NBA Waiver Wire: Pick-Ups and FAAB for Week 19

With many leagues' trade deadlines either having passed or coming to pass this week, the ability to strengthen your team will now be limited to scouring the waiver-wire. A savvy move here and there can take your team from outside the playoffs to sneaking into the last seed, or from first-round exit, to eventual champion. Your destiny awaits.

Point Guard

Aaron Brooks: (solid add for most leagues); (FAAB: $4)
With Derrick Rose down again, Brooks has found himself as the starting point guard for an NBA team yet again, and while the early returns haven't been awesome at this point, his upside is tantalizing in a starting role. As a starter in Denver last year replacing Ty Lawson, Brooks averaged 13.3 points, 1.3 three-pointers, 3.8 rebounds, 6.9 assists, and 1.0 steals in 12 games, and a cursory glimpse at his game log will see some monster performances. Fast forward to this season, and the numbers when starting haven't been as good, but 10.0 points, 1.7 three-pointers, 3.7 assists and 1.3 steals is not horrible, and his per-36 numbers for the season are more impressive, clocking in at 18.8 points, 2.6 three-pointers, 4.9 assists and 1.1 steals. His numbers down the stretch probably fall somewhere between these two marks and that is someone who can provide value in most standard leagues. It goes without saying that he is a must-own in any league outside of 12 teams.

Ray McCallum: (deeper leagues, flier); (FAAB: $2)
With Darren Collison's season all but officially over, shots and fantasy value are there for the taking in Sacramento. Like last season, McCallum is now the starting point guard in the Californian capital, but the situation is a little bit different. Before the long-term prognosis of Collison was announced, McCallum was starting, but splitting minutes evenly with the fossilized Andre Miller. After Collison's prognosis was announced, coach George Karl came out and said that the point guard minutes would be evenly split. In the next game, however, McCallum played a whopping 36 minutes, scoring a season-high 20 points with three assists. If he gets in excess of 30 minutes, he'll have value in all standard leagues, so he is worth an add if you are desperate for point guard stats, though be prepared for it to not work out if Karl reverts to the minute split.

Others to consider: If Kemba Walker was dropped in your league, he is set to return in the next two weeks, so if you're sitting comfortably in the playoffs, an add now is a solid move. Trey Burke has been scoring well lately and getting many more minutes than Dante Exum, but his 49 percent shooting from the field in the last two weeks is likely an anomaly and he'll revert to his category-killing field-goal percentage soon. That doesn't mean you need to avoid him, just temper your expectations.

Shooting Guard

Langston Galloway: (season-long value); (FAAB: $4)
I wrote about Galloway last week and the recommendation holds true this week as well, if not even more so. In his last four games, since Carmelo Anthony was shut down, Galloway is getting 37 minutes per game, averaging 14.5 points, 1.5 three-pointers, 4.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.5 steals, along with an impressive 0.8 blocks. His field goal percentage is nothing to be exalted, but everything else is great for all leagues. As he continues to get comfortable in the NBA, you'd imagine his performances may improve and that could be very valuable for your team.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope: (standard leagues); (FAAB: $3)
Caldwell-Pope has been give license to shoot all season, but only recently has it started to pay off. Over his last four games, KCP has averaged 19.5 points, 4.0 three-pointers with 1.5 steals, but like Burke above, he is shooting at a much higher clip than his season-long numbers would anticipate. His 47 percent conversion is much better than the 40 percent he's shot for the season, so to expect it to continue at this rate is likely wishful thinking. As a young player though, improvement is always happening, so KCP could retain standard league value for the rest of the season.

Others to consider: With Jarrett Jack back, but in a bench role with some limited minutes, he's been dropped in a number of leagues. I'd be adding him wherever he's been dropped.

