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
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Daily Stats & Leaders
All Pitcher Matchups
Compare Any Players
Compare Any Players
Rookies & Call-Ups
24x7 News and Alerts

Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire Pickups for Free Throw % and Turnovers

By GoIowaState dotcom (Flickr: HN2A0207-X2) [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Click here to read RotoBaller Trevor Crippen's NBA Fantasy Basketball waiver wire analysis for category specialists. If you need blocks and threes, look no further for your waiver wire pickups

Waiver Wire Pick-ups for Free Throw % and Turnovers

When looking to improve your fantasy basketball team with a waiver wire pickup, don’t ask “is this guy better than this guy?”  Ask “does this guy improve the categories where I need the most help?”  Here are a couple of players available in most standard 12-team fantasy leagues who could provide a boost in key categories.

 

Free Throw % –  Ryan Kelly (PF, Los Angeles Lakers)

Ryan Kelly is a young forward for the Lakers, currently filling in as starter in place of Pau Gasol, out with a groin injury.  Kelly stands to keep the role-- or at least a significant share of it-- for the rest of the year if the rumors of Gasol being traded to a contender come true.

Kelly is a stretch forward who can provide threes from the PF position, but I think where he could really shine as a fantasy player in a full-time role is in FT%.  He’s currently hitting an outstanding 86.2% of his free throws, with great volume given his playing time-- 4.3 FT per 36 minutes.  With 30+ minutes a game at those rates, his positive contribution to FT% would be barely less than Dirk Nowitzki’s, with twice as much impact as a low-volume guard like Jameer Nelson.

Finding good volume FT% like Kelly’s on the free agent list is extremely rare, because most players who draw a good volume of free throws are stars whom other teams foul more often because they’re harder to defend.  I don’t know how Kelly has drawn so many or how sustainable that is, but it’s impressive and valuable in fantasy play.

The trade-off here is that Kelly’s FG% has been very poor for someone at his position.  In roto leagues, this means you have to look at where you are on the tightrope that you must walk between the two percentages.  If you’re solidly ahead of the next tier in FG%, but trying to pass a tight pack of teams in FT%, Ryan Kelly is the kind of guy that’s worth plugging in for a while to give you a push.  If the reverse is true and you're struggling to gain ground in FG%, leave him on the wire.

Where Kelly would project as much more valuable is in a head-to-head league where you’re punting one or two typical big-man categories, like FG% or blocks.  Kelly could fit right in to further strengthen your team in threes and FT% at the PF position, like a very poor man’s Ryan Anderson.  He's a situational pickup, but one that could be uniquely valuable in the right situation.

 

Turnovers – Khris Middleton (SF/PF, Milwaukee Bucks)

Welcome back to relevance, Khris Middleton.  In the second half of December, with almost the entire Bucks frontcourt injured, Middleton enjoyed a stretch where he was red hot and averaging 40 minutes a game.  He put up top 40 fantasy stats in the process.  Then, as players like Larry Sanders and Ersan Ilyasova got healthy, his minutes evaporated while his performance regressed, and he was dropped by fantasy players en masse.

By GoIowaState dotcom (Flickr: HN2A0207-X2) [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia CommonsNow he’s back, playing much better again and averaging 30 minutes a game over the last two weeks.  And I’m saying he's a huge pickup, especially when considering the forgotten little sister of nine-category leagues, turnovers.

What makes a player "good at turnovers" is his ability to provide respectable numbers in the positive categories while costing you as few turnovers as possible.  Turnovers are like money you have to spend in order to buy other stats.

Middleton provides a very nice "bang" for his turnover "buck."  Over the course of the season, Middleton has averaged only 1.7 turnovers per 36 minutes, an amount more typical of someone who doesn’t see a lot of volume elsewhere.  However, as he’s avoided the turnovers, he’s put up respectable per-36-minute numbers elsewhere: a .443 FG% on 9.6 FGA (somewhat below-average impact), .818 FT% on 1.6 FTA (slightly above-average impact), 1.6 treys, 5.1 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.3 steals, 0.4 blocks, 13.8 points.

It is players like Middleton who quietly allow you to sneak a point or two ahead of other active managers in your roto league's turnover category without losing ground in other counting categories.  As long as he’s getting enough minutes in the Bucks rotation to keep up his counting stats, he’s a great player to own.

POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Daily Stats & Leaders
All Pitcher Matchups
Compare Any Players
Compare Any Players
Rookies & Call-Ups
24x7 News and Alerts

REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

Jacob Cowing

Could Handle Gadget Role in San Francisco
Jayden Higgins

to Start for Texans Right Away?
Sauce Gardner

Agrees to $120.4 Million Contract Extension
Marvin Mims Jr.

