Working the waiver wire is pivotal to succeeding in fantasy basketball. With so many games, injuries and endless shifts in rotations throughout the marathon campaign, we'll need to source stats from free agency to maximize imaginary rosters.
A willingness to entertain competition for the last 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 essential statistical offerings.
In the breakdowns below, I've ordered players at each position with the priority of acquisition in mind, rather than roster percentage in ESPN leagues.
Point guard
Patrick Beverley, LA Clippers (Rostered in 27 percent of ESPN leagues): Only James Harden, Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook, Jrue Holiday, Kemba Walker, and Trae Young rank ahead of Beverley among point guards on the Player Rater the past 30 days. During this sample, Beverley has slashed for 9.7 PPG, 7.1 RPG, 4.1 APG, 2.3 combined blocks and steals and 1.6 3PG. Look past the modest scoring results and instead focus on Beverley's diverse skill set.
Derrick White, San Antonio Spurs (27.3 percent): In 16 starts before getting injured earlier this month, White had averaged 15.8 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 3.8 APG, two combined blocks and steals while hitting half of his 3-pointers. It might take some time for White to get back into a groove, but he was undeniably ascending before getting hurt.
Deep additions (players available in at least 90 percent of ESPN leagues): Patty Mills (9 percent) has been stellar shooting from deep the past few weeks, sinking 44.3 percent on healthy volume (2.7 3PG) and 14.2 PPG the past 10 games.
Shooting guard
Joe Harris, Brooklyn Nets (42.3 percent): Sometimes, it's best just to let the crowd help you out. Which is to say, referencing ESPN's page of most added and dropped players can help identify rising assets. Harris, for instance, is the most added player in ESPN leagues during the past week. Fresh from winning the 3-point shootout during All-Star weekend, Harris has continued his efficient scoring pattern for Brooklyn. Challenging for the best 3-point percentage in the league this season, Harris has emerged as an elite specialist.
Dwyane Wade, Miami Heat (37.4 percent): Flash is slashing for 16.5 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 4.3 APG, 1.4 steals and blocks with a robust 29.4 percent usage rage (estimate of the team plays consumed by an individual) the past eight games. The narrative for the Heat's season is shifting from fringe playoff threat to Wade's jersey exchange tour, which has also resulted in some fun fantasy results.
Tomas Satoransky, Washington Wizards (48 percent): With four 3-pointers, seven steals, seven assists, and 27 points across his past two games, Satoransky continues to show he doesn't need to score at a high level to provide strong fantasy value.
Marcus Smart, Boston Celtics (26 percent): I endorse Smart regularly in this space given my confidence in his differentiating defensive rates. Smart has averaged 2.4 combined blocks and the steals the past 11 games, helping offset a cold stretch from the floor. As on the league leaders in steals and with improved peripherals as a starter, Smart is a savvy addition for the final weeks of the season.
Deep additions: Avery Bradley (10 percent) has flashed some impressive scoring prowess with the Grizzlies, but his minutes and opportunities could fluctuate on a team chasing lottery luck, making him more of a streaming option for now.
Small forward
Kenrich Williams, New Orleans Pelicans (26.4 percent): One of the key statistical beneficiaries of the drama-filled Anthony Davis sage, Williams has averaged 10.7 PPG, 8.8 RPG, 1.5 combined steals and blocks and two 3-pointers the past 11 games.
Dion Waiters, Miami Heat (11.8 percent): His requests for more minutes and shots have been answered, as Waiters is averaging nearly 33 minutes per game during the past six starts en route to 17 PPG, 6.2 combined assists and rebounds and most valuably 3.3 3PG. If the return of Goran Dragic could hurt Justise Winslow's stock, I'm buying Waiters as a relatively safe scoring option at the wing for Miami.
Taurean Prince, Atlanta Hawks (34.1 percent): With three combined 3-pointers and steals per game and solid rebounding results during the past week, Prince embodies the premise of 3-and-D value among fantasy free agents.
Deep additions: The Nets let the ball fly from 3-point range at uniquely high rates even amid this space-drive era, which affords fringe players like Allen Crabbe (8.2 percent) utility as a streaming option.
Power forward
Ivan Rabb, Memphis Grizzlies (6 percent): Jaren Jackson Jr. is sidelined for the foreseeable future with a quad injury, opening even more minutes and post touches for Rabb, who has averaged 10.8 PPG, 7 RPG, 1.7 combined blocks and steals and is shooting 63.4 percent from the field in his past six appearances.
Jeff Green, Washington Wizards (30.4 percent): With at least 15 points in seven of his past 10 games, Green's fantasy profile is more stable than you might assume. Green's production is additionally valuable given eligibility at power forward, a relatively shallow position and one he proves helpful at given atypically strong 3-point results for power forwards.
Deep additions: Jake Layman (9.7 percent) is a widely available wing from Portland with eligibility at power forward who can help in shooting categories (1.5 3PG on 42.9 percent from 3-point range the past eight games). Minutes and shots might prove a bit variant for Layman, but he's proving worthy of streaming attention in leagues of at least 12 teams.
Center
Cody Zeller, Charlotte Hornets (26.2 percent): Seventeenth in the league with an average of 17.8 rebounding chances (defined as being within 3.5 feet of an available rebound) during the past five games, Zeller has impressively slashed for 13 PPG, 8.8 RPG, and 1.8 combined blocks and steals in 29.5 MPG.
Thomas Bryant, Washington Wizards (23.5 percent): The market isn't giving Bryant enough attention given he's averaged 14 PPG, 7.7 RPG, and 1.4 BPG the past seven games. The minutes won't always be there, but against traditional centers, Bryant claims an impressive ceiling.
Mitchell Robinson, New York Knicks (32.2 percent): This rookie has been a rare bright spot for the New York Knicks this season. The young center is tied for third in blocks per game (2.1) and would lead the NBA by a wide margin in block percentage if he qualified in minutes. In just 19.9 MPG during his past 13 appearances, he's averaged 9.5 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 2.8 BPG, while shooting a stellar 75.7 percent from the floor -- proving especially helpful in deeper rotisserie formats.
Deep additions: The buyout for Robin Lopez (5.9 percent) hasn't materialized in Chicago. Instead, he's responding with efficient scoring and useful rebounding and block rates during the past week.
