This article is part of our NBA Waiver Wire series.
Not a whole lot has changed since last week's waiver wire article, which focused on who to pick up for the stretch run. For this week's column, the focus shifts to deeper formats, or at least to players who remain available in most leagues. In fact, all five players I'm recommending this week are rostered in no more than one out of every four leagues. As such, unless you're in a supersized league, someone I've suggested should be available for the taking.
Victor Oladipo, Miami Heat (25% rostered)
Oladipo is set to return to the lineup for Friday's matchup against Milwaukee after missing seven straight games with an ankle injury prior to the All-Star break. His field-goal percentage (40.4% FG) has been a cross to bear. However, Oladipo is supplying solid counting stats, with averages of 11.2 points, 3.9 dimes, 3.5 boards, 1.7 steals and 1.4 threes in 28.4 minutes through 26 appearances this season.
With Kyle Lowry (knee) sidelined indefinitely, Oladipo will likely keep earning ample time off the pine in an ideal role where he runs the show for the second unit and initiates offense on-ball. Moreover, Miami has four games next week, so Oladipo is an appealing short-term addition if nothing else.
Devonte' Graham, San Antonio Spurs (24% rostered)
Tre Jones (foot) has missed seven of the last eight games, and the All-Star break didn't provide enough time for him to recover. Meanwhile, through Graham's first five games with the Spurs, he is generating 14.4
Not a whole lot has changed since last week's waiver wire article, which focused on who to pick up for the stretch run. For this week's column, the focus shifts to deeper formats, or at least to players who remain available in most leagues. In fact, all five players I'm recommending this week are rostered in no more than one out of every four leagues. As such, unless you're in a supersized league, someone I've suggested should be available for the taking.
Victor Oladipo, Miami Heat (25% rostered)
Oladipo is set to return to the lineup for Friday's matchup against Milwaukee after missing seven straight games with an ankle injury prior to the All-Star break. His field-goal percentage (40.4% FG) has been a cross to bear. However, Oladipo is supplying solid counting stats, with averages of 11.2 points, 3.9 dimes, 3.5 boards, 1.7 steals and 1.4 threes in 28.4 minutes through 26 appearances this season.
With Kyle Lowry (knee) sidelined indefinitely, Oladipo will likely keep earning ample time off the pine in an ideal role where he runs the show for the second unit and initiates offense on-ball. Moreover, Miami has four games next week, so Oladipo is an appealing short-term addition if nothing else.
Devonte' Graham, San Antonio Spurs (24% rostered)
Tre Jones (foot) has missed seven of the last eight games, and the All-Star break didn't provide enough time for him to recover. Meanwhile, through Graham's first five games with the Spurs, he is generating 14.4 points, 4.8 assists, 2.8 threes, 2.2 boards and 1.0 steals in 27.9 minutes. Graham has struggled from the field and may not be worth rostering in leagues emphasizing efficiency, but he deserves consideration in points leagues until Jones is back, especially since San Antonio has a four-game week on the horizon.
Josh Richardson, New Orleans Pelicans (22% rostered)
Small sample size alert! Through his first three games with New Orleans, Richardson is averaging 9.7 points, 3.3 steals, 2.7 rebounds, 2.7 dimes, 1.0 threes and 1.0 blocks across 27.3 minutes. The veteran wing also replaced Trey Murphy III in the team's starting lineup on Thursday and continued to wreak havoc on the defensive end.
Richardson's rostered percentage rose rapidly not that long ago because of several injuries to former teammates in San Antonio, but the general assumption was that his fantasy value would decline significantly after he was moved from a relatively shallow, cellar-dwelling Spurs team to a deep, playoff-contending Pelicans club. Although he's not going to keep averaging 4.3 stocks going forward, Richardson should probably be snatched off the waiver wire in most formats.
Caleb Martin, Miami Heat (15% rostered)
Over the last 10 games, Martin is averaging 10.8 points on 48.8 percent shooting, with 7.4 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 1.1 threes, 1.0 steals and 0.6 blocks in 28.6 minutes. Although he's more of a deep-league option, Martin's well-rounded stat profile has some value in most formats. His rostered percentage has fallen considerably (-8% Last Day), likely due to the Heat signing Kevin Love. Nevertheless, I don't expect Love to cut into Martin's minutes much, if at all. As such, even if it's only as a one-week streamer, Martin should be strongly considered.
Jaylin Williams, Oklahoma City Thunder (10% rostered)
Williams has shown some impressive flashes of late, most notably dropping 14 points, seven rebounds, seven dimes, two treys and two steals in 31 minutes during a win against the Lakers a few weeks ago. He's averaging 8.4 points, 6.1 boards, 1.7 assists, 1.6 threes, 0.5 steals and 0.4 blocks in 21.1 minutes over the last 10 contests. Moreover, he seems to be carving out a demanding role, having earned at least 26 minutes in three of the last five matchups. If nothing else, Williams makes for an intriguing speculative add, though something tells me he'll soon be rostered in far more than one out of every ten leagues.
Recent recommendations: Kevon Looney, Kenyon Martin Jr., Kyle Anderson, Donte DiVincenzo, Jeremy Sochan, Deni Avdija, Talen Horton-Tucker, Malaki Branham, Matisse Thybulle, Delon Wright, Eric Gordon