Could be on Track for First 1,000-Yard Season
Jaylen Johnson

Chargers Place Jaylen Johnson on PUP List
Dereck Lively II

Undergoes Right-Foot Surgery Tuesday
Kendrick Bourne

Kayshon Boutte Fighting for Final Spots
Isaiah Collier

Logs a Double-Double in Summer League Action on Monday
DeMario Douglas

Kyle Williams "Locks" for Receiving Corps
Trey Smith

Chiefs, Trey Smith Finalizing Massive Extension
Anthony Richardson Sr.

Colts Expected to Ease Anthony Richardson Sr. Back in
Devin Carter

Posts 17 Points Versus Suns
Bronny James Jr.

Scores 17 Points in Summer League Loss
Terry McLaurin

Undecided on Whether he Will Report to Training Camp
Colston Loveland

Says his Shoulder is 100 Percent
Harrison Ingram

has Impressive Outing Against Jazz
Sam Williams

has Potential to be Elite Edge Rusher
Shemar Stewart

Considering Going Back to College?
Jahmyr Gibbs

Lions Want Jahmyr Gibbs "More Involved" in Passing Game
Jordan Addison

Could be Facing Three-Game Suspension
PGA

Chris Gotterup Punches Ticket to Royal Portrush With Win at Scottish Open
Bryson DeChambeau

Hopes to Reverse Links Golf Struggle at the 153rd Open
Keegan Bradley

Needs to Find The Weekend at Royal Portrush for Ryder Cup Hopes
Kyle Filipowski

Records 35-Point Double-Double Against Spurs
Kel'el Ware

Dominates Against Celtics
Kon Knueppel

Gets Going Monday
Matas Buzelis

Puts Up 28 Points in Win Over Pacers
Reed Sheppard

Shut Down for Rest of Summer League
Paul George

Undergoes Arthroscopic Knee Surgery
Oneil Cruz

Ties Home Run Derby Distance Record
Cal Raleigh

Wins 2025 Home Run Derby
Najee Harris

Likely to Miss Time at Start of Training Camp
Justin Thomas

Finishes Tied For 22nd at Genesis Scottish Open
Scottie Scheffler

Finishes Tied For Eighth at Genesis Scottish Open
Jon Rahm

Finishes in Second at LIV Andalucia
Collin Morikawa

Misses The Cut at Genesis Scottish Open
Hideki Matsuyama

Finishes Tied For 13th at Rocket Mortgage Classic
Brooks Koepka

Finishes Tied For 32nd at LIV Andalucia
Tommy Fleetwood

Finishes Tied For 34th at Genesis Scottish Open
Jason Day

Misses The Cut at John Deere Classic
Ludvig Aberg

Finishes Tied For Eighth at Genesis Scottish Open
Cam Taylor-Britt

has Benefited From Addition of Al Golden
Rome Odunze

Could Take Off in Year 2
RJ Harvey

to Get "Significant" Work in Broncos' Passing Game
Jackson Powers-Johnson

More Comfortable Heading into Year 2
Luke McCaffrey

In Line for Larger Role?
Joel Embiid

Participating in Partial Basketball Activities
Victor Wembanyama

Officially Cleared to Return After Blood-Clot Recovery
Tallison Teixeira

Suffers First-Round TKO
Derrick Lewis

Scores First-Round TKO
Michael Lorenzen

Royals Put Michael Lorenzen on Injured List With Oblique Strain
Stephen Thompson

Loses Controversial Split Decision
Gabriel Bonfim

Wins Controversial Split Decision
Calvin Kattar

Gets Outclassed At UFC Nashville
Steve Garcia

Extends His Win Streak
Nate Landwehr

Gets Knocked Out
Morgan Charrière

Morgan Charriere Scores Third-Round Knockout
Kel'el Ware

Collects 21 Points in Summer League Loss on Sunday
Austen Lane

Suffers Submission Loss
Vitor Petrino

Scores First-Round Submission In Heavyweight Debut
Cam Spencer

Contract Being Restructured
Drew Timme

Scores 30 Points in Summer League Loss to Wizards
Tuco Tokkos

Earns His First UFC Win
Alexandre Sarr

Logs Impressive Outing in Summer League Action on Sunday
Junior Tafa

Unsuccessful in his Light-Heavyweight Debut
Kyle Filipowski

Scores 21 Points in Summer League Loss to Warriors
Cody Williams

Collects 22 Points in Summer League Loss on Sunday
Chase Elliott

Charges to A Finish of Third At Sonoma
Chase Briscoe

Finishes Second With his First Career Road-Course Top-Five at Sonoma
Christopher Bell

