturday
Jean Silva

A Favorite At Noche UFC 3
Diego Lopes

Set For Noche UFC 3 Main Event
Rob Font

Looks For His Third Consecutive Win
David Martinez

Set For Noche UFC 3 Co-Main Event
Rafa Garcia

An Underdog At Noche UFC 3
Jared Gordon

Looks To Win Back-To-Back Fights
Dustin Stoltzfus

Looks To Return To The Win Column
Kelvin Gastelum

In Dire Need Of Victory
Diego Ferreira

Looks To Get Back In The Win Column
Malcolm Brogdon

Heading to Knicks on One-Year Deal
CFB

David Sanders Jr. Won't Play Against Georgia
Landry Shamet

Staying with the Knicks
CFB

Dylan Edwards Slated to Return on Friday
Adam Lowry

Aims for Early-Season Return
CFB

Ryan Williams Expected to Play Against Wisconsin
CFB

Billy Edwards Jr. Unlikely to Play on Saturday
P.J. Washington

Officially Signs Contract Extension
CFB

David Sanders Jr. Questionable to Make Debut Against Georgia
Lauri Markkanen

Big at Both Ends as Finland Books Place in EuroBasket Semis
Luka Dončić

Luka Doncic Notches 39 Points in Losing Effort
NBA

Cam Reddish Expected to Move to Europe
NBA

Trey Lyles Joins Real Madrid
Charles Bassey

Signs Exhibit 10 Deal With Hawks
Sacramento Kings

Terence Davis Waived by Kings
Matthew Knies

Ready for Bigger Role With Maple Leafs
Jack Eichel

Unbothered by Lack of Extension
Sidney Crosby

Not Thinking About Leaving Pittsburgh
SJ

Michael Misa Signs Entry-Level Contract With Sharks
Rutger McGroarty

Nursing an Injury
Cameron Champ

the Ultimate Wild Card at Procore
Cameron Young

Looks to Extend Momentum in Napa
Davis Thompson

Searching for a Spark at Procore
Sahith Theegala

Looking to Reignite Form at Procore
Mackenzie Hughes

Aims for Another Strong Showing at Procore
Luke Clanton

Brings Ball-Striking Upside to Napa
Seamus Power

Looking to Overcome Poor Course History at Procore
Joe Highsmith

Hoping to Find Form in Napa

RANKINGS

QB
RB
WR
TE
K
DEF
RANKINGS
C
1B
2B
3B
SS
OF
SP
RP