Working the waiver wire is pivotal to succeeding in fantasy basketball. With so many games, injuries and endless shifts in rotations throughout the season, we need to source stats from free agency to maximize our imaginary rosters.
In this weekly series, we identify players available in at least half of ESPN leagues at each position. Some nominations are purely specialists capable of helping in one or two categories, while others deliver more diverse and important statistical offerings.
A willingness to entertain competition for the last spot or two on your fantasy hoops roster can prove rewarding. It can help to consider your end-of-bench players in direct competition with the talent floating in free agency.
Point guard
Terry Rozier, Boston Celtics (rostered in 47.5 percent of ESPN leagues): Given Marcus Smart's stream of injuries over the past several weeks, Rozier has risen to a rewarding role that merits nearly universal interest from fantasy managers. Rozier has netted double digits in scoring in 18 straight games and has averaged 15.8 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game with nearly 3 3-pointers per contest over this stretch. Stop sleeping on Rozier, as this gifted combo guard could be a difference-maker down the stretch.
J.J. Barea, Dallas Mavericks (20.6 percent): Since the break, Barea has averaged 7.1 APG, which ranks 12th in the NBA during this sample, just ahead of Chris Paul and Nikola Jokic. Dennis Smith Jr. is dealing with an ankle ailment and Barea should return to the lineup this coming week after missing Saturday's tilt against the Nets due to a rib strain. With some increased scoring pop if Smith sits and an already high floor for assists, regardless of the rookie's status, Barea is a savvy addition for the final weeks of the season. If Smith does miss multiple games, I'm also interested in shares of Yogi Ferrell in deeper leagues.
D.J. Augustin, Orlando Magic (20.3 percent): Seventh on the Player Rater among point guards during the past 15 days, Augustin offers further proof that we should chase numbers and not names. Don't let his reputation as a middling backup guard get in the way of the fact Augustin has started all of Orlando's 11 games since the break while averaging a surprisingly stellar line of 31 MPG (minutes), 14.6 PPG, 5.8 APG and 2.5 3PG.
Shooting guard
Austin Rivers, LA Clippers (42.3 percent): In the 16 games he's played since returning from injury, Rivers has taken at least 10 shots in each one and is averaging a hearty 35.2 MPG during this stretch. Never afraid to shoot and with productive steal and assist rates, Rivers is another player whose reputation is likely artificially deflating interest.
Buddy Hield, Sacramento Kings (25.7 percent): Sinking nearly 42 percent of 3-point attempts this season, it's nice to see Hield in the same tier as CJ McCollum and JJ Redick in regard to 3-point efficiency. It's unclear if Hield can sustain such efficiency with a higher volume of attempts during a full season, but it's encouraging that he's netting 23 PPG and 8.3 3PA during the past three games. The Kings have an explicit agenda to feature their young players down the stretch, with Hield as a key beneficiary of this plan -- he leads all shooting guards on the Player Rater over the past seven days.
Quinn Cook, Golden State Warriors (4.0 percent): One of the better players to emerge from the inclusion of the two-way contract this season, Cook has stepped up with 26.5 PPG in a whopping 40.1 MPG the past two outings. The Warriors are famously thin, given significant injuries to three of their four superstars, which could afford Cook impressive offensive usage the next few weeks.
Small forward
Taurean Prince, Atlanta Hawks (46.4 percent): Undoubtedly the most popular inclusion in this column this season, Prince still isn't getting due attention from the fantasy hoops market. I get that Prince isn't exactly bankable each night out, as he scored just nine and three points, respectively, facing the Raptors and Pacers last week. Then again, we should embrace the variance of Prince's game, as he's averaged 30.8 PPG and 20.5 shots during his past four starts -- suggesting he's a valuable utility asset.
Dillon Brooks, Memphis Grizzlies (15.0 percent): Save for some of the beneficiaries of the Warriors' rash of injuries, we find tanking teams providing the clear majority of valuable free-agent contributors. Brooks epitomizes this trend; he's been afforded a leading offensive role for Memphis despite his relatively raw game. With 15.4 shots per game and 32.1 MPG during his past seven starts, Brooks is a gem at a relatively shallow position.
Denzel Valentine, Chicago Bulls (14.3 percent): Found at fourth among shooting guards and sixth among small forwards on the Player Rater during the past seven days, Valentine can prove value as a streaming option whenever Zach LaVine is sidelined. For a more consistently productive member of the wayward Bulls, Bobby Portis (45.1 percent) is seventh on the Player Rater among power forwards during the past seven days.
Andre Iguodala, Golden State Warriors (7.2 percent): There isn't much to like about Iggy's numbers just yet, but I'm fairly forgiving when almost any player is averaging 30 minutes. With 29.8 MPG during his past two appearances and a likely busy role as a key playmaker for an eroded rotation, I'm willing to stream this versatile veteran for the coming week.
Power forward
JaMychal Green, Memphis Grizzlies (37.9 percent): Marc Gasol isn't playing as many minutes and isn't playing on the block as much lately, evidenced by rating fourth on the team in rebounding opportunities during the past 10 games. Green, meanwhile, is averaging an awesome 18.9 rebounding chances and is a regular double-double threat for a team chasing lottery odds down the stretch. If Green is already rostered in your league, consider his frontcourt peer Jarell Martin, who has scored in double figures in seven of his past eight.
Jae Crowder, Utah Jazz (30.6 percent): The Jazz are thriving and Crowder is once again providing quality minutes in a winning rotation after a disastrous stint in Cleveland. For a nice mix of efficient scoring and an atypically high steal rate, Crowder is a solid rotation piece in both real and fantasy regards.
Center
Kelly Olynyk, Miami Heat (29.1 percent): I've somehow become an Olynyk apologist; he's a quality fantasy contributor with a unique ability to provide 3-pointers, steals and blocks from a relatively shallow center position.
Dewayne Dedmon, Atlanta Hawks (20.9 percent): Along with his prodigious peer John Collins, Dedmon has been a profitable fantasy play for several weeks now. Dedmon has a low scoring floor, but it helps that the Hawks play four games this coming week.
Kyle O'Quinn, New York Knicks (13.0 percent): With 12.1 rebounding chances (within 3.5 feet of an available rebound) per game since the break and a quietly stellar blend of blocks and steals, O'Quinn is a meaningful streaming option for those in need of defensive support.
