The Fantasy Basketball Cut List - Who to Drop or Hold After Week 10

Thunder Dan Palyo offers advice on which players to drop in fantasy basketball leagues as of December 31, 2025. He helps managers make those tough decisions on who to cut in order to add breakout players off the waiver wire.

It's New Year's Eve, and while the rest of the world is already thinking about their resolutions for 2026, I'm ready to cut the dead weight from my roster to get a fresh start in the new year.

That's right, the Cut List is back after a short hiatus, and I have a whole new set of players that you should consider dropping this week in fantasy basketball, as well as some others who are officially on the "hot seat." I'll also briefly discuss a few players who are frustrating but are worth holding. I try to include as many players as I can in this piece, and I incorporate the feedback that I get from readers to make sure that I'm discussing the players that you have the most questions about!

This article identifies players who can be safely cut in standard 12-team leagues. If you're making cuts, then you are probably looking for players to add, so check out my weekly waiver wire article. Alright, let's roll up our sleeves and make those tough decisions—who's already getting cut from our fantasy basketball teams as we turn over the calendar to 2026?

Highly Rostered Players to Consider Cutting

All roster percentages are courtesy of Yahoo!

Jakob Poeltl, C - Toronto Raptors (79%)

One of the players whom I get the most questions about every week is Poeltl. If you're holding onto Poeltl and patiently awaiting him to return to the lineup (and return to form statistically), I'm here to tell you that I don't think it's happening, and you may want to consider letting him go.

Toronto Raptors center Jakob Poeltl will be re-evaluated in a week. Poeltl, who’s been managing ongoing back issues, is in the midst of completing a program of intensive rehabilitation and strengthening, team says. pic.twitter.com/0r6tHZjyzv

— Michael Scotto (@MikeAScotto) December 29, 2025

Poeltl's back issues have prevented him from staying on the court. He's appeared in just one game since December 15th, and played only seven minutes in that game before leaving early. Before this extended absence, he had been sitting out back-to-backs and playing minutes in the mid to high-20s to try to keep himself healthy. That strategy didn't work and resulted in some relatively weak numbers. His numbers are down across the board, especially in blocks where he's averaged just 0.5 per game.

So what's the best-case scenario if Poeltl actually does come back in a week or two? Do we really think that Toronto will push him to play more than 28 minutes per night when they have a very capable young player in Sandro Mamukelashvili at center? Poeltl's numbers are outside the top 150, and back issues have been known to linger for players.

I think Poeltl is going to struggle to get back onto the court and play often enough to maintain value in standard leagues. At this point, I think he can be cut, and you feel pretty confident that you're not going to miss out on some big-time production from him later in the season.

Cameron Johnson, SG/SF/PF - Denver Nuggets (68%)

Poor Cam Johnson! He had a terrible first month and was getting cut en masse before getting a second life when his teammates, Christian Braun and Aaron Gordon, went down with injuries. His injury timeline is 4-6 weeks, which is too long for him to be taking up an IR spot on your roster, considering that he is likely coming back to a much more crowded rotation as Braun and Gordon are both set to return here soon.

Tim Hardaway Jr. and Peyton Watson have both played well lately, with the team banged up, and will demand minutes, too. Cam could win his starting job back, but we saw him operate as the fifth option on offense when Denver was fully healthy for the first month, and it wasn't good. With so many players going down with injuries, IR slots are at a premium. Josh Giddey and Nikola Jokic both got hurt just this week, and players of that caliber are a much bigger priority for your IR than Johnson, who you can send to the wire guilt-free!

Other highly-rostered players you can cut (some repeats from previous articles)

• Cam Thomas, SG/SF - Brooklyn Nets (86%)
• Draymond Green, PF/C - Golden State Warriors (78%)
• Anfernee Simons, PG/SG - Boston Celtics (71%)

Lightly Rostered Players to Consider Cutting

Tobias Harris, PF - Detroit Pistons (33%)

Harris left last night's game after only six minutes with a hip injury. He was already a fringe player lately with some very sporadic production, and the last time he got hurt, he missed nine games before returning.

If you wanted to cut Harris but needed a good reason to do so, use this injury as the impetus to do it. Detroit has a lot of depth this season, and Harris is going to be inconsistent on a nightly basis, depending on how the Pistons run their rotations. Frankly, they're probably better without him on the floor this year. The days of Harris being a solid fantasy player appear to be coming to an end. I'm perfectly fine with cutting him right now, even before we have a firm update on his injury.

De'Andre Hunter, SF/PF - Cleveland Cavaliers (20%)

The Cavs have been a huge disappointment to start the season, and Hunter's play over the last month has been rough. He's had plenty of opportunities to establish reliable fantasy value with injuries to both Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley at times, but Hunter just can't get it going.

