Week 9 Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire: NBA Guards

December 24, 2014

In his Week 9 NBA Waiver Wire column, Lou Cappetta focuses on a few guards that could deserve some attention in your fantasy basketball league.

Happy Holidays everyone. There has been some big moves made this past week in the NBA, namely the trade of Rajon Rondo and the release of Josh Smith. These two huge moves means there will be a ripple effect in fantasy waiver wires everywhere.

This week, we are going to focus on NBA guards you should strongly consider adding, as they will seemingly see an increase in production as a direct result of these moves.

Position Eligibility & Ownership Rate Based on Yahoo! Fantasy Basketball Player List

Waiver Wire Guard For Right Now

Marcus Smart (BOS, PG) - 46% owned

With Rondo sent to Dallas, and the Boston Celtics going nowhere, it makes sense that Coach Brad Stevens would give his young players as much run as possible. This alone makes Smart a must add in leagues with 12 or more teams.

Smart is not Rondo, but he is good for some threes and great defensive stats. So far, however, Smart has been underwhelming in three games without Rondo, and Stevens has used three different starting point guards in that span. There is also concerns about Smart's scoring ability, especially his jump shot, that may leave him in a bench role for now.

Eventually, Smart is going to receive more minutes. If he is available in your league, grab him now.

Waiver Wire Guard For Deeper Leagues

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (DET, SG) - 20% Owned

When Josh Smith was waived by the Pistons, Stan Van Gundy made it perfectly clear that the new plan is to play Detroit's young players in an attempt to see what is there for the future. This is great news for a guy like Caldwell-Pope.

"KCP" has had issues with efficiency to this point, but is averaging 12.5 points while knocking down 2.0 treys per game at a 36.3 percent clip. He is also getting more than 30 minutes per contest, meaning there should be plenty of chances to improve those numbers going forward.

Waiver Wire Guard To Keep An Eye On

Jameer Nelson (BOS, PG) - 34% Owned

Nelson has been one of the worst point guards in the NBA this season. He has offered little to fantasy owners and looks as if he is on the last legs of his NBA playing days.

With that said, a change of scenery may due Nelson some good. It seems the Boston starting point guard gig is going to belong to Marcus Smart, but just in case Brad Stevens decides he wants to use a veteran floor general to lead his young talent, and help develop his young point guard, Nelson is worth keeping an eye on. It is unlikely, but stranger things have happened.

If Nelson can recapture a bit of his former self, he can be a nice source of threes, points and assists.