Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire: Plenty of Options for Week 20

Hello! Welcome back!

As the Silly Season approaches, we're starting to get a lot of new names in this column. That means less room for an introduction. So let's go add some players*!

*But not Kelly Olynyk!

As always, the players in this article must be rostered in less than two-thirds of CBS leagues. Players are listed in the order that I recommend adding them, assuming they are equally good fits for your team.

Adds for all leagues

Tari Eason, Rockets (55% rostered)

By bizarre coincidence, each of the Rockets' last eight games have been a part of back-to-back sets. Eason has sat one of each pair as a precaution relating to the leg injury that cost him most of December and January, leading to a drop in his roster rate. That's a mistake. Eason remains a do-it-all monster. He's started in each of his last six outings, averaging 13-6-2 with 2.2 steals, 1.5 blocks, and 1.0 threes. The Rockets only have three back-to-backs remaining this season. He's an all-leagues must-add.

Donte DiVincenzo, Timberwolves (57% rostered)

DiVincenzo returned from a seven-week absence Thursday, playing a modest 23 minutes off the bench. Once he's worked himself back into shape, he's likely to reclaim the starting role he'd taken before getting hurt. Once he was promoted to the starting lineup, DiVincenzo averaged 18-5-5 with 4.0 threes and 1.5 steals while playing 31.3 minutes. That's incredible production. While we'll probably have to hold onto him through the ramp-up period in order to take advantage, even limited-minutes DiVincenzo is solid. On Thursday, he posted 9-5-6 with three threes and a steal. He's an all-leagues must-add.

Quentin Grimes, 76ers (56% rostered)

With each passing day – and each passing loss – the 76ers seem closer and closer to embracing the tank. As I wrote last week, my interest in Grimes is directly proportional to the 76ers' interest in tanking. He's coming off two aggressively bad games, but that doesn't change anything for me. In the six games before Grimes forgot how basketball works, he averaged 16-7-4 with 2.2 threes while playing 33.5 minutes per game. He moved into the starting lineup just before the All-Star break, and he seems likely to hold onto that promotion. The 76ers have had at least two of their three stars active for all of Grimes' games except one – and in that one, Grimes posted a massive 30-9-4 with four threes and three stocks. Philadelphia is publicly flirting with shutting down Joel Embiid, and reading between the lines, a Paul George shutdown may soon follow. While he isn't an all-leagues must-start yet, Grimes is positioned to become one very soon.

Caris LeVert, Hawks (49% rostered)

I've spent a lot of time on LeVert the last three weeks, so I'll jump to the updated stats. The newly acquired sixth man for Atlanta is averaging 15-5-2 with 1.7 threes while playing 29.7 minutes since getting inserted into his new role in the rotation. He's cooled down some after a scorching pair of games before the All-Star break, but the overall production remains absolutely addable.

Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Timberwolves (15% rostered)

If a Timberwolf catches fire in the American Midwest, but no one tweets about it, does it make a sound? Very quietly, Alexander-Walker has been on an extended hot streak for over a month. (Note: no actual animals were harmed in the making of this strained cliché). He's up to 33.0 minutes per game over the last 14 outings, providing a solid 13-4-3 with 2.6 threes. Those numbers get even better if you focus only on the last five games, jumping to 17-4-2 with 3.2 threes. I'm worried that the combined returns of DiVincenzo and Julius Randle (groin) may cut into Alexander-Walker's minutes. DiVincenzo came back Thursday. Randle has missed all of February, but recently returned to five-on-five practices and may make his way back to the court soon. But Alexander-Walker still played 35 minutes Thursday, and we don't yet have a return date for Randle – so we should be able to get at least a few more good games before Randle returns.

Kyle Filipowski, Jazz (20% rostered)

Brice Sensabaugh, Jazz (6% rostered)

Through the first few months of the season, the Jazz had a clear top six players: Lauri Markkanen, John Collins, Walker Kessler, Keyonte George, Collin Sexton, and Jordan Clarkson (I'm calling them the "original six" or an "o6er"). Keeping track of how many o6ers are playing each game is a good proxy for how aggressively the Jazz are tanking, which, in turn, tells us how we should value Filipowski and Markkanen.

January 5-20 (8 games): 2.3 o6ers per game. On January 4, the Jazz won their ninth game of the season, "falling" to fifth in the tankathon standings. That's when they began their pivot. After all six played on January 4, four rested the following game. The efforts yielded quick impact. By January 21, they moved into second in the tankathon. 

January 22-February 12 (12 games): 4.4 o6ers per game. With the trade deadline and All-Star break nearing, they eased up on the tanking aggression. They fell back to fourth in the tankathon. 

February 13-present (5 games so far): 3.0 o6ers per game. The switch has flipped back. Only sophomore George has played in all of the last five games, during which span they are averaging 3.0 o6ers per game. They are already back to a tie for second in the tankathon.

The more the Jazz tank, the better it is for Filipowski and Sensabaugh. Filipowski and Sensabaugh lost roughly six and 12 minutes per game, respectively, from that first to second stretch when the Jazz went from aggressive to passive tanking. Filipowski's fate is most tied to Walker Kessler. The bad news with that is that Kessler is just 23 years old and in his second season, not the typical profile for someone who gets shut down early. On the other hand, Utah is 4-5 in the last nine games Kessler has played, while they've lost six straight when he rested – strong incentive to sit the big. Filipowski has started in Kessler's last three absences, averaging 34.0 minutes. Sensabaugh isn't as closely tied to one player, but more to the total absences above him. I think both players will continue to see their value increase over the coming days and weeks.

