The Fantasy Basketball Cut List - Who to Drop or Hold After Week 4

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

Welcome back to this week's edition of the Fantasy Basketball Cut List. We are closing in on the first month of the season, and we've already been pretty busy, cutting a lot of dead weight from our rosters and adding players who offer more upside. This week, we will review our first month of cut candidates, discuss which injured players are and aren't worth holding, and focus on some new cuts that may need to be made.

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?

Reviewing the First Month of Cut List Candidates

I wanted to list the players here that I've already covered in the first three weeks of this column. I haven't got every cut right by any means, but I stand by all of these cuts and believe all of these players are still cuttable now.

• Bradley Beal (out for the season)
• Cam Thomas (out at least another 3-4 weeks)
• Jonathan Kuminga
• Draymond Green
• Anfernee Simons
• D'Angelo Russell
• Malik Monk
• CJ McCollum
• Dereck Lively II
• Cason Wallace

No regrets here, even on CJM, who had a massive week after I featured him and then has predictably been quite mediocre in three games since. I maintain that all of these players are going to be frustrating to roster for one reason or another and not worth your investment!

There have been some players who have made the cut list who have ultimately bounced back and are well worth rostering as well. Here is that list, with my guy Cameron Johnson leading the way after another good game last night.

• Cam Johnson
• Reed Sheppard
• Dennis Schroder
• Bobby Portis

The injury to Christian Braun could be just what Johnson needed to get going. He now has two good games in a row. Sheppard's role has drastically improved, and his minutes are up. Schroder moved to the bench, where he's been much more consistent in a sixth-man role, and Portis has a few weeks to prove he's still worth something with Giannis out.

Highly Rostered Players to Consider Cutting

All roster percentages are courtesy of Yahoo!

Christian Braun, SG/SF - Denver Nuggets (73% Rostered)

I usually don't pick on injured players for the cut list; however, with injuries across the NBA stacking up, managers only have so many IR spots at their disposal. If you are already holding someone like Jalen Williams and Jalen Green, then you simply may not have the ability to stash another injured player at this point.

Braun is simply not a guy who is worth stashing when he's been given a timeline of six weeks to recover from his injury. Braun had already seen his value dip this year and was outside the top 150 (173). He's a low-volume scorer who relies on efficiency in 9-CAT for his value, and his FG% had dropped 9% from last season as he was averaging a very meager 11-4-3 with very few defensive stats.

Peyton Watson SHINED in Denver's win over New Orleans:

⚒️ 32 PTS (career-high)
⚒️ 12 REB
⚒️ 5-9 3PM
⚒️ 13-19 FGM pic.twitter.com/OJphopFMFs

— NBA (@NBA) November 20, 2025

I already mentioned that Cameron Johnson has seen a revival in the two games since he returned to the lineup, but it was Peyton Watson who stole the show last night. Watson is known more for his defensive prowess, but he went for 32 points and 12 boards, drilling five threes.

If you haven't already, dump Braun and consider adding Johnson or Watson. The latter is still widely available in leagues, but won't be for long!

Lightly Rostered Players to Consider Cutting

Herbert Jones, SF/PF - New Orleans Pelicans (28% rostered)

Jones was featured in the "Hot Seat" section of this piece last week, then proceeded to put up three stinkers in a row. His minutes have dropped into the 20,s and he now has to deal with both the emergence of rookie Derik Queen (30 points last night!) and the return of Zion Williamson.

On-ball steal by Zion Williamson against Jamal Murray

Defensively, Williamson has been a playmaker this season

We'll have to monitor how well that offsets him not providing what the more cookie-cutter bigs or wings provide to a team pic.twitter.com/OZUm7LMXo5

— Jackson Lloyd (@JacksonLloydNBA) November 20, 2025

Jones is a low-usage player who relies on his defensive stats and three-point shooting for value. His 1.4 steals per game are valuable, but he simply doesn't do enough in any other category to justify holding him at this point. If the Pels have more injuries down the road, we could consider bringing him back, but it's more likely that he's just a streamer for steals at this point.

Collin Sexton, PG/SG - Charlotte Hornets (27% rostered)

Sexton had quite the opportunity to put up value in the first month of the season as LaMelo Ball missed a bunch of games and Brandon Miller got hurt in the opener. His output has been pretty underwhelming, averaging 15 points and 4.8 assists while adding only 1.5 threes and 0.7 steals.

His 2.8 turnovers in 26 minutes a night are very damaging in 9-CAT, and his ranking is now well outside the top 200 as a result. LaMelo has returned to the lineup and pushed Sexton to the bench, which wouldn't be a terrible thing as he's likely better-suited for a sixth man role. However, Miller is also ramping up and nearing a return, too.

When the Hornets finally get healthy, Sexton is probably looking at a 22 to 24-minute role, and he simply doesn't do enough other than score to make him a must-roster player in standard leagues.

Ace Bailey, SG/SF - Utah Jazz (26% Rostered)

I know there are a lot of Bailey truthers out there, and he had a nice stretch of four games with some pretty solid value, but he has now put up two duds in a row and played only 23 minutes against the Lakers the other night, despite starting.

I am telling you right now, Utah is going to be a nightmare of a rotation for most of the season. They have nearly a dozen players they want to give minutes and develop, yet they are still playing guys like Jusuf Nurkic, Kevin Love, Kyle Anderson, and Svi Mykhailiuk in their rotation.

Bailey is a talented rookie; there's no questioning that, but I think he will be a headache to roster in standard leagues for quite some time. Bailey "SZN" is probably going to be sometime in March when Utah finally trades some veterans and commits to playing their young talent big minutes on a nightly basis.

