NBA Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire Pickups, Week 3
Jan 8, 2012 Blog
Leagues are moving into their third week and most of the prime waiver wire scoops have already been made, but there are always a few guys out there who can help you plug some holes in your roster. The guys below are all owned in less than 50% of Yahoo leagues.
Derrick Williams, MIN (51%) – Williams is just a little above the cutoff, but I couldn’t leave him out this week. Michael Beasley is out with foot and finger injuries and Williams should get at least three starts. If he plays well, he could find himself a permanent fixture in the starting spot. Definitely an add in keeper leagues.
Jonas Jerebko, DET (47%) – Jerebko has been playing pretty well and Charlie Villanueva is still limited with an injury. If Jerebko can keep up the intensity, he could hang on to the starting job even with a healthy Villanueva.
MarShon Brooks, NJN (41%) – I was surprised to find that Brooks was still only 41% owned this season. He’s a must pickup in keeper leagues. The Nets are horrible and there’s a really good chance that Deron Williams won’t be there next season, so there should be a youth movement soon, which will be led by Brooks. Even with a healthy and happy Williams, Brooks is still better than Anthony Morrow.
Iman Shumpert, NYK (30%) – Shumpert looks like the clear pick to own out of the Knicks backcourt right now. He’s not quite a pure point guard, but has enough playmaking ability to make it work. He’s a good rebounder and can hit the three point shot when needed. He could find himself in the starting lineup for awile if he continues to play well. I’ve seen the Knicks get booed mercilessly on draft night the past two years, but Iman Shumpert and Landry Fields have proven that the Knicks do have some talent when it comes to scouting young players.
Derick Favors, UTA (38%) – Teams are always scrounging the wire looking for help at the center spot and Favors has center eligibility. He’s only getting about 25 minutes a night, but he can really help you with blocks. He’s swatted 11 shots in his last four games.
Brandon Knight, DET (28%) – This waiver wire pickup is more for the keeper league owners. Rodney Stuckey will probably be back soon and Knight will return to his backup role. He’s made a good showing though, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he started getting more minutes in a three guard rotation with Stuckey getting more minutes at SG, which he’s probably better suited for anyway.
Evan Turner, PHI (26%) – Turner put up a nice 21pt/6reb/4ast line this past week and it just feels like he’s a couple of weeks away from actually putting it all together. If you want to gamble on him, you better grab him now since he’ll probably be gone after one more good game.
Tristan Thompson, CLE (18%) – This is another pick strictly for the keeper league guys since Thompson just isn’t getting the minutes yet to be a useful daily player. He’s been given 24+ minutes twice and he turned in a 10pt/4reb/2blk line and a 16pt/9reb/2blk line in those two games. The guy clearly has the talent, he just doesn’t have the minutes. If the Cavs were smart (which is questionable) they would find a trade partner for Antawn Jamison and start getting Thompson to build some chemistry with rookie Kyrie Irving.
Byron Mullens, CHA (10%) – I can’t believe that I’m actually advising a pickup of Byron Mullens, but you can’t argue with the numbers he’s putting up lately and the fact that Charlotte deperately needs some size on the court. He could totally flame out at any point, but it could also be the case that he just needed some confidence and minutes to show what he’s got.
Marco Belinelli, NOR (9%) – Eric Gordon returned for a game and figured out that his knee just wasn’t in good enough shape for actual game play. He’s now out at least 2-3 weeks and Belinelli will hold down the starting SG spot while he’s out. It wouldn’t surprise me if Gordon is out longer than expected.
Josh Howard, UTA (7%) – Howard isn’t going to put up huge stats, but he seems to be the favorite for minutes at SF right now and he’ll usually get you 10-15 points and some rebounds every night.
Marreese Speights, MEM (6%) – Speights was recently traded to Memphis after the Grizz lost Zach Randolph for the next couple of months. Dante Cunningham is starting at PF right now, but I expect that Memphis will throw Speights out on the court to see what they’ve got. He’s worth a gamble if you have an open bench spot.
Nate Robinson, GSW (5%) – The Warriors recently signed Robinson to backup the often injured Stephen Curry. The signing kind of says to me that the Warriors expect that Curry could be out for a while longer than some expect. Robinson got 31 minutes in his first game and 27 minutes last night.
Linas Kleiza, TOR (4%) – Kleiza is almost ready to return from a knee injury and the Raptors really need help at SF, so he should get every opportunity to earn back his starting job. Kleiza can get you 12 and 6 with a couple of threes if he can work back into around 25 minutes a game.
Dante Cunningham, MEM (3%) – He’s the starting PF for the Grizzlies for at least the next seven weeks and that has to be worth something.
Tags: fantasy basketball, waiver wire