X
Lost password?

Don't have an account?
Gain Access Now

X

Receive free daily analysis

NFL
NBA
NHL
NASCAR
CFB
MLB
MMA
PGA
ESPORTS
BETTING

Already have an account? Log In

X

Forgot Password


POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Import Your Leagues
Weekly Rankings
Compare Any Players
Projections
Articles & Tools
Weekly Planner
24x7 News and Alerts

Three NBA Teams to Watch on the Week One Waiver Wire

Mike analyzes three NBA teams to watch in Week One - fantasy basketball waiver wire pickups, adds, breakouts and sleepers for the opening week of NBA action.

Imagine this scenario: your draft ended, you feel really good about the guys you managed to grab, then you look at your roster and reality hits. Your team may be solid but three or four of your guys are hurt and, worst of all, there's no clear timeline for when they'll be returning.

If you're lucky, you have one or two IR spots to grab free agents (Note to Yahoo users: you have one IR spot if you're playing in standard leagues, click on an injured guy and move him to the "IL" roster spot - this will allow you to grab a free agent). But now you're left with a lot of questions - how long do I wait for my injured guys to get back? Are any of them droppable? Maybe I could package one or two of them in a trade for a guy that can both help my team now and fits my strategy better?

Editor's Note: New users that sign up on FantasyAces, make a $20 deposit, and enter any game will receive our full season NBA (or NFL) Premium Pass for free (includes DFS Cheat Sheets). Just email [email protected] with your new FantasyAces username - and boom, that's it! We will email you with your Premium Pass.

 

Week One Waiver Wire Adds - Three NBA Teams to Watch

For the scope of this article, we're just going to deal with triaging the gaping wounds on your roster by grabbing guys who will produce right now. Rather than whipping out my crystal ball and tell you about guys who may or may not produce, instead I'll tell you about three teams you should watch and see who produces.

This is preferable to saying something like, "Tim Frazier is the guy to get on the Pelicans because Jrue Holiday is out," because in many leagues Tim Frazier was probably drafted in the final rounds. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't take a look at another guy who might benefit from Holiday's absence (as well as that of Tyreke Evans), someone like E'Twaun Moore and Solomon Hill.

 

#1: New Orleans Pelicans

In case the above didn't make it clear - if Tim Frazier is on your waiver wire and you need production now, go get him.

Unfortunately, his averages from 15-16 don't paint the full picture, which is that when Holiday is out, Frazier produces.

On April 11 against CHI: 20 PTS, 3 STL, 11 AST, 4 REB, 1 3PT, 40.0 FG%, 77.8 FT%
On April 3 against BKN: 19 PTS, 3 STL, 13 AST, 2 REB, 2 3PT, 63.6 FG%, 75.0 FT%

Meanwhile, E'Twaun Moore has won the battle for starting shooting guard and is likely on your waiver wire right now. If you're looking to grab someone speculatively, he's definitely a good candidate. Buddy Hield is looming in the background of this picture but he hasn't done anything to make him a threat yet. Just keep in mind that at some point in this season Tyreke Evans might return, maybe? But his injury concerns will linger even when he does return so between Solomon Hill, E'Twaun, Moore, Tim Frazier, and Buddy Hield there's potential for a guy to earn consistent minutes and continue putting up top 100 numbers right through the fantasy playoffs. But right now it's only short term potential.

For now, Tim Frazier, Solomon Hill, and E'Twaun Moore are the best adds. Frazier being the best out of them all by far, but Moore and Hill possibly holding longer term value. Hill has more potential to produce better big man numbers (REB/BLK) at his position (SF) with Frazier and Moore will put up guard numbers (PTS/AST/STL).  It's worth keeping an eye on the games to see whether Hill or Moore takes on a bigger scoring role.

 

#2: Utah Jazz

SOMEONE on this bruised and broken team has to produce in the first month of the season. At the moment Derrick Favors, Gordon Hayward, Alec Burks, and Joe Johnson are all out. This leaves newly acquired George Hill, and mainstays Rodney Hood and Rudy Gobert as the main producers. However, Hill and Gobert aren't exactly known for their offensive prowess, so Hood is the only consistent scoring option.

