Will Barton Is Returning Soon And The League Isn't Ready

January 12, 2019

Week 13 fantasy basketball waiver wire adds for standard leagues. Take a look at three NBA players who are owned in less than 50% of fantasy basketball leagues and should be picked up.

This intro will be spent talking about Will Barton's season-long projection and how it will impact the rest of the Nuggets. If you own you him, definitely throw out some trade offers to see what the return on him is looking like. If anyone is dangling an injured Robert Covington, Tobias Harris, Klay Thompson, or Khris Middleton, jump at the opportunity. When Barton returns he will have a massive and immediate impact on the entire rotation. Normally, a team like the Nuggets would be able to just run with another talented player, but Barton is different. Everyone on the team knows where he is at all times and want him to get the ball. When he scores, it looks easy and frankly it is. He's too quick for bigs to guard him and way too athletic for a guard to body him up. Jamal Murray and Gary Harris will have much better spacing now that they aren't the only two shooters on the team, but don't expect them to have hair-triggers because they will look to get Barton directly involved when they share the court.

Assuming, and hoping that Barton goes directly to his usual role as sixth man, it allows other Nuggets to see usage with starters, without really sacrificing offense. The Nuggets could use a consistent bench scorer and Barton will be just that for as long as he is healthy. All in all, I wouldn't see Barton returning as a negative in regards to the other Nuggets players, just expect the production to change. Look for less threes with more assists and steals coming from both Murray and Harris upon Barton's return. 80% confident Barton posts top 50 value...whenever he returns that is.

Make sure to stay updated on injuries and return times, but as far as I'm concerned, these next three players will see the biggest benefit. As a reminder, for standard (10-12 team) league adds, we use a general rule of thumb of an ownership rate of under 50% on Yahoo. All position eligibility based on Yahoo leagues.

Standard League Adds for Week 13

Patty Mills, G  – San Antonio Spurs

Ownership: 12%

9.4 PPG / 2.8 APG / .433 FG% / 1.7 3PG

Maybe if I just keep mentioning Spurs point guards Derrick White's ownership will keep rising to where it should be. For the time being, there are injuries running rampant in the guard department and instead of younger players filling in the void, we see players like Patty Mills, J.J. Barea and Trevor Ariza bailing out their teams.

Patty Mills specifically has just been playing well so there is no reason to gloss over him if you are in need of a stream at the guard position. You can always try to go with Bryn Forbes or White if possible, but this is just a, "Hey, don't forget about me!" type of update. The Spurs play five games in the next eight days so plenty of young Spurs have streaming upside this upcoming week. Not going to lie I had to check my latest posts to make sure I haven't been talking about Mills for three weeks straight.

Justin Holiday, F – Memphis Grizzlies

Ownership 36%

11.0 PPG / 4.3 RPG / 1.6 SPG / .6 BPG / .376 FG%

It's been a rough start to Justin Holiday's start in Memphis but it's clear he will be a fit whenever the Grizzlies figure out a rotation that actually works. His minutes have been inconsistent and he might not start actually providing value for another week, but it's there. He is already getting shots off despite it only being three games, but his defensive stats will start to fill out when he learns how to defend with his teammates.

The Grizzlies have taken a pretty steep drop over the past month or two, but that desperation actually gives me reason to believe Justin Holiday will be extremely beneficial to both Memphis' offense and defense. The Grizzlies have needed a player that can stretch the floor and can hit threes, so they literally just need to let him keep doing that. Even though he's not the strongest shooter, you can't and won't let him keep getting his shots because they will eventually fall and he will eventually flip letting him shoot into easy points at the basket.

Richaun Holmes, PF/C – Phoenix Suns

Ownership 23%

8.0 PPG / 4.5 RPG / .684 FG% / 1.2 BPG

His season-long averages aren't impressive and could account for why he is only 23% owned, but over the past week and a half, Richaun Holmes has been putting up absolutely incredible numbers for a streamer option. If he could find a way to increase his rebounding and shot-blocking opportunities, Holmes will actually carry value for the rest of the season.

You can't pass up his defensive contributions as it is and they have been anchoring his value recently. This seems bold but I like his chances to keep getting a steal and block every game, not to mention his near-70% shooting from the field. He's producing in limited minutes and believe it or not, but he is earning minutes. He has been playing well and without him the Suns would have lost to the Kings. That alone should be enough to secure him another week of consistency.

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