NBA Waiver Wire: Pick-Ups and FAAB for Week 21

Are you in your league's playoffs? If so, congratulations. If not, and you are still reading this, I applaud your commitment to fantasy basketball research. As the vast majority of leagues are in their playoffs, looking to the future becomes a secondary concern. We are playing for the here and now, for the most part, so some hard decisions may need to be made in regard to dropping elite players who are hurt (see Knight, Brandon) and adding subpar options. Those subpar options, though, may just guide you through. Don't be a name-ist, trust the numbers and your instinct.

Point Guard

Alexey Shved: (all leagues); (FAAB: $8)
There is no better place to look for under-the-radar fantasy value than on a terrible team. In particular, if you look at ball-hogs on bad teams, you can find some big numbers. If you think back to Tony Wroten earlier this season on the Sixers, you may be able to approximate what Shved had been doing in New York recently. Shved has started the last three games for the Knicks (prior to Saturday) and is averaging 18.0 points, 2.7 three-pointers, 7.3 rebounds and 4.7 assists, approaching triple-doubles on both Tuesday and Thursday. As long as he continues to start, and there's no reason to think he won't, Shved is a must-own player.

Isaiah Canaan: (standard leagues); (FAAB: $3)
Although the presence of Ish Smith is still a thorn in Canaan's fantasy side, the new Philadelphia starting point guard is still a very handy fantasy player. He was relegated to the bench for one game during the week, but that was due to an illness, and even then he still averaged 2.0 three-pointers in his last three games. An elite free throw shooter who hasn't missed a shot from the line since last Saturday, Canaan has a lot more value than people give him credit for, and with four games in the upcoming week, he should be looked at as a solid source of points, three-pointers and some assists, though that isn't his strength necessarily.

Others to consider: If Michael Carter-Williams and Jerryd Bayless continue to have difficulties with their respective ankles, rookie Tyler Ennis is someone to keep an eye on. In his first NBA start, Ennis dished 11 dimes and had two steals, and he is averaging 4.8 assists in his last four games in fewer than 20 minutes. He is worth a look, particularly in deep leagues. Dennis Schroder is a must-own guy for most leagues as well, despite his role as a backup. He is averaging 5.0 assists and 12.0 points in 20 minutes in his last three and his numbers will only get a bump if the Hawks decide to rest Jeff Teague at any stage.

Shooting Guard

Tony Allen: (categorical specialist); (FAAB: $2)
The steals category is a low-volume category, so a guy like Allen, who is averaging a career-best two steals per game this season, is a valuable commodity to a lot of owners. Traditionally not a great scorer, Allen has poured in 11.7 points in his last six games, and contributed 5.2 rebounds, all while shooting 63 percent from the field. He is settled in his bench role and his defensive prowess can help many fantasy teams.

Rodney Stuckey: (all leagues); (FAAB: $5)
Well, Stuckey is definitely making me sit up and take notice, and he should be doing the same for you. Once considered a poor three-point shooter, Stuckey has now hit nine three-pointers in his last three games, obviously inflated by a six-triple night, but the fact that he averages 1.0 three-pointers for the season, well above the 0.4 he averages for his career, means that things have changed in that area. His 55-percent shooting in his last three is unsustainable, but the 23.7 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.3 assists are numbers you can't ignore. Stuckey should be owned everywhere at this point. It doesn't hurt that the Pacers have four games this week, either.

Others to consider:Will Barton has been a surprising performer in Denver since he was a part of the Arron Afflalo trade. The worry for Barton is the emergence of Randy Foye and the presence of Gary Harris, but for now, Barton is getting the job done off the bench. He's averaged 13.0 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.0 assists in his last three and has been getting 27 minutes a night. Those minutes could fall off, but for now, deeper leagues should consider him.

Small Forward

Andre Iguodala: (deeper leagues); (FAAB: $2)
The Warriors have four games coming up next week, and with Steve Kerr mentioning that he would be resting players, one or two big opportunities for Iguodala could be upcoming. Iggy has already had his rest, sitting out Friday, and if you are happy to ignore the points category, he can be a viable player. His last seven games have yielded 5.4 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.9 steals, and 0.9 blocks, while shooting a fantastic 59 percent from the field and 75 percent from the line. He's a notoriously-bad free-throw shooter, so that number will likely drop, but if you need his all-around production, he's a handy guy to look at.

