Last Updated on January 17, 2026 12:59 am by Mike Passador | Published: January 17, 2026

As we head into Saturday, fantasy GMs got quite a bit to work with on a light Friday. Some of the stars were stars but a ton of heavy lifting was done by bench players or support guys. The box scores out of Cleveland and LA in particular were loaded with unheralded options stepping up, and our goal with this article is to help you get right to that value-added stuff without having to sift through every game on your own.

The overarching takeaway? Please add Jay Huff and do not drop him.

Domantas Sabonis also returned from a partially torn left meniscus, ending a 27-game absence with 13-6-5 in 21 minutes off the bench against Washington. That he was able to return after a fairly smooth recovery well ahead of the trade deadline is big news. It gives Sacramento its best trade chip back — lord knows if they do anything good with it — and provides teams some level of alternative when it comes to trading for an All-Star big. Sabonis and Anthony Davis are wildly different players, of course, but it’s another name in the pool that teams could target if they care more about rebounding than rim protection. Chalk it up as a successful return for Sabonis, and hopefully he can get back to a regular workload before too long.

Onward!

Top Pickups

This is the “general must-add” section regardless of the slate. If these players are being overlooked and remain chilling on the waiver wire, consider adding them to your squad.

Jay Huff (21%)

Huff got dropped in a few spots when Rick Carlisle decided to give Micah Potter a test drive, but he’s back in the starting lineup and needs to be added wherever you can as fast as humanly possible. Friday’s game was a career-best for Huff, who dropped 29 points on 13-of-17 shooting with nine rebounds, two steals, two blocks and three 3-pointers. He has fended off all challengers this year and is clearly Indiana’s best option at center. Huff has basically been proving himself as a credible fantasy option all year and a bunch of people bailed at the first sign of trouble. Don’t be part of that group.

Jaylon Tyson (18%)

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