The Cut List - Who To Drop for Fantasy Basketball Week 9

December 10, 2022

Alex's fantasy basketball players to drop when making waiver wire moves in Week 9 (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

Kevin Love (PF/C, CLE) - 35% rostered

Before missing his first game of the season back on November 20th, Kevin Love was dishing out solid production as an end-of-the-draft selection or waiver wire addition. He had a couple of double-doubles and 20-point games in his role off of the bench.

Then, since he missed that first game, he's yet to even sniff the same sort of production. In that stretch to start the season, the 34-year-old veteran averaged 11.3 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game while shooting 40.9% from deep on 5.9 attempts per game. That's great to have as one of your end-of-rotation fantasy players!

Fast forward, and that production turned into 5.3 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 1.0 assists per game on 23.1% shooting from deep and 38.1% shooting from the floor. That's also while playing four games and missing five of them due to injury. Love has always had some nagging injuries throughout his career and that's going to compound quickly as he gets older. He's better left on the waiver wire until either someone gets hurt or he sustains a nice, healthy stretch.

Kyle Anderson (SF/PF, MIN) - 30% rostered

Honestly, if anyone still has Kyle Anderson on a fantasy roster, I'm very impressed. Also, we can come to assume one of two things is true, either that team is desperate for defensive stats or the league has over 14 teams in it.

His two best games of the season came when he played 30 or more minutes in a game. The issue is that he only averages around 22 minutes per contest and other than a few defensive performances, the rest of his games are very lackluster. There's not much to say about Anderson other than he finished outside of the top 150 last season and he's already sliding to that same result this year.

No one will judge you for dropping him to waivers.

Max Strus (SG/SF, MIA) - 45% rostered

Max Strus is probably one of the best streaming guys whenever a player is out with an injury. When it comes to the Miami Heat, that happens often so that explains why he's still on so many rosters.

Here comes the problem... The Heat are getting healthier as they welcomed back Victor Oladipo and Jimmy Butler. Kyle Lowry is fresh off of a rest day, and Gabe Vincent should be back shortly. While Strus has gotten plenty of minutes lately, his minutes are likely to drop with all of the higher-level players coming back. Especially when Oladipo can get off of a minute restriction.

Over the course of this season so far, he's ranked 111th because he's been averaging 32.8 minutes per game. Last season is probably a better prediction of his value because he was getting around 23 minutes a game and finished at 213th in terms of fantasy value.

By all means though, if another Heat player suffers an injury, be ready to add Strus right back to the roster!

Jevon Carter (PG/SG, MIL) - 14% rostered

One of the most exciting and fun parts of the season so far has been the Jevon Carter show. Do you remember where you were for his momentous 36-point game? He even followed that up with a 21-point game! Nevertheless, his fantasy value is dwindling back down to the mean again. Very sad times.

Milwaukee has welcomed back Khris Middleton and Pat Connaughton from some very extended time off. They also still have Jrue Holiday, Grayson Allen, and even George Hill gets some playing time. That all spells less time and fewer opportunities for Carter.

Hopefully, we see another outburst from him before the season is over!

Isaiah Jackson (PF/C, IND) - 32% rostered

Does anyone remember when Isaiah Jackson was receiving some crazy levels of hype in the fantasy world for this season? Every single person and their grandmother were convinced that Myles Turner was already traded and Jackson and Jalen Smith were going to be a fantasy dominant frontcourt. Ah, those were good times.

Smith has looked solid, to say the least, but Jackson leaves a lot to be desired. He technically improved his fantasy rank by exactly one spot. 214 is where he ended last season and 213 is where he is currently. Then, over his last two weeks, his rank was all the way down to 273. In case anyone was wondering, I cringed while saying that.

Maybe once Turner actually gets traded, we can all revisit Jackson's fantasy potential. For now, that potential can sit on the waiver wire.

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