RADIO
The waiver wire is where leagues are won and lost. The draft is long past and now your rosters feel completely different if you are even moderately active. Players come and go due to poor performances and/or injury all the time. Staying on top of your needs is essential to winning matchups and grinding your way to a championship.
Be mindful of some of the players on your roster as they may be off to slow starts, and it could take another week or two to see the return you expected when drafting them. Typically, you should be looking to drop those on the end of your bench who, even if productive, do not provide a real long-term outlook. Stay the course with the talent you drafted.
As a reminder for most leagues, it is crucial to plan ahead. Waiver wire adds, scheduling and player injuries are all things to consider. Make an effort to improve your team by maximizing your weekly adds and utilizing streamer spots via the waiver wire. Be wary of weekly streaming options and stay ahead of your opponents. Our staff at RotoBaller has great insight and daily columns on how to improve your squad and tips to make your team successful, so be sure to check them out! Now, let's get prepared for Week 9.
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Week 9 Schedule
4 Games - Mavericks, Grizzlies, Hornets, Clippers, Bucks, Raptors, Pistons, Wizards, Thunder, Suns, Trail Blazers
3 Games - Heat, Magic, Bulls, Pelicans, Pacers, Jazz, Kings, 76ers, Nets, Hawks, Nuggets, Celtics, Lakers, Rockets, Knicks, Spurs, TWolves, Cavaliers
2 Games - Warriors
Week 9 Standard Leagues - Waiver Wire Pickups
*Securing your categorical needs at this point is important, especially if you're playing in head-to-head leagues*
Columns are written based on H2H 9-category standard size leagues:
Kelly Olynyk - PF - Miami Heat (38% owned)
Olynyk's been a solid fantasy contributor throughout 2019. He just gets overlooked because his stats are not flashy whatsoever. The lack of stocks is a bummer but with his efficiency as a shooting big, there should be higher ownership. Olynyk's a steady contributor of threes, points, and boards with low turnovers. God forbid if something were to happen to Bam Adebayo, Kelly O would see an increased role in the offense while playing down-low more to grab boards and potentially increase his blocks.
Dillon Brooks - PG - Memphis Grizzlies (35% owned)
Brooks has found his way back to fantasy relevance in recent weeks. After starting the year off in a terrible shooting slump, he is turning things around. With a 45 percent field-goal percentage on 14 shots per game over the past two weeks, he is coming into form and presenting value off of the waiver wire. He should be owned in all 12-plus team leagues if this keeps up given how he provides scoring, threes, steals, a good FT all with low turnovers.
Jalen Brunson - PG - Dallas Mavericks (18% owned)
With Luka Doncic out for the next few weeks due to an ankle sprain, Jalen Brunson's role with the Mavericks will increase. He has displayed bursts of fantasy production in various individual games throughout the year, yet has not found a solidified role. Now, he will be splitting time at PG with Delon Wright and essentially becoming the de facto starter on this team from a production standpoint. He is not one to provide stocks but, on solid efficiency, can give you the points, assists, threes, and even rebounds you need in Doncic's absence. He does face a tough schedule this week, just hold on as long as Doncic is out and drop as soon as he returns.
Donte Divincenzo - SG - Milwaukee Bucks (16% owned)
DiVincenzo is balling at the moment and should continue to do so with Eric Bledsoe out for the next two weeks or so. DD has transformed into one of the better defenders in the NBA and has fantasy value while doing it. He has points, threes, rebounds and steals to provide owners in need. The steals are the biggest reason why he should be added given that he is at nearly two per game while not killing you elsewhere.
Christian Wood - PF - Detroit Pistons (11% owned)
Blake Griffin's knee injury is yet to be set with a proper timeline. However, knowing that the soreness is to the same knee that he had surgically repaired recently, we can speculate that he may be out for a little while at least. Wood's production this season has been inconsistent and could continue to be given the nature of his game, but when he booms, he could be a huge provider. As long as owners are ok with eating his bust games, there could be opportunities to seize a guy who could go 20/10 once per week while providing the occasional block and three. His field goal percentage should be a huge boost while his FT does not kill owners. Wood is a risky add given the volatility and should be dropped if he busts for an extended streak or Griffin returns earlier than expected.
Landry Shamet - SG - Los Angeles Clippers (11% owned)
Landry Shamet is back from an extended injury period and looked pretty good in limited action on Saturday. Shamet is not an all-world fantasy producer but can do enough for your threes and scoring on good efficiency to help your squad. The Clippers are loaded at guard and wing but do present opportune games when Kawhi Leonard rests for the ancillary pieces on this team (like Shamet) to receive an increased workload. Shamet should only really be added in deeper leagues if you need a 3pt specialist.
More Fantasy Basketball Analysis
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.