Rui Hachimura, SF/PF (22% rostered)

It's been a nice run for Hach as he has averaged 15 points per game for the first month of the year while the Lakers were missing key pieces of their rotation. But even at his best, he was still a fringe player in 9-CAT due to his lack of any stats besides points and threes.

LeBron James returned to the lineup on Tuesday, and Hach played just 26 minutes and posted a measly 6-4-1 line with no threes. Yep, it's over. He will still have a role, but it will be significantly smaller with the Lakers now having the whole band assembled. Thanks for your service, Rui, but see ya later, bro.

Injured Players Who Are NOT Worth Holding (Cut 'Em!)

• Tari Eason (24%)
• Tre Jones (24%)
• Kelly Oubre Jr. (22%)
• Aaron Nesmith (18%)
• Aaron Wiggins (10%)

Eason is a guy I love, but still marginal enough of a player that I'm not holding him for over a month. Tre Jones's injury isn't long-term, but his run of productivity is likely coming to an end with the return of Coby White - he's expendable.

Kelly Oubre Jr. is in a similar position; his injury comes at a time when he was already going to get squeezed for minutes with Paul George and Dominick Barlow both returning from injury. We can move on there. Nesmith was only on rosters for his volume of scoring when Bennedict Mathurin and Andrew Nembhard were out. They are both back, and Nesmith, if he were still starting, would be a fourth option on offense at this point.

Others Who Can Be Cut:

• Nikola Jovic (15%)
• Saddiq Bey (13%)
• Isaiah Joe (12%)
• Jaylen Wells (10%)
• Marcus Smart (10%)
• Mitchell Robinson (8%)

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.

Jordan Poole, PG/SG - New Orleans Pelicans (87% Rostered)

Poole could return sometime in the next week, but he's going to be on thin ice in terms of his value in standard leagues. The 17 points and 2.9 threes certainly look good, but the 35% shooting on that many shot attempts is a killer. Poole's game has usually been a relatively inefficient one that relies on volume, and he could be returning to a very different-looking Pelicans rotation when he's back.

I already mentioned it earlier, but the Pels started Queen alongside Williamson last night for the first time. They also really like Jeremiah Fears, who has been starting now for several weeks, and who Poole was benched for at one point before he got hurt.

Just keep an eye on his role in those first few games back. A reduced role sometimes helps a player with efficiency, and coming off the bench isn't always a bad thing, as you get to face weaker second units. Poole will need to be much better than he has been so far this season, since he offers nothing in terms of defensive stats and is a turnover and FG% risk.

John Collins, PF/C - L.A. Clippers (80%)

I wish I had a nickel for every John Collins question I have received over the last two weeks, then I would have...a hell of a lot of nickels! No one seems to know what to do with the Clippers' big man as he's been putting up a very pedestrian 12 and 5 so far without much of anything else.

tuffff, John Collins 😤 count it! pic.twitter.com/3d2tb7GXgR

— LA Clippers (@LAClippers) November 18, 2025

But I really think that he's still a hold for now, despite his disappointing stat line. The Clippers are a mess and have injuries not only to Kawhi Leonard, but to Derrick Jones Jr. (out at least six weeks), too. DJJ had been starting at power forward, and so Collins should continue to start there for the foreseeable future, possibly even after Leonard returns, as he can slide over to small forward to give Los Angeles a bigger lineup.

Collins is a good NBA player and has been a pretty darn good fantasy player for some time. I'm as annoyed as you are, but I am keeping him here on the hot seat for at least another week until we see how things shake out in Clipper Land.

Underperforming Players to Hold

Bilal Coulibaly, SG/SF - Washington Wizards (25% rostered)

After missing four games last week and putting up just under 10 points per game, managers were dumping Coulibaly as his rostership dropped down near the 20% mark. He's been picked back up in several of my leagues, and I'd consider doing that if someone in your league dropped him.

The rotation in Washington is going to be annoying, but Coulibaly is one player that should see 30+ minutes a night, and his first two games back, he has played 28 and 29 minutes, so that's a very good sign.

Bilal Coulibaly has hit 2 of his 3 3PAs today

And when he’s hitting his 3s, the driving lanes he has to work with open up in a big way

And when the lanes are open, Bilal will take any chance he can get to take off and defenses can’t do much to stop it pic.twitter.com/g2wv24kCH1 https://t.co/WyffPtNBO4

— Point Made Basketball (@pointmadebball) November 20, 2025

His offensive game is still very much a work in progress, but he's a tremendous athlete who has already established himself as a plus defender. I'll take his 2.3 stocks per game on my roster and hope that his offensive development continues to improve. With some improved offensive efficiency, he could be a really good 9-CAT player, and he should be a big part of the rebuild in Washington along with Alexandre Sarr, Kyshawn George, and Tre Johnson.

Luke Kornet, C - San Antonio Spurs (21% rostered)

Every fantasy analyst I know tweeted something along the lines of "run, don't walk to add Luke Kornet" as soon as the news of Victor Wembanyama's injury broke. I had not seen that much hype for a career backup center in...well, ever?

The hype was somewhat warranted as Kornet has been a solid per-minute producer, and he posted a solid 13 and 11 with three blocks in the first game that Wemby missed.

His second start, however, was a disaster, and he was held scoreless and contributed just four boards and three assists.

Don't panic, he will have some clunkers, but Kornet should still have plenty of value for the next few weeks and could easily bounce back with a big double-double tonight. I saw him listed as one of the most dropped players after his dud on Tuesday, which I guess was from teams that were just streaming him for one start. Kornet should be rostered in standard formats until Wemby gets back, it's very likely that one bad game ends up being an outlier in my opinion.

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