NBA Waiver Wire: Top Adds Include Hunter, McDaniels and Watson

Welcome back! Once again, we've got a lot of names to choose from, including several players with the potential to stick on your rosters throughout the remainder of the season.

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

Brandon Boston, Pelicans (66% rostered)

Jordan Clarkson, Jazz (67% rostered)

By the time you're reading this, both of these guys might already be above our two-thirds Mendoza line, but just in case: Clarkson is scoring a ton and getting backup-point-guard-level assists; Boston is the only healthy Pelican (barely an exaggeration), leading to tons of minutes and contributions in every category except blocks.

De'Andre Hunter, Hawks (60% rostered)

It's been a frustrating ride, but the productivity is undeniable. The chronically injured Hunter has once again missed a ton of games, appearing in only five so far and having his minutes limited in three of those. Yet, despite those limitations, he's still managing 18-5-1 with 1.2 steals and 2.2 threes. He entered the season as a starter, so it's possible those averages could improve if the team gains confidence in his health and conditioning. The more IR spots your league has, the more attractive Hunter is, since he's probably going to miss games again eventually. But he's been easily rosterable when healthy, which he currently is.

Jaden McDaniels, Timberwolves (34% rostered)

Entering the 2023-24 season, McDaniels was heavily hyped by analysts as a likely breakout. It did not go as well as we'd hoped. Maybe we weren't wrong, we were just too early? McDaniels has multiple steals in five straight games and averaged 14-6-2 with 1.6 threes while playing 35.0 minutes per game during that stretch. There's no clear answer for what led to this improvement, but it's part of a steady trend through his first 15 games. Breaking McDaniels' season into three five-game chunks, he's played more minutes and put up better numbers in each segment.

Ausar Thompson, Pistons (40% rostered)

Thompson is still getting the game-to-game treatment, with the injury designation of "return to competition reconditioning". That combination seems to imply he'll make his season debut soon? I think? I hope? As I've mentioned in this space before, I'm very high on Thompson. He's insanely talented, and when a player this good becomes available for a sub-.500 team, I assume that any semi-competent coach is going to figure out a way to find lots of minutes for him. He should be a great source of rebounds and defense, though his scoring and FT% could be problematic.

Peyton Watson, Nuggets (29% rostered)

Aaron Gordon (calf) is out for at least two more weeks, and Watson continues to chug along in his absence. I've hammered this point for weeks, nothing new to add – as long as Gordon is out, Watson is a starter in all leagues. He's averaging 14-4-1 with 1.0 steals, 1.3 blocks, and 1.7 threes since Gordon went down.

Goga Bitadze, Magic (42% rostered)

Wendell Carter (foot) just missed his tenth game with plantar fasciitis, an injury that is known to linger – especially in really tall injury-prone NBA players. Plantar fasciitis is different from many injuries in that it doesn't have a set standard recovery timetable. The Magic are calling him game-to-game, and this isn't one of those obnoxious Hornets faux-updates where they know he's really out for the next six years and they're just refusing to tell us. Carter truly could return at any moment. But he also could be sidelined for a long time. And Bitadze excels when he's given court time. He's averaged 10-9-2 with 1.6 blocks while shooting 71% from the field during his 10 starts. Add him and start him for as long as Carter remains out.

Donovan Clingan, Trail Blazers (63% rostered)

Sorry in advance for engaging in the kind of analysis I tend to find annoying, but I'm pretty convinced by the "Deandre Ayton just doesn't really like playing basketball that much" arguments. Ayton is about to miss his fifth game with a finger injury. Clingan has averaged nearly a double-double with 3.5 blocks per game as a starter in Ayton's absence. Clingan will be tough to hold onto if Ayton returns to the court for an extended period of time between now and his eventual mid-winter banishment (either due to trade or tanking) – but that banishment is coming, and Clingan is absolutely worth rostering when Ayton isn't around. If I believed in Ayton's "want to", then I'd view Clingan as more of a streamer. Finger injuries shouldn't last that long, and the trade deadline is still a long time away. But, since Ayton is one of the very few players whose motivation I doubt, I wonder if this absence might draw out longer than it would for someone a little more Westbrookian.