This leaves two other guys worth mentioning - Trey Lyles and Dante Exum. The only competition for minutes for Lyles comes from Boris Diaw (who is dealing with minor injuries and is not expected to have a meaningful role unless it involves eating donuts). Exum has a little more competition from Shelvin Mack and Raul Neto. Mack was actually a serviceable starter last year for decent chunks of the season, so owners should always keep an eye on what kind of numbers he's putting up. Neto is buried too far down the depth chart and is likely someone you've never heard of anyway. However, Exum is the guy who really should be the breakout candidate - he has the potential and the right situation but it's up to him to capitalize.

Speculatively add Lyles if you want to gamble on a big man and Exum if you're looking for a guard.

 

#3: Brooklyn Nets

Brook Lopez, Jeremy Lin, and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson are in line to be the most consistent fantasy options on the Nets. But there's a few question marks here worth considering:

Is Trevor Booker actually a good player? At times last year he looked very promising with Favors out, but he also had several duds and didn't hold any value when Favors got back. However, he's locked into a starting role on his new team and has been ignored in almost all fantasy drafts.

Some standout games were:

On Jan 22 against BKN: 13 PTS, 10 REB, 0 BLK, 0 STL, 60.0 FG%

On Nov 28 against NO: 13 PTS, 15 REB, 3 BLK, 2 STL, 62.5 FG%, 100.0 FT% (Note: He had a .670 FT% last year but with a small sample size of 0.9/1.3 FTM)

He will compete with Luis Scola (who is actually meaningful competition despite his age), but you have to figure the Nets give him a long look to see what they have in Booker.

Bojan Bogdanovic was likely taken in late rounds, and for good reason since he can light up the scoreboard, but he has yet to develop any sort of consistency. When he almost inevitably falters, some opportunity is there for newly acquired Randy Foye (who was very serviceable at times for the Nuggets) who should be starting at SG. But that means there's actually a surprising amount of mouths to feed on the Nets (even 3rd string SG Sean Kilpatrick is a spunky scoring threat). This could equate to all of the 2s on the Nets being irrelevant fantasy-wise, but they're still worth monitoring.

For now, make sure that Bojan isn't available in your league, and keep an eye on Booker for big man numbers and Foye as an under the radar guard who could produce solid numbers (but at the moment his ceiling doesn't seem particularly high - so not a guy to bother with if you want a home-run).


By popular demand, RotoBaller has aggregated all of our fantasy basketball NBA waiver wire pickups into a running list of NBA waiver options, so bookmark the page and check back often for updates.



POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Import Your Leagues
Weekly Rankings
Compare Any Players
Projections
Articles & Tools
Weekly Planner
24x7 News and Alerts

REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

Jaylen Waddle

Expected to Play and be a "Big Factor" on Thursday Night
Tucker Kraft

Suffers Knee Injury During Thursday's Practice
Clayton Kershaw

Will Retire at the End of the Season
Malcolm Brogdon

Landry Shamet and Malcolm Brogdon Both Staying with the Knicks?
Detroit Pistons

Charles Bediako Agrees to a Training Camp Deal with Detroit
Anthony Davis

Recovering From Eye Surgery, Uncertain for Training Camp
Charlotte Hornets

DaQuan Jeffries Waived by the Hornets
CFB

Eric Singleton Jr. Questionable For Saturday
Braden Schneider

Limited in Training Camp
Lars Eller

Recovering From Abdominal Procedure
Nick Jensen

in Danger of Missing Start of Season
Brandon Montour

to Miss Two Weeks After Ankle Surgery
Gabriel Landeskog

a "Full Go" for the Season
Samuel Girard

Avalanche Hope to Have Samuel Girard Available for Start of Season
Mackenzie Blackwood