I watch just about every Cavs game, and Hunter looks lost out there lately on offense. Rookie Jaylon Tyson has been a much better player in the sixth-man role. Hunter doesn't do much of anything on defense, so if he's not taking and making shots, he's not doing much to help your team. Over the last month, he's averaging just 11.2 points and 1.3 threes on 37% shooting - yuck.

Jeremiah Fears, PG/SG - New Orleans Pelicans (19%)

Fears is having a fine rookie season. I am not here to squash any optimism about him becoming a very good NBA player.

He has not been, however, a very good fantasy basketball player - especially over the last month. He's giving you 13-4-4 on 41.7% shooting and less than a steal per game during this most recent 30-day sample. He's not a three-point shooter and is a high-turnover player. His game is still very inefficient, and now that Jordan Poole is back, his minutes are likely going to be inconsistent. With a healthy Zion Williamson and the emergence of Derik Queen, Fears just isn't going to score enough or rack up enough assists to be worth all the negative aspects of his fantasy game.

Others Who Can Safely Be Cut:

• Kyle Kuzma (20%)
• Herbert Jones (20%)
• Malik Monk (17%)
• Zaccharie Risacher (12%)

On the Hot Seat

You don't have to drop them yet, but these players are getting close to being added to the list if they don't improve their performances in a hurry.

Quentin Grimes, SG/SF - Philadelphia 76ers (31%)

Grimes is flirting with entering the "Drop Zone" as his last month has been the definition of mediocre. He's shooting 36% from the floor and producing just 10-4-4 over that stretch with 1.9 threes and 1.0 steals.

Quentin Grimes in his last seven games

- 8.1 points
- 3.9 assists
- 28.1% field goals
- 26.2% threes

He is struggling playing alongside Joel Embiid and Paul George. Playing a smaller offensive role has led to a poor change in his shot selection, causing a slump. pic.twitter.com/CgL3PvpQ8s

— Jacob Moreno (@jacob_moreno_) December 30, 2025

Part of Grimes' appeal was that he was going to get enough run nightly between Paul George's rest days and an early-season injury to Jared McCain. But McCain is back and demands minutes, PG13 has managed to stay healthy, and the Sixers are likely welcoming back Kelly Oubre Jr. from injury soon, too.

I am struggling to see how Grimes, Oubre, and McCain all maintain value in standard leagues once they are all healthy. VJ Edgecombe has played well, and the Sixers have shown they want to run him out there 30+ minutes a night. Keep an eye on Grimes over the next week. If his minutes dip or he continues to struggle shooting the ball, he could be a guy you move on from sooner than later.

Davion Mitchell, PG - Miami Heat (24%)

Just when I wanted to cut Mitchell, he has an 8-assist night and reminds me that those assists have been pretty darn good this year (and are hard to replace on the wire). When Tyler Herro returns, however, Mitchell could be in trouble if he gets sent to the bench, and even if he continues to start, he'll surely have the ball in his hands less often as a shot-creator. He's doing just enough to hang onto for now, but he could be a drop candidate here soon.

Underperforming Players to Hold

Myles Turner, C - Milwaukee Bucks (94%)

Is Turner having one of the most disappointing seasons of anyone taken in the first 5-6 rounds of the draft? Yes. But should you just cut Turner and free up a spot on your roster? Probably not!

Turner just had a good "remind them" game as he went for 23 points, six boards, three treys, and four blocks on 58% from the field and 6-6 at the free throw line. There isn't another center on the waiver wire who can do that, and even if Turner hasn't done that very often this season, it doesn't mean that he won't get it going either.

I actually think that the return of Giannis to the lineup is the best possible thing for Turner. Giannis adds another component to this offense that couldn't be replaced by Kevin Porter Jr. or Ryan Rollins as shot-creators. If this is Turner's floor, and he's still quite valuable in 9-CAT because of the threes and blocks, then he could still be a difference maker in the new year if he starts contributing big nights more consistently.

Ausar Thompson, SG/SF/PF - Detroit Pistons (89%)

The last week or two has been rough for Thompson, but he's the type of player that you have to be willing to hang onto during these types of stretches. Thompson's offense has not taken the leap we were hoping for in his third season, but he's still contributing 2.2 combined steals and blocks and hitting the boards.

I mentioned earlier that Tobias Harris just got hurt, which could open up more minutes in the short term. But more than anything, Thompson just needs to get his confidence back, and if he can string together a few good games, I am sure his minutes will trend back up to where he'll have more steady fantasy production.

Thanks for reading, and Happy New Year!

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