The Cut List - Who To Drop for Fantasy Basketball Week 10

December 17, 2022

Alex's fantasy basketball players to drop when making waiver wire moves in Week 10 (2022-23). He helps fantasy NBA managers decide on who to cut from rosters.

What's up, RotoBallers! We're getting into the thick of the season with injury reports galore and visions of the Christmas day slate and All-Star break.

The Drop List returns for another week, and it might not be kind to some of your rosters. Each week, I'll take a look at a handful of NBA players that can be dropped from your fantasy team.

Without further ado, let's get to the fantasy basketball drop list. Every Saturday, we'll have a list of NBA players and a small dive into why they can be cut from some or all fantasy formats. Please take into account: each fantasy league is different. Make sure you check out the waiver wire and have a player in mind to replace one of the following players that you may drop.

Players to Consider Dropping or Replacing

Cade Cunningham (PG/SG, DET) - 57% rostered

This should be the most obvious drop candidate so far this season. Cunningham, unfortunately, had surgery on his shin and he'll be out for the rest of his sophomore season. The fact that 57% of leagues have him rostered seems a tad crazy unless they happen to be dynasty formats.

In every other format outside of dynasty, go ahead and send him off to waiver land.

Grant Williams (SF/PF, BOS) - 28% rostered

I want to issue an apology to Grant Williams for including him on this list. He's a national treasure and should be treated like such.

Unless you actually want to win your fantasy basketball league. Starting center, Robert Williams III, made his season debut on Friday which means Al Horford will slot back into the power forward role. Minutes for the frontcourt are going to lean heavily towards Jayson Tatum, Horford, and Williams while Luke Kornet, Sam Hauser, and Grant Williams will be splitting the bench opportunities.

Over the last 13 games, his averages have dropped 7.9 points, 4.2 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 1.1 steals, and 1.4 threes per game. Ultimately, the steals and threes aren't terrible in deeper leagues. Those stats included five starts though, which means they're likely to decrease as Williams ramps up his minutes and they start to split minutes with more and more players through the regular season.

If you're in a league with 14 teams or less, it's safe to drop him in favor of someone a little more productive.

Reggie Jackson (PG/SG, LAC) - 36% rostered

If we're being honest, the point guard role on a team with Paul George and Kawhi Leonard should be one of the cushiest jobs in the NBA. Initiate some plays, bring the ball up, find Leonard and George when they get open, and then occasionally shoot or kick to other shooters.

Reggie Jackson finds a way to make this difficult. Especially for a starting point guard, if your fantasy team needs assists, this is not the direction to go.

Currently, he's dealing with some injury issues, but he's also been dealing with some shooting, playmaking, and turnover issues too. The 32-year-old had his best game of the season back on November 29th, but since then he's only averaged 12.3 points, 2.1 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 2.6 turnovers per game while shooting a horrid 33.3% from the floor.

At this rate, he's not even going to be relevant in deep leagues.

Lonnie Walker IV - 42% rostered

Previously one of the best comeback stories to start the season, Walker has slowly but steadily declined back to the mean.

While a lot of the Los Angeles Lakers roster was hurt, the 24-year-old was getting anywhere between 30-40 minutes per game. Now, LeBron James and Anthony Davis have been healthy more often than not and Dennis Schroder and Patrick Beverley are both healthy in the backcourt too. Combine that with Austin Reaves improving and it amounts to the 19-minute game that Walker received last time out.

Over the last two weeks, his fantasy value has equated to a rank at 233rd and an even worse 252nd ranking in the last week. Maybe take a look at adding Walker back whenever someone else has to miss some time.

Jalen Smith (PF/C, IND) - 32% rostered

Remember back last week when another member of the Indiana Pacers frontcourt was on this list? Well, we're back again baby!

Jalen Smith has had similar issues to Lonnie Walker IV where the playing time is decreasing quickly. Smith has averaged 21.8 minutes per game over the course of the season, but in the last two weeks, that's dropped to 16.2 and dropped even further to 14.6 in the last week. On top of that, he's hit his lowest fantasy ranking over the last week at 220th.

All signs are pointing to a continued regression at the moment. In dynasty leagues, Smith is more than worth hanging on to as he progresses through at least this season. Outside of that and a league deeper than 14 teams, there is definitely going to be more value on the waiver wire than 7.4 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per game.

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