Keldon Johnson, Spurs (51% rostered)

No one is replacing Victor Wembanyama (shoulder), who was a top-three Fantasy producer before his season came to a premature end over the All-Star break. But Wembanyama's absence opens up lots of opportunities for his teammates, and Johnson has been a major early beneficiary. Johnson is still coming off the bench, but his minutes and usage have skyrocketed, and he's up to 19-4-2 since the break. The production has been great, but there are two main reasons Johnson isn't listed as a higher priority pickup target. First, his numbers are buoyed by an unsustainably hot shooting streak – like, a black parked car at noon in the Las Vegas summer sun hot. He's shot 71% from the field and 47% from three during this stretch, but his career marks are just 47% and 35%, respectively. Second, Johnson is nearly useless in defensive stats, and his three-point production is low for a points specialist (just 1.4 per game during this streak, 1.1 per game on the season). 

Kris Dunn, Clippers (13% rostered)

We're entering the closing stretch of the season. While many teams still need balanced production, that's no longer true for everyone. If you need steals – just steals – then you should prioritize Dunn. He's averaging 3.0 per game in February. Dunn provides acceptable contributions in rebounds and assists, but hurts in literally every other category. If that skill-set matches your needs, then great, pretend I listed Dunn a few spots higher. Otherwise, Dunn is easily skippable.

Bol Bol, Suns (40% rostered)

Not everything has to make sense. Bol is averaging 19-7-1 with 2.0 blocks and 2.5 threes while playing 30.5 minutes over his last two games. He also had a pair of great games before the All-Star break, but Bradley Beal was out for both of those games – Beal was active for one of these recent productive outings. It probably won't last long, but let's enjoy Bol's numbers while we can.

Charles Bassey, Spurs (8% rostered)

The Spurs keep treating Bassey (knee) as game-to-game, leaving me optimistic about a quickish return. He already tried to return once, but played limited minutes in his debut and then left early after "re-tweaking" the knee in the second game. Through five Wembanyama-less games, no Spurs center or faux-center has played more than 23 minutes in consecutive games, demonstrating that San Antonio remains unenthused about their available options. If Bassey can get healthy, he stands a good chance of stepping into a large role averaging nearly a double-double with blocks every game.

Other recommendations: Aaron Wiggins, Thunder (32% rostered); Jose Alvarado, Pelicans (61% rostered); Kyshawn George, Wizards (29% rostered); Matas Buzelis, Bulls (45% rostered); Dillon Brooks, Rockets (41% rostered); Nick Smith, Hornets (27% rostered); Moses Moody, Warriors (20% rostered); Ty Jerome, Cavaliers (27% rostered); Richaun Holmes, Wizards (6% rostered); Ziaire Williams, Nets (14% rostered)

Please stop doing this

Kelly Olynyk, Pelicans

Olynyk was one of the most-added players on CBS this past week. Please stop doing this. Olynyk is not a reliable Fantasy option. I don't know how he wriggled his way into so many Fantasy managers' hearts that you all keep going back to him, but this story will end the same way it did last time and the time before that – quickly, after he disappoints you again. 

This time, Olynyk's appeal appears to be based on some extra rebounding. In his second and third games in New Orleans (both against the big-man-deficient Spurs) he snagged 15 and 12, respectively. After three starts, Olynyk is averaging an incredible 15.0 rebounds per-36 minutes! Amazing! And as sustainable as coal. His career-best rebounding rate is a fraction of that at 9.4 per-36 minutes, a figure he recorded so long ago that it came while Derek Fisher was still in the league.

As I have said every time the Olynyk Mania infects the Fantasy population, which is somehow multiple times per season, he needs roughly 24-26 minutes to be considered in deep leagues, and he needs at least 28 (and probably more like 30-32) to be considered in standard leagues.

Deep league special

Note: several players listed in the "adds for all leagues" section, above, are rostered in under 20% of leagues. In a vacuum, I would prioritize those players above the ones listed below.

Richaun Holmes, Wizards (6% rostered)

Holmes has started seven of the Wizards' nine games since the trade deadline. He's been highly effective in that time. He's averaging 11-7-2 with 1.3 blocks and shooting an incredible 80% from the field. Holmes is also a strong free throw shooter, avoiding a typical big man Fantasy hazard. The biggest problem for Holmes is that most of this production has come with rookie Alex Sarr (ankle) sidelined. Sarr was active for the only two games during this stretch that Holmes came off the bench, during which Holmes' points nearly halved (though his other production remained stable) and his minutes dipped. Washington is treating Sarr as day-to-day, so he could return soon – but they are also tanking and should tread cautiously with their 19-year-old No. 2 overall pick. Holmes is addable now, it's just unclear how long we'll be able to use him.

Other recommendations: Trendon Watford, Nets (5% rostered); Kevin Huerter, Bulls (14% rostered); Aaron Nesmith, Pacers (10% rostered)