• The waiver wires are still ripe with worthwhile adds now that we’re a week and a half beyond the all-star break an only days away from the trade deadline. Below take a read on the litany of valubale big men who look to have rest of season upside, a couple of assist specialist, and one wing in paritcular who looks like he may have the runway to produce across the board in a big way. These are Sunday’s best waiver targets.

    Adds of the Night

    Talen Horton-Tucker – Rostered in 23% of Yahoo leagues

    MIN FG% FT% 3PM PTS REB AST STL BLK TO
    28 .375 (6/16) .833 (5/6) 0 17 6 3 1 1 3

    With LeBron James (ankle) and Anthony Davis (hamstring) both sidelined indefinitely, Talen Horton-Tucker can claim the top dawg role on this team that he rightfully deserves. In all seriousness, THT has an avenue to at least 20-23 minutes per-night with the Lakers’ two stars out of commission, and that’s more than enough for him to make things interesting with his all-around fantasy stat set. You don’t really need me to tell you that he’s worth a pickup, as that has likely already happened in your league. Instead I’ll just offer my ringing endorsement of such a move.

    Nicolas Claxton – Rostered in 10% of Yahoo Leagues

    MIN FG% FT% 3PM PTS REB AST STL BLK TO
    26 .700 (7/10) .500 (2/4) 0 16 3 0 1 3 2

    Nic Claxton has found himself as the closing five in three straight Nets wins, and it’s time to find a spot for him on your team if he’s still available. Since returning from the All-Star break, Claxton is averaging 8.7 points, 4.3 rebounds, 0.7 steals and 1.8 blocks in just 20 minutes per-game, and has exceeded that minute total in each of his last three games. Today’s output was one of his best as a Net, and that was despite Blake Griffin making his Brooklyn debut. He’s the best center on the team by far, and it’s only a matter of time before he’s hitting tonight’s mark consistently. Add away.

    Daniel Theis – Rostered in 48% of Yahoo leagues

    MIN FG% FT% 3PM PTS REB AST STL BLK TO
    33 .545 (6/11) 1 13 11 3 1 1 2

    With Tristain Thompson (protocols) sidelined, all of the attention has (rightfully) been placed on Robert Williams, but Theis deserves some love too. He’s a 9-cat stud when he’s getting unfettered playing time, and he’s produced terrific lines in three of his last four games. Thompson is likely to be sidelined for at least another week, and there are multiple scenarios that could have Thompson out of the rotation even once he clears protocols. He has been rumored to be on the trading block, and even if he isn’t dealt it’s possible Robert Williams’ recent stellar play phases him out all together. Whatever way you cut it, Theis is an appealing streamer for the time being, and could potentially be a reliable 9-cat producer the rest of the way as well. 

    Isaiah Stewart – Rostered in 14% of Yahoo leagues

    MIN FG% FT% 3PM PTS REB AST STL BLK TO
    23 .625 (5/8) 1 11 6 0 1 2 0

    Stewart has now played at least 20 minutes in each of his last 10 games, and it’s clear that he’s looking at playing time like that at a minimum the rest of the way in his rookie season. Stewart has been extending his range of late, and clearly has the okay to flash that element of his game as the Pistons continue to evaluate their young guys. Mason Plumlee is still the starter for now, but it’s not crazy to imagine Stewart either contending for that role over the last stretch of the season, or at the very least continue to take minutes away from him. He’s a top-100 player in this amount of playing time and should be rostered in virtually all 12-team 9-category leagues. 

    Moses Brown – Rostered in 34% of Yahoo leagues

    MIN FG% FT% 3PM PTS REB AST STL BLK TO
    28 .625 (5/8) .500 (3/6) 0 13 14 0 1 0 2

    Brown got the start in place of Al Horford again, and I think we get the general idea of what to expect now whenever Big Al sits. He’s a double-double monster with big shot blocking upside, and with the trade deadline only days away, there is no excuse for him being on the wire in any league size or format. Now personally I don’t see an Al Horford trade in the cards this deadline, but it obviously doesn’t hurt to roster him just in case, and at worst, you have a guaranteed boost in big man stats for whichever games Horford would sit for the Thunder going forward, which I wager would be a good deal of them.

    T.J McConnell – Rostered in 42% of Yahoo leagues

    MIN FG% FT% 3PM PTS REB AST STL BLK TO
    31 .714 (5/7) 1.000 (2/2) 0 12 5 7 1 0 1

    McConnell went to the wire in several spots after he had a couple of rough games in a row following the debut of Caris LeVert last week. If he was dropped in your league he was probably picked up again after his 15 assist explosion in his last game, but if he wasn’t make sure to correct that. He looks like he’s going to retain his high 20-minute workload, which makes him a must roster guy in standard leagues for his elite assist and steals upside. 

