As another week went by, even more injuries were added to the injury report. Trailblazers guard CJ McCollum will be sidelined for at least the next four weeks with a foot injury. But injuries happen, and that’s why you must stay active on the fantasy basketball waiver wire!
Here are the top fantasy basketball waiver wire pickups for Week 5 of the NBA season. In order to be included in the weekly waiver article, players must be rostered in less than 60 percent of ESPN fantasy basketball leagues.
All stats are gathered on the morning of Jan. 24 and do not take into account Sunday night’s results.
Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire Pickups
Delon Wright, Detroit Pistons (49.7%)
Despite being inconsistent all-around in fantasy thus far, Delon Wright could be in line for plenty of minutes moving forward with his recent play. He’s only averaging 8.0 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 4.1 apg and 1.0 spg. However, if you need a balanced player to give you a little bit of everything for 8-cat and 9-cat leagues, he’s your guy. As for points-based leagues, he’s risky and going to be painful to own because of his shotty play. Bottom line: the Pistons are a young team and will give plenty of minutes to the hot hand.
Kevin Huerter, Atlanta Hawks (42.4%)
The Atlanta Hawks were banged up this past week, which propelled Kevin Huerter to fantasy relevancy again. He’s been quiet this season, but still a dependable option to count on for points. Some positive notes are that he’s played at least 35 minutes in four straight games, scoring double-digits in three. The Hawks thrive through Trae Young and John Collins, but Huerter will always be a good compliment. In nearly 30 minutes per contest, he’s averaging 11.9 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 3.5 apg, and 1.3 spg.
Luguentz Dort, Oklahoma City Thunder (36.6%)
The surprise of the season has been Luguentz Dort, who emerged in the bubble. In 29 minutes per game, he’s averaging 13.8 points and 3.9 rebounds per game along with 2.5 three-pointers a game. You can avoid him in 8-cat and 9-cat leagues for categories other than scoring, but he has been very efficient this season. For points-based leagues, he’s quite a steal with his strong FG% and points per game average. You can overlook his few bad performances because he’s one of the top scorers for the Thunder thus far.
Monte Morris, Denver Nuggets (20.2%)
Monte Morris is usually on the radar for deeper leagues but has recently emerged for 12-team leagues with his recent play. Despite being the backup, Morris has played at least 20 minutes in the last six games and has scored double-digits in five of those. He is a very efficient player, which makes him intriguing in 8-cat and 9-cat leagues, and contributes enough in other categories. It is a risk to roster a backup role player on a team with so much talent but his recent play can’t go unnoticed.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Los Angeles Lakers (14.0%)
Another risky option that has been hot lately is Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. Despite playing alongside stars Anthony Davis and Lebron James, he’s been fantasy relevant. He plays consistent minutes, averaging 23.3 minutes per contest so far, and has been a dependable three-point shooter, shooting a whopping 56% from range this season. He scored 23 points the other night against Milwaukee on just three-pointers but that was his first 20-point night of the season. Caldwell-Pope is overshadowed by Lebron, AD and all other talent but is a sneaky add for category leagues for 3PT shooting.
Other considerations for all league-types: Patrick Williams, CHI (12.6%); Taurean Prince, CLE (11.3%); Willie Cauley-Stein, DAL (10.5%); Wayne Ellington, DET (5.8%); Derrick Jones Jr., POR (5.1%)
