The Fantasy Basketball Drop List: Week 3

January 10, 2021

Justin Carter looks at fantasy basketball players who can be dropped in Week 3. These are players who are struggling in the 2020-21 NBA season.

Every fantasy sports site is filled with articles about which players you need to pick up, but what about the guys you need to be dropping in order to fit those new players into your lineup?

Have no fear -- RotoBaller is here is tell you who you need to be dropping when you make your waiver claims this week.

Below is our weekly fantasy basketball drop list, a look at players who are can be dropped in some or all formats. Every Thursday, we'll look at why it's fine to move on from certain players based on their recent play. Remember: every league is different and we're working on a pretty small sample size this early in the year, so make sure you evaluate what options you have to replace these players before you actually drop them.

Players to Consider Dropping or Replacing

Markelle Fultz (G, Orlando Magic) - 63% rostered

Fultz tore his ACL on Wednesday night, which is just so devastating to see since the former No. 1 overall pick was finally putting it all together. Rookie Cole Anthony will likely see the biggest increase of minutes in Orlando, while Fultz is done for the year.

Deni Avdija (G/F, Washington Wizard) - 23% rostered

Rookie wall? Or maybe his 11-point, seven-rebound performance against the Timberwolves was just a bit of an illusion. Whatever the reason, Deni is struggling now, with just four points, one rebound, and one assist totaled in his past two games. His minutes are down too. Here, per Add More Funds, is the rotation for Washington against the Sixers on Wednesday:

So while Avdija started, it's become clear that his only reliable source of minutes is that initial stretch before Davis Bertans checks in. Once that happens, Avdija is barely in the rotation for the rest of the game. And even though the Wizards won't close with a three-guard lineup of Bradley Beal/Russell Westbrook/Ish Smith every night, I'd have to think Rui Hachimura is more in line right now to take closing minutes than Avdija is.

Luguentz Dort (G/F, Oklahoma City Thunder) - 38% rostered

Still a hold in deeper leagues, Dort's recent struggles do lead me to recommend moving on in shallower leagues where you picked him up expecting his early-season scoring explosion to continue. He's hit double-digits in scoring just once in the past four games, which might be okay if he wasn't averaging just 2.3 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 0.5 steals, and 0.3 blocks over that span. He's still shooting the ball well from deep and you should keep a close eye on Dort after dropping him, but there's not much need to have him wasting away on your bench in a 10-team league, even if his high minutes per game make him an appealing play.

Cam Reddish (F, Atlanta Hawks ) - 50% rostered

Reddish has been really inefficient over the past four games, shooting just 26.8 percent from the field and averaging 8.0 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game. While I'm still holding in deeper leagues, I think waiting on Reddish to bounceback is something that can really hurt fantasy managers in the short term. I think it's become increasingly clear that De'Andre Hunter is the better player, and once Danilo Gallinari is back in a couple of weeks from his ankle sprain, I'd expect Reddish to be the player who really falls off the most from having another forward in the rotation.

Lou Williams (G, Los Angeles Clippers ) - 60% rostered

Williams can still have some big scoring nights, like his 20 points against the Timberwolves earlier this season, but the veteran guard has been off his game more times than he's been on it this year. He's failed to reach 10 points in three of the past four games, and since Williams whole fantasy value is based on him being that sparkplug off the Clippers bench, the fact that he is currently not being that in L.A. means that he's actively hurting your fantasy team most nights. You, uhh, probably don't need that in your lineup, even if Williams brings a coolness factor to your fake team. The one saving grace is that Luke Kennard -- their other bench shooter -- hasn't necessarily done anything that screams "give me all of Lou Will's shot attempts," but Kennard's presence is still something that can hurt Williams.

Mason Plumlee (PF/C, Detroit Pistons) - 64% rostered

Yeah, we knew this couldn't last forever. Plumlee's minutes are dropping and so is his production, as he's now posted consecutive four-point games. Plumlee didn't play in the fourth quarter at all last game, with the team going with Jahlil Okafor for a time then closing with rookie Isaiah Stewart at center. This Pistons team has a lot of bigs, so if Plumlee can't get things rolling again really, really soon, there's a good chance that his lineups keep heading towards those other two. I'd especially be afraid of Stewart if I'm a Plumlee manager, as this rebuilding Pistons squad might look to get the young big into the lineup more and more just to see what they've got with him.

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