Jabari Parker (SF/PF, CHI) - Week 15 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add In 12-Team Leagues

OWNED IN: 45% of leagues

ANALYSIS: It has been a difficult road over the last couple of seasons for Jabari Parker, as injury issues forced him to play in only 82 games combined from 2016 to 2018 for the Milwaukee Bucks. Not only that, but plenty of uncertainty surrounds his short term NBA future with trade talks swirling that Parker could end up a member of the New York Knicks or New Orleans Pelicans by the time the trade deadline rolls around for the rebuilding Chicago Bulls. In 34 games this year for the Bulls (including 17 starts), Parker has been putting up a solid 14.7 points and 6.5 rebounds (current career-high) per outing. Parker's long-range shooting has seemingly regressed a bit, as his 0.9 three-pointers made out of 3.0 attempts per game gives him his lowest conversion rate (31.1%) since his 2015-2016 sophomore campaign for the Deer.

Fortunately, Parker has looked much more like his promising self of old over the Bulls last four contests since January 12th against the Jazz, following his hiatus from the court spanning back to December 15th. In that time he has averaged 13.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 2.0 assists per outing in a very limited volume of time on the floor (in between 17 and 19 minutes each game). Not only that, but on a highly encouraging note, Parker has sunk five out of ten three-point attempts over the last four contests. With standout rookie Wendell Carter Jr. currently out and possibly going under the knife for thumb surgery, the Bulls at least will ask for scoring and rebounding out of Parker from the forward position for the immediate future. While we don't exactly know what team he will finish the season with (or if he'll finish the season healthy for that matter), as long as he is on the floor we can feel confident that Jabari Parker will accumulate a solid number of points and boards, and his most recent string of games would indicate that his long-range shooting is on the upswing.