Out Week-to-Week
Alex Tuch

Day-to-Day With Undisclosed Injury
Jordan Greenway

to Sit Out Training Camp
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen

Considered Day-to-Day
Simon Edvinsson

to Miss a Couple of Weeks
Mikael Backlund

Signs Two-Year Extension
Connor Ingram

to Be Waived by Mammoth
Zach Hyman

Misses Start of Training Camp
Nick Paul

Out Until November
Kris Letang

Cleared for Training Camp
David Pastrnak

Out for Start of Training Camp
Matthew Tkachuk

Expected to Be Out Until December
NBA

Trevelin Queen Joins Chinese Team
Damian Lillard

Not Rushing His Return
Brooklyn Nets

Keon Johnson Waived by Nets
Justin Verlander

Plans to Pitch in 2026
Junior Caminero

Day-to-Day With Back Tightness
Will Smith

Won't Return When First Eligible
Tyler Soderstrom

Returns to A's Lineup
Tyler Warren

Sidelined on Wednesday with Toe Injury
Jaylen Waddle

Questionable for Week 3 Against Buffalo
Joe Burrow

Bengals Not Closing the Door on Joe Burrow Returning This Year
CFB

LaNorris Sellers to Play Against Missouri?
Kyle Tucker

Progress has "Plateaued"
Isaac Paredes

has "Outside Chance" to Return This Weekend
CFB

Kaidon Salter Expected To Start for Colorado on Saturday
Willson Contreras

Goes on 10-Day Injured List, Done for Season
Justin Fields

Ruled Out for Week 3 Due to Concussion
Jayden Reed

Out Indefinitely After Foot and Shoulder Surgery
Washington Commanders

Preston Smith Signs With Commanders
Trey Jemison III

Joins Knicks on Two-Way Contract
Kevin McCullar Jr.

Signs New Two-Way Deal With Knicks
Matt Ryan

Returns to Knicks on Exhibit 10 Contract
New York Knicks

Alex Len Signs Exhibit 9 Deal With Knicks
Nickeil Alexander-Walker

Expected to Take on Larger Offensive Role With Hawks
Thomas Sorber

Undergoes Surgery
Dominic Canzone

Has Five-Hit, Three-Homer Game Tuesday
Cal Raleigh

Sets Single-Season Home Run Record for a Switch-Hitter
Jayden Reed

Undergoes Clavicle and Foot Surgeries, Out for Foreseeable Future
Bo Bichette

to Miss Rest of Regular Season
Zach Neto

Placed on 10-Day Injured List With Hand Injury
Yordan Alvarez

Out on Tuesday, Dealing With "Significant" Ankle Sprain
Aaron Jones Sr.

Vikings Place Aaron Jones Sr. on Injured Reserve With Hamstring Injury
CFB

Diego Pavia Refutes Report of Seeking Seventh Collegiate Season
Christian Kirk

Expected to Return in Week 3
CFB

Diego Pavia Seeking Another Year of Eligibility
Tarik Skubal

on Track to Start Thursday
CFB

Kevorian Barnes Questionable Against SMU
Bo Bichette

has Short-Term Knee Injury, Could Return for Postseason
Tosan Evbuomwan

Joins Knicks
NBA

Kai Jones Links Up With EuroLeague Team
Bismack Biyombo

Returns to Spurs
Bones Hyland

Rejoins Timberwolves
Kobe Bufkin

Moves to Brooklyn
Trey Yesavage

Sets Franchise Strikeout Record On Monday
Yordan Alvarez

To Receive MRI For Sprained Left Ankle On Tuesday
Willson Contreras

Exits Early Monday With Right-Biceps Tightness
Yordan Alvarez

Exits With Ankle Sprain
Brock Bowers

Officially Active on Monday Night
Jauan Jennings

Day-to-Day With Ankle Injury
Logan O'Hoppe

Activated Off Seven-Day Injured List
CBJ

Denton Mateychuk Dealing With Groin Issue
Bo Horvat

Fine for Training Camp
Kirby Dach

on Track to Be Ready for Opening Night
Jose Altuve

Returns Against Rangers
J.J. McCarthy

Expected to Miss 2-4 Weeks With High-Ankle Sprain
J.J. McCarthy

Likely Out for Week 3 With High-Ankle Sprain
Jean Silva

Gets Finished For The First Time In His Career
Aaron Jones Sr.

