-
Jim McCormick, special to ESPN.com
Working the waiver wire is critical to success in fantasy basketball. With so many games, injuries, and endless rotation changes throughout the marathon campaign, we’ll need to get free agency stats to maximize our imaginary rosters.
The willingness to entertain competition for the bottom spots on your fantasy basketball roster can be rewarding. When selecting this fluid collective of statistical contributors, it’s helpful to consider the bottom-of-the-bench players in direct competition with the talent floating around in free agency.
The goal of this weekly series is to identify players at each position widely available in free agency in ESPN leagues. Some are specialists capable of helping in one or two categories, while others offer more diverse and important statistical offerings. In the breakdowns below, I’ve listed the players at each position in order of priority, rather than roster percentage, in ESPN men’s basketball leagues.
shipowner
Keyonte George, SG, Utah Jazz (enrolled in 26.4% of ESPN leagues): A recent ankle injury cut short what looked to be a transformative stretch of George’s game. Utah has yet to commit to George as a centerpiece going forward, though this recent increase in playing time and offensive equity speaks to the potential for more in the coming weeks.
TJ McConnell (16.5%) and Andrew Nembhard, SG (8.3%), Indiana Pacers: Almost all of the playmaking duties beyond Tyrese Haliburton trickle down to this complementary guard duo. McConnell, as you probably know, can deliver impressive passing and defensive results even in limited exposure in a pure reserve capacity. Nembhard, meanwhile, fits well with Haliburton as a skilled passer and smart, if low-volume, scorer.
escort
Malik Monk, SF, Sacramento Kings (65.4%): A dynamic wing capable of playing almost any perimeter role on both sides of the ball, this versatility manifests itself statistically with strong shooting, passing and defense rates for a player often mislabeled as simply a bench scorer.
Ayo Dosunmu, Chicago Bulls (48.0%): If we look beyond a recent quiet outing against Boston’s suffocating defense, we find that Dosunmu has produced positive fantasy results for much of December. Capable of doing a little bit of everything, Dosunmu’s ability to complete scores is proving to be a growing trend.
Gradey Dick, SF, Toronto Raptors (41.6%): When it comes to stuntmen, Dick is accredited in the shooting department. The second-year Kansas product can get absurdly hot from the floor, moments that his team is starting to recognize and feed off at a higher rate. Up to 20 points per game in stellar shooting splits over the past week, Dick is worthy of attention in broken categories and formats.
Malik Beasley, Detroit Pistons (18.9%): Speaking of specialists, Beasley is probably an even more extreme example given that Dick has stronger peripheral numbers. Beasley, as the kids say, is a bucket. The proof would be in the fact that he has already had 13 games with at least 10 triples launched, including one of them with 19 attempts from deep! The point is, Beasley can reward your roster when it’s hot.
small eave
Trey Murphy III, SG, New Orleans Pelicans (55.3%): A popular inclusion in this slot, Murphy has become the Pelicans’ primary perimeter scorer with Brandon Ingram out. Strong steal and block rates combine to push Murphy to a new level of value in recent weeks, as he ranks first among all eligible small forward players in Player Rater over the past two weeks.
Bilal Coulibaly, SG, Washington Wizards (32.0%): Ranked directly behind Murphy as the second-most impactful contributor at the position over the past two weeks, Washington’s second-year wing was always considered an elite defensive prospect, but now a wave of offensive development is peaking to form a more complete and coveted fantasy. producer. Teammate Justin Champagnie (11.8%) is also gaining strength with sticky hands on defense.
Herbert Jones, PF, New Orleans Pelicans (24.7%): If it weren’t for Dyson Daniels, the king of steals would be Jones. With a career dedicated to smothering a variety of ball-handlers, Jones is the rare defensive specialist who deserves attention in all formats, given how extreme his combination of steal and block percentage proves. When the shot falls, Jones becomes a clear top-100 player.
power forward
Jeremy Sochan, San Antonio Spurs (38.6%): Gone was last season’s peculiar point guard experiment; in its place is a rewarding concert of glue that perfectly suits this forward energy. With more than one steal and one block per game over the past week, Sochan is shaping up to be the two-way contributor his rookie season indicated was possible.
Larry Nance Jr., Atlanta Hawks (3.8%): Nance, one of my favorite sleeper players when he was in his prime with the Pelicans, helps flesh out this week’s topic on versatile defensive forwards. The Hawks have this new blocking identity around Trae Young, and Nance, even later in his career, qualifies.
Center
Goga Bitadze, Orlando Magic (24.3%): The Magic are emulating the Grizzlies’ lead last season in the sense of an endless wave of impact injuries. Now that Moritz Wagner is gone for the year and the team is still missing its duo of young stars, Bitadze has a limitless career as the top center. The results have been really encouraging in the sense that volume is recovering and blocks are not easy to obtain these days.
Mark Williams, Charlotte Hornets (46.8%): Injuries have defined much of his professional career to date, but Williams is back and beginning to reach a rewarding level of play. I would suggest giving it a few more games before making room in most formats. The point is, this was a special prospect with what could be a huge role on a team that needs growth up front.
special teams
This section focuses on specialists, players who shine in a singular category and can provide specific value to those in category and roto formats. Nominations are based on the category in which said players are useful and will rotate throughout the season.
3 points: Only Anthony Edwards and his new volume approach are surpassing Beasley in value added via 3-point shooting over the past two weeks. Payton Pritchard, of course, is also among the special collaborators on the shoot.
Thefts: Although he is currently injured, Tari Eason is an incredible source of steals whenever he is active. Jones, meanwhile, is the clear number one in value added in this category over the past two weeks.
Blocks: Bitadze ranks 14th in added value through tire protection in the last 15 days. We find Jabari Smith Jr. producing atypically elite blocking numbers from the wing.
Rebounds: You can find pure rebounding volume through Yves Missi of the Pelicans or with Bitadze now that he has no competition on the glass.
Assists: Nembhard and McConnell are obvious answers, but Monk and Dosunmu are crafty off-ball values.
