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Happy Friday after Thanksgiving. Take a break from buying discount televisions and read some of our fantasy basketball advice today!
Here's our weekly fantasy basketball drop list, a look at players who are can be dropped in some or all formats. Every Friday, we'll look at why it's fine to move on from certain players based on their recent play.
Let's look at players who you can consider dropping so far. 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.
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Players to Consider Dropping or Replacing
Kenrich Williams - (PF/SF, New Orleans Pelicans) - 11% Owned
Williams is still getting minutes, but he's not really producing with those minutes anymore.
Yes, on Wednesday Williams had 11 points and seven rebounds, but in the five games before that, Williams was putting up averages of 3.8 points and 8.6 boards on 36.8 percent shooting and 22.2 percent shooting from deep.
That's...yeah.
If you need some rebounding help at the expense of everything else, fine. Keep Williams around. But he's going to be actively hurting you in so many ways and with Zion Williamson returning soon, Williams is going to continue to see his usage and his minutes drop.
Kris Dunn - (PG/SG, Chicago Bears) - 15% Owned
We all knew that at some point Kris Dunn would become droppable, right?
Dunn's NBA career has been largely disappointing, and after some solid numbers at one point in the season, he's been on the downswing lately.
Over the last eight games -- which seems like a pretty significant sample -- Dunn is averaging just 5.0 points per game, along with 3.6 assists and 3.0 rebounds. His 1.5 steals per game are really the only place where he's providing anything from a fantasy perspective, and I can't really imagine your fantasy team is in the position where you need 1.5 steals per game that bad.
With Coby White looking solid earlier than expected, I'd wager there's a better chance Dunn starts getting some DNPs than that he remains a fantasy-relevant option.
Frank Kaminsky - (PF/C, Phoenix Suns) - 13% Owned
Deandre Ayton is still suspended until December 17th, but every day closer to then we get, we move a little closer to the end of Kaminsky's increased playing time.
But Kaminsky has also not been particularly impressive with that increased playing time lately. In the last three games, he's averaging just 5.3 points and 3.7 rebounds on 30 percent shooting, and on the year Kaminsky's shooting is starting to be a real issue:
Kaminsky is slumping. His future playing time is going to dry up. This is a fine time to play for the future and pick up a higher upside option.
The exception would be if you're in a deeper league and want to play him for his upside if you think Aron Baynes (hip) misses more time, but he's listed as probable for Friday's meeting with the Mavericks, so you're probably safe to assume Baynes plays.
Mikal Bridges - (SG/SF, Phoenix Suns) - 39% Owned
Let's stick with the Phoenix Suns.
I was big on Mikal Bridges before this season, but through 17 games he's consistently performing below the level he was at as a rookie.
He's dropped from 8.3 points to 5.6. From 2.1 assists to 1.1. From 33.5 percent from three to 19.2 percent from three.
I thought that maybe Bridges was turning things around and getting ready to go on a run after back-to-back games with double-digit points, but that's looking like a mirage after the past three games.
Over those games, Bridges' numbers look like this: 2.7 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 1.0 assists on 20 percent shooting. Just 3.3 attempts per game in 16.9 minutes.
Barring injuries, I don't see how Bridges gets the minutes and the opportunities to put up numbers that make him worth rostering in most leagues. I still have hopes for Bridges, but they are not, as Panic! At The Disco would say, high hopes.