    Tomas Satoransky – Rostered in 19% of Yahoo leagues

    MIN FG% FT% 3PM PTS REB AST STL BLK TO
    28 .444 (4/9) 0 8 2 9 3 1 3

    Sato continues to start for the Bulls, and he should be rostered in far more leagues than he currently is. In his five games as starter, Sato is averaging 9.2 points, 3.0 rebounds, 7.0 assists and 1.6 steals with 48% shooting from the field and 88% from the line. The steals are a bit high, but even when those settle to the 1.2 range I’d expect them to in this amount of playing time, he should still be producing at a top-90 level. Barring a trade that’d displace him as starter or a switch back to Coby White in the role, Satoransky is as good a source of assists as you’ll be able to find on the wire at this juncture of the season

    Danuel House Jr. – Rostered in 9% of Yahoo leagues

    MIN FG% FT% 3PM PTS REB AST STL BLK TO
    33 .778 (7/9) .500 (1/2) 3 18 8 2 1 0 0

    House is seeing a starter’s workload again, and when the shot’s falling he’s worth plugging and playing on your teams. He’s going to be a decent source of triples, rebounds and steals as long as he’s playing this much, but he’s more of a fringe, 14-team option in category leagues. He becomes pretty unpalatable when the shot isn’t falling (which tends to happen more often than not) and newest acquisition D.J Wilson looms as a threat to take playing time if he shows any flashes in his currently limited minutes..

    Hold Him if You Have Him

    Nerlens Noel – Rostered in 43% of Yahoo leagues

    MIN FG% FT% 3PM PTS REB AST STL BLK TO
    31 .833 (5/6) .600 (3/5) 0 13 10 0 2 1 2

    Mitchell Robinson finally made his long awaited return from his hand surgery today, coming off the bench in just 17 minutes as the Knicks look to ramp him up after a little over a month of missed time. Noel will eventually lose the job again and return to a 20 minute bench role, but I think he could still be worth rostering in such a scenario, and is a firm hold in 9-cat leagues until he gives us a reason otherwise. The big news here is that Tom Thibodeau favorite Taj Gibson did not play any center minutes today, indicating that he’ll stick to Robinson and Noel in a two-man center rotation. It shouldn’t even be a question in this stage of Gibson’s career, but worth noting regardless.  

    Better on Your Watchlist

    Aleksej Pokusevski – Rostered in 16% of Yahoo leagues

    MIN FG% FT% 3PM PTS REB AST STL BLK TO
    29 .222 (2/9) .750 (3/4) 2 9 9 2 2 0 1

    The minutes and opportunity are there for Pokusevski, but as we’ve seen it’s taking him a bit to adjust to the NBA speed and physicality. His FG% is absolutely in the tank, and keeping him outside the top-200 since the all-star break despite flashing a versatile skillset in 30 minutes a night. If you’re punting FG% he still has some value in category leagues, but if you’re not he’s probably worth monitoring from the wire. Even if Darius Bazely (shoulder) continues to miss extended time, it’s tough to see him correct that FG% in a meaningful enough way this season.

    Svi Mykhailiuk – Rostered in 1% of Yahoo leagues

    MIN FG% FT% 3PM PTS REB AST STL BLK TO
    21 .545 (6/11) 3 15 4 3 1 0 4

    Mykhailiuk played limited minutes with the Thunder in his second game, but was awfully productive in them. The rebounds, assists and defensive stats do not figure to be the norm at all, but Svi is easily the best 3-point shooter on this team, and should have ample opportunity to fire up shots at will. It remains to be seen what kind of minute load he’ll play with the rest of the way, but for the time being he’s worth keeping tabs on if he starts to play even more and you’re in need of an efficient 3-point bomber.

    Kendrick Nunn – Rostered in 28% of Yahoo leagues

    MIN FG% FT% 3PM PTS REB AST STL BLK TO
    23 .500 (3/6) 1.000 (2/2) 1 9 1 3 1 0 2

    Goran Dragic (lower back spasms) missed this game, which generally means a larger role for Nunn. His minute load didn’t really change much in this one, and he was behind Andre Iguodala in Miami’s closing lineup. The last time Dragic missed extended time, Nunn was able to post top-90 value in near-33 minutes per game. Granted some of those games came without Jimmy Butler and/or Tyler Herro, but no matter which way you cut it he takes a step up in the pecking order, and is at least worth monitoring in case Dragic sidelined for a while and Nunn finds a place with the main five for Miami.

    Otto Porter Jr. – Rostered in 38% of Yahoo leagues

    MIN FG% FT% 3PM PTS REB AST STL BLK TO
    18 .333 (1/3) 1 3 4 2 0 0 0

    Porter Jr. got picked up in a few spots after a big scoring game last time out, but tonight’s line is more representative of what we should be expecting from OPJ with the current construction of this Bulls team. I’m not super confident in his ability to produce even if he’s traded elsewhere. He’s safe to leave on, or return to, the wire in most settings.

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