Unlikely to Play in Week 3 Due to Hamstring Injury
Diego Lopes

Returns To The Win Column
Jayden Daniels

' Week 3 Status in Doubt
Rob Font

Outclassed In The Noche UFC 3 Co-Main Event
David Martinez

Wins His Second UFC Fight
Jared Gordon

Suffers Brutal TKO Loss At Noche UFC 3
Rafa Garcia

Wins Back-To-Back Fights
Brian Thomas Jr.

Dealing with Wrist Injury
Dustin Stoltzfus

Drops A Decision At Noche UFC 3
Kelvin Gastelum

Gets Back In The Win Column
Diego Ferreira

Suffers Second-Round TKO
Alexander Hernandez

Extends His Win Streak With A Brutal TKO
Quang Le

Suffers First-Round Knockout
Santiago Luna

Shines In His UFC Debut
Christopher Bell

Earns his First Bristol Cup Series Victory
Alex Bowman

Falls Short of Advancing Through Cup Series Playoffs
Chase Briscoe

Collects his Third Top-10 Finish at Bristol
Ryan Blaney

Strong Top-Five Bristol Performance Advances him to the Playoffs
Corey Heim

Earns his First Career Cup Series Top-10 Finish at Bristol
Giannis Antetokounmpo

Leads Greece to Bronze Medal
Alperen Sengün

Alperen Sengun Drops 28 Points in EuroBasket Finals
CFB

Indiana's Lee Beebe Jr. Out for Season with Knee Injury
Dennis Schröder

Dennis Schroder Named EuroBasket MVP
Kenneth Walker III

Bounces Back with Big Week 2 Performance
Bijan Robinson

Rushes for 143 Yards in Week 2
Justin Fields

Currently in Concussion Protocol
Ty Gibbs

Has Arguably his Best Career Drive, but Only Finishes 10th
Chase Elliott

Despite Crashing Out at Bristol, Chase Elliott Advances to Round of 12
Austin Dillon

Misses Round of 12 After Extremely Mediocre Bristol Run
Shane Van Gisbergen

Shane van Gisbergen Fails to Advance to Round of 12
Josh Berry

Finishes Last in All Three Round of 16 Races to Fail to Advance
CFB

Ryan Williams Explodes In Return To Field
CFB

Drew Allar Plays Mediocre Game In Blowout Win
CFB

LaNorris Sellers Exits Game In Blowout Loss
CFB

DJ Lagway Tosses Five Interceptions In Loss
CFB

Garrett Nussmeier Plays Game Manager in Saturday's Win
CFB

CJ Carr Remains Poised In Narrow Loss
CFB

John Mateer Leads Oklahoma In Rout
CFB

Arch Manning Struggles Against UTEP
CFB

Jeremiah Smith Impresses In Win
CFB

Sam Leavitt Shines As Arizona State Rebounds From Week 2 Loss
Chris Buescher

May have Another Solid Run at Bristol
Kyle Busch

Should DFS Managers Roster Kyle Busch at Bristol?
Ricky Stenhouse Jr

Is Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Too Risky to Consider Rostering at Bristol?
Michael McDowell

Could be A Solid Value Option For Bristol DFS Lineups
Chase Elliott

Probably Won't Factor in for Bristol Win
NASCAR

Bubba Wallace Not as Strong at Bristol as Other Short Tracks
Alex Bowman

Needs to Win to Make Round of 12
Ross Chastain

has Never Led at Bristol but Has Been Pretty Consistent
Austin Dillon

Richmond Speed Unlikely to Carry Over to Bristol
Josh Berry

Might Run Well at Bristol, but Almost Certainly Won't Win to Advance
Justin Haley

Bristol One of Justin Haley's Few Recent Bright Spots
CFB

Austin Simmons Listed As Game-Time Decision Against Arkansas
CFB

Nico Iamaleava Struggles In Fourth Straight Loss
CFB

Antonio Williams Out Against Georgia Tech
CFB

CJ Bailey Flashes Again in Win Over Wake Forest

RANKINGS

QB
RB
WR
TE
K
DEF
RANKINGS
C
1B
2B
3B
SS
OF
SP
RP