Anthony Black, Magic (22% rostered)

This blurb would have been a lot more enthusiastic had it been written before Thursday night's game. On Monday and Wednesday, Black exploded for 19-2-9 while playing 31.0 minutes. He also recorded four stocks and five threes across those two games. By comparison, Thursday was muted, just 4-4-5 with one steal and no threes in 22 minutes. This week demonstrates why I'm excited about Black – he's a good player, with excellent flashes, an eye for assists, and a team willing to consider expanding his role. But it also shows why he's still not auto-start – his production is inconsistent and his workload is unreliable. Any team with a deep bench and the ability to be patient should add Black. Otherwise, he's a borderline addition based on positional and categorical needs.

Dalano Banton, Trail Blazers (14% rostered)

Dalano Banton is good now, maybe? It's hard to know for sure since watching the Trail Blazers is illegal in most states (definitely including Connecticut, which is why ESPN refuses to acknowledge they exist). He's a weird player who has had quick moments in the past but has been limited by two main problems – inconsistency and fit. However, Banton seems to have found a role off the Portland bench, and the inconsistency problem has yet to rear its head. He's been downright metronomic recently, scoring between 10-13 points in seven of his last 10 games. In his last five, he's averaging 14-3-4 with 1.2 steals and 1.4 blocks. He's playing just 23.8 minutes during that stretch, so there's not much wiggle room before he loses fantasy viability, but that's not currently an issue.

Robert Williams, Trail Blazers (35% rostered)

Williams is currently healthy and playing roughly 25 minutes per game. That's enough for him to have fantasy relevance. I already used "injury-plagued" to describe De'Andre Hunter, so I don't have language strong enough to describe the injury risk involved in rostering Williams. But he's played at least 24 minutes in each of his last three games, and he's right back to the defensive production that's always driven his fantasy appeal. As long as Williams is playing, he should be on rosters.

Malik Beasley, Pistons (55% rostered)

Don't expect his current hot streak to last, but ride it while it does. Beasley is averaging a shocking 21-4-2 with 4.9 threes over his last eight games, and playing at least 27 minutes in each. A lot of that production came while the Pistons were dealing with key injuries, but they were fully healthy both Monday and Thursday, and the minutes and efficiency persisted. He's still allergic to defense, and he's never sustained numbers like this, which is why he's listed so low despite this incredible run. So, be careful who you drop him for, and don't hang on too long, but by all means, get in while the getting is still good.

Kyle Filipowski, Jazz (24% rostered)

Filipowski left Thursday night's game early with an ankle injury, and we don't yet know the extent of the injury. He's not quite good enough to qualify for this article if he's about to miss a bunch of games. But, if he is only going to miss a game (or none at all), then he's an add. His production is all over the place – points one night, assists the next – but he's getting more minutes, the average numbers are solid, and the overall trend continues to improve.

Other recommendations:

Grant Williams, Hornets (29% rostered)

Stephon Castle, Spurs (59% rostered)

Kevin Huerter, Kings (33% rostered)

Onyeka Okongwu, Hawks (58% rostered)

Yves Missi, Pelicans (40% rostered)

Jonathan Isaac, Magic (22% rostered)

Deep league special

Charles Bassey, Spurs (1% rostered)

Bassey is streamable in all formats as long as Victor Wembanyama (knee) remains sidelined. The Spurs keep calling that injury a "contusion," which is typically minor and implies a quick return, which is why Bassey didn't get mentioned as an all-leagues add even though he's currently viable there, too. He's averaging 23.3 minutes since Wembanyama went out, blocking tons of shots and getting close-ish to points-rebounds double-doubles. Bassey barely plays when Wembanyama is healthy, so he might be a quick drop, but this level of productivity is hard to find in a deep league, even if short-lived.