Rollercoaster Day Ends With Top-5 Finish at Sonoma
William Byron

Maintains the Regular-Season Points Lead
Kyle Busch

Earns A Hard-Fought Top-10 Finish At Sonoma
Alex Ovechkin

Not Thinking About Retirement
PIT

Penguins Acquire Arturs Silovs
NHL

Nikolai Kovalenko Returns to Russia
Yoshinobu Yamamoto

Tosses Gem Against Giants
Shota Imanaga

Shuts Down Yankees on Sunday
Nathan Eovaldi

Dominant Again in Seventh Win
Tyler Reddick

Evades Near Upset to Remain Alive in In-Season Challenge
Ty Gibbs

One of Three Tylers to Make In-Season Challenge Semifinals
Kyle Larson

Curiously Mediocre at Sonoma Before Late-Race Crash
NASCAR

John H. Nemechek Edges Out Teammate to Make In-Season Challenge Semifinal
Alex Bowman

Ty Dillon Bumps Alex Bowman to Advance to In-Season Challenge Semifinal
Chicago White Sox

Billy Carlson Goes 10th Overall to White Sox
Cincinnati Reds

Steele Hall Selected Ninth by Cincinnati
Toronto Blue Jays

Blue Jays Select JoJo Parker with Eighth Overall Pick
Boston Celtics

Damian Lillard Drawing Interest from the Celtics
Miami Marlins

Marlins Select Aiva Arquette With Seventh Overall Pick
Pittsburgh Pirates

Pirates Select Seth Hernandez with Sixth Overall Pick
Kyle Stowers

Punishes Former Team with Three-Homer Game
St. Louis Cardinals

Cardinals Select Liam Doyle with Fifth Overall Pick
Daniel Gafford

Agrees to Contract Extension with Dallas
Colorado Rockies

Rockies Select Ethan Holliday Fourth Overall
Seattle Mariners

Kade Anderson Selected Third Overall by Seattle
Ha-Seong Kim

X-rays on Ha-Seong Kim's Foot Come Back Negative
Los Angeles Angels

Tyler Bremner Selected Second Overall by Angels in 2025 MLB Draft
Washington Nationals

Nationals Select Eli Willits First Overall
Jake Meyers

to Miss More Than Three Weeks With Calf Injury
Edward Cabrera

Hopeful to Avoid Injured List
Oneil Cruz

Absent on Sunday
Shane Van Gisbergen

Can Anyone Beat Shane van Gisbergen at Sonoma?
Tyler Reddick

Better at Sonoma Than Record Shows
Chase Elliott

a Prime DFS Option at Sonoma
Michael McDowell

Struggling a Bit at Sonoma
NASCAR

Christopher Bell Has Never Finished Better Than Ninth at Sonoma
Ryan Blaney

Has Top-10 Upside at Sonoma
NASCAR

Sunday at Sonoma Will Likely Be a Long Race for Bubba Wallace
Kyle Larson

Is A Likely Top-Five Contender for Sonoma
Ryan Preece

Points Position Could Affect Race at Sonoma
Todd Gilliland

Struggling to Find Speed at Sonoma
Ty Gibbs

May be an Underrated Favorite to Compete for the Win at Sonoma
Erik Karlsson

Open to Move Away From Pittsburgh
Zach Hyman

Hopes to be Ready for Start of Next Season
SJ

Jeff Skinner Joins Sharks on One-Year Contract
Ryan Reaves

Traded to Sharks
Vladislav Kolyachonok

Moves to Dallas
Matt Dumba

Lands in Pittsburgh
Mackie Samoskevich

Re-Signs with Panthers on One-Year Deal
Josh Manson

Inks Two-Year Extension with Avalanche
EDM

Isaac Howard Signs Three-Year, Entry-Level Contract With Oilers
Tallison Teixeira

Set For His First UFC Main Event
Derrick Lewis

Set To Headline UFC Nashville
Gabriel Bonfim

Looks For His Third UFC Win
Stephen Thompson

Returns At UFC Nashville
Steve Garcia

Looks To Extend His Win Streak
Calvin Kattar

In Dire Need Of Victory
Morgan Charrière

Morgan Charriere A Favorite At UFC Nashville
Nate Landwehr

Aims To Bounce Back
MMA

Austen Lane Looks To Get Back In The Win Column
RANKINGS
C
1B
2B
3B
SS
OF
SP
RP

RANKINGS

QB
RB
WR
TE
K
DEF