RADIO
The deeper a fantasy basketball league, the harder it is to hit a winner with your last few picks. It is also harder to find decent help from the waiver wire if your late-round picks don't do you justice. If you picked up a few stinkers, don't lose hope just yet. I will try to help you pick up a winner.
Here are my deeper league fantasy basketball waiver wire pickups for your fantasy basketball teams. These NBA players should be available in most leagues and they might just help you out, whether it's a few weeks rental or a long-term fix to a problem your team is having.
If a guy on your team is frustrating you with his weak performances, give some of them a go. They might just be worth it.
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Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire Targets for Week 22
Onyeka Okongwu (PF/C, ATL) - 16% rostered
This is a deep-league column, so obviously you're not going to get yourself any player with monster minutes or contributing sky-high tallies on a nightly basis, but we're here for the efficiency goodies. Okongwu is coming off the pine for the play-in-bound Hawks and logging a reasonable 20 MPG in the past two weeks of play (seven games). Again, not a lot of minutes, but a ridiculously great efficiency in those runs posting up a fantastic 1.10 FP/min average in that span which is way above league-average (0.90).
Okongwu has done this mostly on scoring and rebounding. He's averaged nearly 10 PPG and seven RPG in his last seven outings to go with a no-floor-stretching 55%+ shooting from the field on a very low seven FGA per game. Okongwu has kept turnovers at bay almost completely in the last two weeks with only two total TOs in those seven games for a measly average that is lower than his already depressed APG (0.8). Okongwu should keep getting reps for Atlanta and just in case you missed it, the Hawks will now be without starting PF John Collins for 10+ days. In other words: roster Okongwu ASAP.
Isaac Okoro (SG/SF, CLE) - 15% rostered
Okoro has been a staple of Cleveland's lineups every time since Collin Sexton got injured for the season. The wing has started 49 of his 55 games played and every one with the exception of two in January (injured-game and comeback-game 12 days later). Okoro is manning the two-guard slot next to phenom Darius Garland for the Cavs, averaging 30+ MPG over the full season and an even larger 36 in the past six games. Uh oh, that tasty playing time.
Okoro is not going to give you tons of counting stats because even though he stays on the court for three full quarters, his usage rate is just not quite there. He's at a measly 12 USG% in that span, which sucks. The shots are low at only seven FGA, but he's hitting them nicely at a 48% clip these days, pretty much on par with his 46% regular-season mark. Okoro's numbers are kind of low across the board but he's steady at getting them with an 11-3-2-1 line in the past six games played through last Friday.
Trey Lyles (PF/C, SAC) - 9% rostered
I'm writing this just hours since the Kings announced Richaun Holmes will miss the remainder of the season because of personal reasons. That will only boost Lyles' upside even more than it had been shot up of late, as Lyles has started 10 games in a row at the PF position and all of them this month through Saturday. The starts were there already, the minutes have gone up from 21 MPG in the first five to 30 MPG in the last five, and now with Holmes out ROS, they could even break the roof.
Lyles is playing for a reason. Sacto traded for him at the last trade deadline and since he was named the starting big forward, he's performed quite nicely next to Domantas Sabonis. Lyles is averaging a 12-6-1 line as a starter while shooting nearly 55% from the field in that span, including making 1+ 3PG. The usage and the attempted field goals are definitely not going to be above 20% and 10+ respectively, but it's not that those two things should keep us deep-league GMs from chasing this man. The points are there no matter what, Lyles is pulling down boards with gusto, and although he's not a bona fide shot blocker, he has shown upside on that front to get the odd swat here and there.
Torrey Craig (SG/SF/PF, PHO) - 4% rostered
As low-key as it might look back at the deadline, Phoenix's trade for Craig has been fantastic and could be even more if he can keep up his most recent run of play. To wit: four games played from Mar. 13 to Mar. 19 in which he logged 20, 28, 34, and 32 minutes (starting the latter two) with an average line of 14-8-2 and a block per game. Uh oh, flex on doubters. Craig strung four games of scoring double-digit points (11 or more every time out) and even got to post a season-high 14-board mark as recently as last Wednesday against the lowly Rockets.
Even if he gets back to the pine and gets his minutes lowered back to his regular-season average of 21 MPG, Craig would still hold great value. For one, Phoenix is this close to lock into the no. 1 seed in the West. For two, the Suns are surely not risking the health of season-long starters Jae Crowder and potentially Deandre Ayton without need. What I'm saying is you should start getting accustomed to long runs getting on Craig's way ROS, and thus you better be rostering him before it's too late and other GMs catch up with his hidden value and fantastic scoring and rebounding prowess.
Delon Wright (PG/SG, ATL) - 2% rostered
Kevin Huerter and Trae Young have been the starting guard duo of the Hawks for the past three months and that shouldn't change any time soon. That said, it looks more and more like Delon Wright is the next-man-up in the rotation these days, and that got backed up by Wright's recent starts at both SG and PG in two of his last three games. Of course, rostering and starting Delon in fantasy leagues (even deeper ones) is a risky move and an absolute flier to take. But for someone with a 2% rostership, well, I don't think you can get any mad.
Wright played 30 and 32 minutes in those two starts of late. He had 13 minutes of playing time in the game prior to that and sandwiched a 14-minute outing between those two starting calls. Wright is definitely not someone you want to rely on heavily, mind you. But he's shown his ceiling and abilities in those two recent matches, going for 23 and 44 FP. The last time I watched him on Saturday, he put up a sound 18-3-6-5-1 filled stat line to go with four treys, shooting 63% from the floor. That won't hold for long, but that is what Delon has in him. Do you know how many players have put up such a stat line this season in at least one game? Six of them, and none in fewer than 35 minutes of play compared to Wright's 32 on the day. Let's gooooo!
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By popular demand, RotoBaller has aggregated all of our fantasy basketball NBA waiver wire pickups into a running list of NBA waiver options, so bookmark the page and check back often for updates.