Small Forward

P.J. Tucker: (standard leagues); (FAAB: $2)
If it's points you are after, cast you gaze in other directions, as Tucker is averaging only 8.4 points per game this year. But if you drill down a little, you'll see that post Goran Dragic/Isaiah Thomas trades, Tucker's importance has grown in the Phoenix set-up. In his last five, Tucker has seen his minutes rise to 31 per game, along with a rise in scoring (13.6), rebounds (7.8) and steals (2.2). Not only are these numbers standard-league relevant, Tucker is putting up stats which place him in the top-50 over that time. Yet, he's not a highly in-demand fantasy player and you can take advantage of that as a savvy player. Add Tucker and he should boost your team heading into the playoffs.

Danilo Gallinari: (standard leagues); (FAAB: $4)
Gallinari has taken the starting shooting guard job and made it his, and despite the Nuggets general lack of talent and direction, he's a good add for most leagues. Sure, there'll be nights when they get blown out or nights when Brian Shaw plays an unfathomable rotation, but all in all, Gallinari and his 16.2 points, 3.0 three-pointers and 1.8 steals will help any fantasy team.

Others to consider: If you haven't woken up to Khris Middleton and DeMarre Carroll yet, you need to. They must be owned in all leagues, yet somehow aren't.

Power Forward

Ersan Ilyasova: (deeper leagues); (FAAB: $5)
We've been waiting two seasons for Ilysaova to return to the land of fantasy relevance, but maybe it was truly a situation where circumstance (injuries and poor coaching) limited his production. Finally healthy, Ilyasova has found himself back in the starting lineup and performing at a level that makes us fantasy owners sit up and take notice. His last three games have yielded averages of 14.3 points, 1.7 three-pointers, and 9.7 rebounds in 29 minutes and that cannot be ignored. There is likely not a player on the wire with a higher upside than Ilyasova and he could pay big dividends in the last two months of the season.

Jonas Jerebko: (deep leagues); (FAAB: $1)
Arriving in the Tayshaun Prince deal, Jerebko has shone out in his last two games and is making a case for an extended role down the stretch. In those two games, Jerebko has been the backup big man, playing 23 minutes per game, averaging 18.0 points, 3.5 three-pointers and 7.5 rebounds. He's shot a ridiculous 13-for-19 from the field, which won't continue, but given his ability as a floor spacer, and Brandon Bass and Tyler Zeller's general ineptitude, Jerebko could still have a role even when Kelly Olynyk returns. It'll unlikely bleed into standard leagues, but I'd be adding Jerebko in all leagues outside of 12 teams for now.

Others to consider: With Denver in a state of flux, rookie and recent-signee Joffrey Lauvergne has been getting minutes and performing well. He's a deep-league player only, but with Kenneth Faried banged up and playing poorly, Jusuf Nurkic out with an ankle sprain, Darrell Arthur out with a knee issue and J.J. Hickson being J.J. Hickson, minutes are there for the taking. Keep an eye on the French national and he could climb into standard-league relevance at some point in the next few weeks.

Center

Alex Len, : (all leagues); (FAAB: $9)
The trade of Miles Plumlee seems to have given confidence to Len and he has responded in kind, averaging 9.4 points, 10.8 rebounds and 3.4 blocks in his last five games. A big man who won't hurt your free-throw shooting (71 percent for the season), Len is brutally underowned and as he continues to develop. The numbers only have one way to go and I can't see a situation where Len should be unowned.

Andrea Bargnani: (standard league flier); (FAAB: $2)
Forget the name. If I was to tell you someone was on the waiver-wire who was averaging 16.0 points, 7.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists and one blocked shot on 44 percent shooting and 81 percent from the line, you would want him. That player is perpetual joke-butt Bargnani, who is finally healthy and is the Knicks' starting center. Feel free to clean your mouse with industrial bleach after clicking the add button on his name, but with this sort of form, he'll be an asset to most teams. A drop off is always a possibility given his track record, but for now, Bargnani is a Primo add.

Others to consider:Mitch McGary continues to be an intriguing player who racks up stats at a dizzying rate. The issue for his fantasy value is the impending return of Enes Kanter, Kevin Durant and Steven Adams, which will limit his value and playing time. I'd add him in deeper leagues, but holding in a standard league doesn't feel like the right move.