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist: (standard leagues); (FAAB: $3)
Adding Kidd-Gilchrist assuming Charlotte is fully healthy is a decent move, but with questions surrounding Al Jefferson (knee) and Cody Zeller (shoulder), his value could be set to exceed his usual level of production. It's been his defensive numbers which have really come around of late. Considered one of the NBA's elite perimeter defenders, MKG's statistical output has always lagged behind his on-court production. In his last two games, though, Kidd-Gilchrist has averaged 2.0 blocks and 2.0 steals, well up from his 0.6 steals and 0.6 blocks per game season averages. He has also chimed in with 18 points and eight rebounds in those two games and is worth adding for at least this next week, with those aforementioned injury concerns to Charlotte's big men.

Others to consider:Danilo Gallinari must be owned in basically all leagues. He's red-hot, starting and his team is no longer coached by a maniac. All big plusses for fantasy.

Power Forward

Enes Kanter: (short term value); (FAAB: $2)
Kanter has provided Oklahoma City with something they have lacked for a while: a big man who is skilled offensively. He's been starting in place of Steven Adams and I'm not convinced that Adams regains his starting job, given how Kanter has performed. With the injury to Serge Ibaka and Kevin Durant's continued absence, Kanter is the second best player in the Thunder's lineup, particularly offensively, so adding him is a solid move. He's averaged 20.7 points and 10.7 rebounds, while shooting 56 percent from the field and 71 percent from the line in his last three games. He won't give you defensive numbers at all, but for bulk points and rebounds, with great percentages (the 71 percent from the line is down from his 76 percent mark for the season), Kanter has nice value for the four-game week ahead.

Ersan Ilyasova: (all leagues); (FAAB: $4)
Three weeks in a row for Ilyasova in this article. Maybe I'm delusional, but I believe in the enigmatic big man more than most, especially given his role in Milwaukee. While only averaging 28 minutes in his last seven, Ilyasova has still averaged 13.3 points, 1.7 three-pointers, 5.7 rebounds and 0.7 steals while shooting a superb 50 percent from the field. For whatever reason, his free throws have been abominable, hitting only 62 percent this season (compared with 82 percent last season), but there aren't many double-double threats on the wire who can also hit multiple three-pointers.

Others to consider:Nikola Mirotic is a must-own, at least until Taj Gibson returns. That may be this week, it may not, but ride the rookie's hot streak until he is likely relegated to the fourth big man role by coach Tom Thibodeau.

Center

Jusuf Nurkic: (standard league flier); (FAAB: $4)
Nurkic is back! Sure, he played just nine minutes and we really don't know how new head coach Melvin Hunt will incorporate him into his new small-ball lineup, but the upside is tantalizing for the Bosnian rookie. Let's look at Nurkic's per-36 numbers for the season: 14.3 points, 13.3 rebounds, 1.8 steals and 2.6 blocks are ludicrous numbers and while he will never get 36 minutes, if he regains his starting role and approached 30 minutes, he should be owned in all leagues. It may not pan out, but adding him and seeing what happens in the first game is a decent strategy.

Cole Aldrich: (deeper leagues); (FAAB: $1)
After being inexplicably absent from the Knicks' rotation for the last few months, Aldrich is back and becoming relevant again. In his last six games, he has averaged 7.3 points, 8.0 rebounds and 1.8 blocks, on 49 percent shooting from the field and an excellent 91 percent from the line. The Knicks have another four games this week, and if Aldrich retains his 20-24 minutes per night, he can be a very useful contributor in blocks and boards, as well as helping, and importantly, not hindering, your percentages.

Others to consider:Andrea Bargnani should be owned in most leagues, but if he's not, you need to look at him, if for nothing more than his scoring. Also, Tyler Zeller has been producing decent numbers and should look to keep going, but Kelly Olynyk is a major threat to his minutes.