Working the waiver wire is pivotal to succeeding in fantasy basketball. With so many games, injuries and endless shifts in rotations throughout the marathon NBA campaign, we'll need to source stats from free agency to maximize imaginary rosters.
A willingness to entertain competition for the final few spots on your fantasy hoops roster can prove rewarding. When curating this fluid collective of statistical contributors, it helps to consider your end-of-bench players in direct competition with the talent floating in free agency.
The goal of this weekly series is to identify players available in at least half of ESPN leagues at each position. Some nominations are specialists capable of helping in one or two categories, while others deliver more diverse and important statistical offerings. In the breakdowns below, I've ordered players at each position with priority of acquisition in mind, rather than roster percentage in ESPN leagues.
Point guard
Spencer Dinwiddie, Brooklyn Nets (Rostered in 23.3 percent of ESPN leagues): With Caris LeVert sidelined, Dinwiddie has been afforded a lot of opportunities to produce fantasy-relevant results. For instance, only D'Angelo Russell has touched the ball more times per game for Brooklyn than this savvy combo guard during the past 10 games. Helpful in several stats but without one real elite category, Dinwiddie is a strong addition until LeVert returns.
Jeremy Lin, Atlanta Hawks (39.7 percent): If you can stomach some quiet nights due to inconsistent minutes for Lin in his dual role as Trae Young's veteran understudy and steward, the statistical rewards are proving quite impressive. The Hawks push the ball and allow rare shooting freedom to their backcourt players, helping Lin sustain 1.7 3-pointers per game with 1.3 steals and 14.7 points per game the past 12 games.
Deep additions (players available in at least 80 percent of ESPN leagues): Emmanuel Mudiay (0.6 percent) enjoyed a breakout scoring performance over the weekend, taking usage and minutes away from Trey Burke. It's tough to read this backcourt in New York, which was the case last season, but it's worth speculating on this former lottery pick in deeper leagues if for potential usage alone. ... Another somewhat inscrutable backcourt is found in San Antonio, where it appears Bryn Forbes (0.6 percent) is the hot hand to consider for streaming in the week ahead.
Shooting guard
Malcolm Brogdon, Milwaukee Bucks (29.8 percent): Found at 13th on the Player Rater among point guards the past 15 days and, more relevantly, eighth among shooting guards during this sample, Brogdon 's eligibility at both backcourt spots speaks to his valuable and versatile skill set. During the past two weeks, the combo guard is providing positive value relative to shooting guards in every category save for blocks and steals -- and he's just slightly below average in these spots.
E'Twaun Moore, New Orleans Pelicans (17.1 percent): A few hours before the Pelicans played the 76ers in South Philly this past week, I watched Moore go through his pregame shooting routine. I attend around 40 NBA games per year, most often quite early to catch these revealing pregame moments. Against the precedent of hundreds of others, Moore's shooting routine and the sheer accuracy of his shot from difficult angles while contested by coaches was truly impressive. He would go on to drop 30 on the Sixers in a close loss. This big scoring performance wasn't an outlier, as the Pelicans rely on Moore's shoot more than ever this season -- he's enjoying career highs in shots, points, minutes and offensive box plus-minus.
Deep additions: Wayne Ellington (0.3) would likely be rostered in more leagues if not for beginning the season with an injury. A proven high-volume 3-point shooter, Ellington also helps with strong steal production somewhat atypical of the shooting specialist archetype.
Small forward
Justin Holiday, Chicago Bulls (5.3 percent): Fourth among shooting guards on the Player Rater and seventh among small forwards in relative value during this stretch, Holiday is among the league leaders in 3-pointers made and attempted and appears to have earned an enduring spot in Fred Hoiberg's rotation.
Bojan Bogdanovic, Indiana Pacers (18.2 percent): I confidently endorse both Bogdan and Bojan Bogdanovic as key pickups this week. The Kings' young combo guard is averaging 2.7 3PG the past six games, while Bojan, the veteran sharpshooter for the Pacers, has scored in double figures in 10 straight, slashing for 17.6 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 1.5 SPG, and 2.4 3PG during this impressive run.
Taurean Prince, Atlanta Hawks (10.7 percent): Patience is key with Prince at the moment -- he's struggling to find his shot and has lost some minutes of late to Justin Anderson. Before this past Friday's sluggish outing, Prince had averaged 7.4 3PA and nearly 30 MPG during his previous seven games. There just aren't many wings in the NBA, never mind widely available ones, earning such rich opportunity rates. Look past this recent blip and instead pursue shares of Prince.
Deep additions: Mikal Bridges (1.0 percent) is a gifted "3-and-D" wing worth streaming as he's earning more minutes. There is significant upside here if the Suns move on from Trevor Ariza in the coming months.
Power forward
Noah Vonleh, New York Knicks (3.6 percent): Would you be interested in a power forward who is averaging 14.7 PPG, 11.7 RPG, 2.7 3PG, and 3.7 combined blocks and steals the past three games? The Knicks appear ready to feature their young forward, adding to his upside and utility as a key addition this week.
Juan Hernangomez, Denver Nuggets (0.8 percent): An offensive microwave from the stretch 4 spot for the Nuggets of late, Hernangomez has averaged 33.4 MPG and 12.9 PPG and 7.6 RPG during the past seven games, all starts. I thought this role was going to go to Trey Lyles, but it's clearly Hernangomez who has claimed this valuable gig for Denver.
Center
Jaren Jackson Jr., Memphis Grizzlies (34.8 percent): My favorite prospect of this recent draft, "JJJ" has been stellar as a statistical value during his first professional campaign. With 3 combined blocks and steals per game to go with increasingly effective scoring skills, Jackson is a must-add in all formats as a key member of the surging Grizzlies.
Tristan Thompson, Cleveland Cavaliers (21.9 percent): A double-double machine thriving in a revival season for Cleveland, Thompson is a great addition for those in need of rebounding volume and even an atypically strong steal rate for a center-eligible player.
Deep additions: Mitchell Robinson (0.5 percent) has been solid as a source of swats thus far. The Knicks scored a big win in netting Robinson into the second round this past June; he's among the league leaders in true shooting percentage and block rate even as a raw rookie.
