The Fantasy Basketball Cut List - Who to Drop or Hold After Week 3

Thunder Dan Palyo offers advice on which players to drop in fantasy basketball leagues after three weeks of games. He helps managers make those tough decisions on who to cut in order to add breakout players off the waiver wire.

Some of my cut list targets last week took it personally, especially CJ McCollum, who snapped back to life with two 25-point outings and a 42-point game in overtime. I'm not reading too much into that production or feeling bad about that recommendation; I think his outlook for the long term remains the same. Anfernee Simons had a few respectable showings in the box score, but he's still just points and threes, and I have no interest. The one player whom I do regret recommending as a drop is Reed Sheppard, as he's now seen an uptick in playing time in three straight games and is starting to round into form. If you dropped Reed, go pick him back up!

With each passing week, we can start to see how the rotations are shaking out for most teams and what roles players are slotting into for this season. Those dynamics are constantly changing, and we would be foolish not to adapt to how much playing time or usage players are getting on a nightly basis.

This article identifies players who can be safely cut in standard 12-team leagues. If you're making cuts, then you are probably looking for players to add, so check out my weekly waiver wire article. Alright, let's roll up our sleeves and make those tough decisions—who's already getting cut from our fantasy basketball teams?

Highly Rostered Players to Consider Cutting

All roster percentages are courtesy of Yahoo!

Cam Thomas, SG/SF - Brooklyn Nets (88% Rostered)

He might be on your IR right now since he's injured, but you have to ask yourself, "Is stashing Cam Thomas even worth it at this point?"

He's out for about a month, and he's been doing pretty much what we expected him to do again this year - score and not much else! Despite averaging over 20 points per game, Thomas is outside the top 150 players in 9-CAT because of his poor FG% (40.1%) and total lack of peripheral stats.

As I mentioned with Simons last week, I have no interest in "hollow" scorers who provide few other stats. Thomas is a net negative to your fantasy team; don't be fooled by his scoring. He plays for a team that is tanking hard in Brooklyn. I don't see Thomas being very motivated to return from injury all that quickly. There are some young players in Brooklyn with upside, but Thomas is not one of them.

Draymond Green, PF/C - Golden State Warriors (85% rostered)

He's long been a unique fantasy player who could provide a solid combination of threes, assists, boards, and blocks, but this version of Draymond Green this season isn't cutting it. He's outside the top 150 with averages of just 7.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 1.6 threes, and 3.0 turnovers.

He shot 1-10 from the field last night against San Antonio and is now shooting just 41% on the season. I know it's hard to move on from a five-assist player, but Green simply isn't doing enough in other categories to warrant holding him.

He's averaged 1.3 steals and 1.0 blocks per game over his illustrious career, but those defensive stats have dipped to just 0.8 steals and 0.5 blocks per game, and he's playing just 28 minutes a night. I think we can move on from Dray at this point, as he's hurting you in more categories (points, turnovers, FG%) than he's really helping you.

Cameron Johnson, SF/PF - Denver Nuggets (73% Rostered)

We all saw this coming at some point, and I tried to be as patient as I could be with Johnson, but it's time to pull the plug. He left last night's game early after only seven minutes with an injury, and that's an easy excuse to just move on at this point if you're still holding, as I was.

Johnson has been a major disappointment in Denver and has given managers absolutely nothing across the board so far. My only hope is that he can heal up and get right at some point. Perhaps a move to the second unit would help him get his confidence back and put him in a better position to produce because he certainly was invisible most nights as a starter.

Jonathan Kuminga, SF/PF - Golden State Warriors (45% Rostered)

After a promising first two weeks of the season, Kuminga has been in a free fall for the last week. His minutes were dwindling, as was his production, and the final straw was that he left last night's game with an injury after being held scoreless in 12 minutes of action.

Kuminga was already a fringe player who was only really an asset in points, rebounds, and threes. Without enough minutes or shot attempts, he's simply not viable in standard leagues. Golden State is a bit of a mess right now, with only Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler III being reliable on a nightly basis. Kick Kuminga to the curb; he's not worth the trouble anymore, and move on!

Lightly Rostered Players to Consider Cutting

Dennis Schroder, PG/SG - Sacramento Kings (36% rostered)

Yes, he's still averaging six assists per game, but Schroder has fallen apart after a pretty decent start to the season. He's scored just 14 points across his last four games while shooting 4-27 from the field. I'll never understand why the Kings brought him in this offseason and then also signed Russell Westbrook, too.

