Week 4 Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire: NBA Deep Sleepers

November 20, 2014

In his Week 4 NBA Waiver Wire column, David Sass focuses on some deep-league sleepers for your fantasy basketball purposes.

The NBA season is in full swing, and that means the fantasy basketball waiver wire is heating up. 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

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (DET, SG) - 15% Owned

Caldwell-Pope can flat out score. The starting shooting guard for the Pistons is averaging 34 minutes per game and is a reliable three-point shooter getting open looks around talented big men, Andre Drummond and Greg Monroe.

Through 12 games, Caldwell-Pope is averaging 11.8 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.9 treys. However, it is worth noting that his shooting percentages (36.7 FG, 55.0 FT) have been dreadful to this point.

KCP has a solid spot in the starting lineup without risk of losing minutes, as he is one of the better defenders on the Pistons roster.

Boris Diaw (SAS, PF/C) - 18% Owned

Diaw is the typical Spurs player. The 12-year veteran plays very hard, contributes both inside and out, and is one of the best passing big men in basketball.

Diaw has the ability to produce, to some extent, in nearly every category on the stat sheet, as he is currently averaging 9.0 points, 5.4 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 0.7 steals, 0.6 threes and 0.5 blocks through 11 games.

On an aging Spurs roster, Diaw averages almost 27 minutes per game, and every once in a while he explodes for a huge offensive performance. He is widely available in fantasy leagues, so if you need a player that fills the stat sheet and shoots for solid percentages (46.1 FG, 76.9 FT), pick up Diaw.

Chris Kaman (POR, PF/C) - 20% Owned

Kaman, after a couple of injury plagued seasons, has regained some of his old form. Backing up Blazers' starting center Robin Lopez, Kaman has averaged 10.7 points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.3 blocks while shooting 58.0 percent from the floor through the first 11 games of 2014-15.

If he continues playing at this level or Lopez gets injured, Kaman will likely see an increase in minutes from the 19.5 he is currently receiving. The 32-year-old vet provides value in all of the "big-man" categories and makes for a solid add in deeper fantasy formats.

Keeper League Pickup of the Week

Joe Harris (CLE, SG) - 2% Owned

Harris, a second-round pick out of Virginia in this past summer's draft, has earned the trust of Coach David Blatt and landed a spot in the Cleveland rotation.

The rookie guard has been given significant minutes over the last few games, and with LeBron James recently saying that he (James) is playing too many minutes, Harris should continue to see plenty of action.

The more minutes that Harris gets, the more he should score. He has yet to really prove much, but being a scorer in college, the potential is there to thrive in a bench role surrounded by so many talented players.

Harris is worth taking a flyer on in deep keeper leagues and could certainly tack on more fantasy value as the season plays out.