Week 12 Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire: NBA Deep Sleepers

January 15, 2015

In his Week 12 NBA Waiver Wire column, David Sass focuses on some deep-league sleepers for your fantasy basketball purposes.

Now in Week 12 of the 2014-15 NBA season, the waiver wire is in its typical place in the weekly/daily routine of fantasy basketball managers. The following group of players are not of the typical standard-league variety, but rather options for those participating in deeper formats.

Unless you have the roster space to stash one of these fringe contributors as a sleeper, there is little reason to own any of them outside of leagues with 12 or more teams.

Position Eligibility & Ownership Rate Based on Yahoo! Fantasy Basketball Leagues

Deep League Waiver Wire Options

Bojan Bogdanovic (BKN, SG) - 2% Owned

Bogdanovic is now the starting shooting guard for the Brooklyn Nets. He is a relative unknown who is a pretty good shooter but cannot really finish inside. He is a one-dimensional player that adds value to teams in really deep leagues. The upside is there with Bogdanovic getting 35-plus minutes per game, as he is almost guaranteed to put up double-digit points every game.

Besides scoring, Bogdanovic does not bring much to the table. Last week, he averaged 2.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists. However, those numbers are increasing a bit now that he is a starter.

Donatas Motiejunas (HOU, SF/PF) - 31% Owned

Montejunas has been an absolute stud as of late, both for fantasy players and the Houston Rockets. Last week, Motiejunas averaged 14.8 points, 7.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.8 steals. That is incredible value and he should be owned in almost all standard leagues.

Motiejunas has completely outplayed recently acquired Josh Smith while taking almost all of his minutes. Terrence Williams, the normal starting power forward for the Rockets, is out for at least another two weeks with no guarantee of significant minutes when he comes back if Motiejunas can keep up this torrid pace.

Ed Davis (LAL, PF/C) - 24% Owned

The Lakers are not a very good or deep team. Davis, a lanky power forward out of North Carolina has a great chance to showcase his ability on this squad.

The Lakers shoot a lot of three pointers which gives Davis plenty of opportunities for extra boards and easy put backs. Also, Kobe Bryant is rumored to shut it down for the season, which leaves a huge scoring void that role players like Davis will have to fill.

In the last month, Davis has shot 58 percent from the field while posting averages of 9.8 points, 7.1 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game. If you need a big man on your roster, Davis is worth a flyer.

Keeper League Pickup of the Week

Cleanthony Early (NYK, SF) - 2% Owned

The Knick’s second round draft pick out of Wichita State is now starting. As I wrote last week, someone on the Knicks needs to score. Early is a completely unpolished energy player that did not get any playing time before they traded away their entire roster.

Early is a high flyer that has some range and could potentially contribute more in the future. However, in deep leagues, he can help you immediately.