Right now, there are simply too many cooks in the kitchen, and the Kings have been getting blown out by good teams because they have a stagnant offense with a bunch of ball-dominant guards and an atrocious defense. Schroder is really best suited as a bench player who can lead a second unit, so, oddly, Sacramento decided to make him their starting point guard. He's not playing well right now, and his long-term outlook isn't great, as the Kings could decide to embrace Westbrook at the point.

Malik Monk, SG - Sacramento Kings (31% rostered)

Monk sat out last night's game with an ankle injury and has now missed three games already this season. He's playing just 24 minutes per game this season after averaging 31 minutes per contest last year.

Don't be deceived by his rank of 50 on Yahoo; his numbers are down across the board, especially his assists, which have dropped from 5.6 to just 2.4. His ranking is only being buoyed by his 50% shooting from the field, solid FT%, and low turnovers.

Monk isn't doing enough in other categories, and his stat profile looks more like Simons than what we saw from him in prior seasons. Let's see where the dust settles in Sacto, he could be a guy we add later on in the season if he can carve out a bigger role, but for no,w he's really not worth an investment in standard leagues.

D'Angelo Russell, PG - Dallas Mavericks (24% Rostered)

Things have gotten ugly in Dallas, and Russell has been replaced as the starting point guard after a very brief stint in the starting lineup. Brandon Williams is playing well and has taken his job, relegating D-Lo back to the bench and a reduced role.

He's played under 20 minutes now in four straight games and hasn't cracked double figures in scoring in five straight! We wanted some assists from Russell, but he's under five dimes per game this season and trending down.

Pull the plug, the D-Lo experiment in Dallas has been a failure, and with the Mavs off to a terrible start, they could easily just embrace the youth movement, as they've been rumored to now be shopping Anthony Davis around the league.

Others Who Can Be Cut:

• Jake LaRavia (17%)
• Josh Minott (14%)
• Klay Thompson (13%)
• Jaylen Wells (10%)
• Jarace Walker (10%)

On the Hot Seat

You don't have to drop them yet, but these players are getting close to being added to the list if they don't improve their performances in a hurry.

VJ Edgecombe, SG - Philadelphia 76ers (64% Rostered)

The rookie made a huge entrance onto the NBA stage with a 34-point game in his debut and a 26-point game in his third NBA start. However, he's been trending down now for well over a week, having scored 12 or fewer points in five straight games despite playing minutes in the mid to high 30s for the Sixers.

He can't buy a bucket now as his FG% has dropped to just 41% on the season. However, he's doing enough in other categories that I think he's worth holding onto a bit longer. The Sixers are a team we have to monitor closely in the coming weeks, as Joel Embiid has already had some issues with his knees, and Paul George is yet to be cleared to return.

If everyone is healthy in Philly, then Edgecombe's role and minutes could be in jeopardy. If not, he could continue to log heavy minutes and provide enough stats across the board to keep him on rosters.

Herbert Jones, SF/PF - New Orleans Pelicans (31% rostered)

Jones has dipped to 174 overall in 9-CAT and isn't giving us any stats at an above-average rate other than 1.4 steals per game. He's still starting and playing around 30 minutes in New Orleans, but he's a low usage player who relies on threes, steals, and blocks for his value, so if his minutes are cut any more, he could really continue to slide.

I don't have any shares of Jones, but if I did have him, I'd give him another week or so before cutting him loose.

Underperforming Players to Hold

Christian Braun, SG/SF -Denver Nuggets (87% rostered)

Braun has seen his counting stats go down this season as he's averaging just 11.4 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 3.0 assists. His value comes from his FG%, low turnovers, and efficiency, though, so I am not too worried about a little dip in counting stats. He is still shooting 49.5% from the floor, which is down from his 58% last season but still a solid mark for a shooting guard.

He left last night's game early with an injury, but I am holding Braun in leagues and hoping he sees an uptick in production as the season goes along. He's not hurting you anywhere, so relax and give him some more time to get back to his 2024 form.

Naz Reid, PF/C - Minnesota Timberwolves (70% rostered)

I get a lot of questions every week about Naz Reid, but I am HOLDING Naz everywhere! Yes, his scoring is down and his shot isn't falling, but Naz is still adding 1.6 threes, 0.9 steals, and 0.9 blocks per game even in 23 minutes a night. Once he starts making shots at a higher rate (he's a career 48.5% shooter), his scoring will correct itself and be closer to the 14 points per game that he averaged last season.

He's also a very valuable handcuff to own (I know that's a football term) because if Rudy Gobert or Julius Randle go down with an injury, he can step into the starting lineup and immediately give you top-50 production - we've seen him do it before.

Naz should be just fine, there's no reason to cut him in 12-team leagues or deeper!

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