With the draft aspect of fantasy basketball in the rearview mirror it’s time to start looking forward. Monitoring the waiver wire is an important part to improving your roster. This is about potential permanent roster spots rather than streaming players.
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Here are some players to monitor for potential pickups. To be on this list you have to be available in at least 60 percnet of Yahoo’s leagues.
Indiana Pacers guard Rodney Stuckey — available in 64 percent. With all of the injuries the Pacers are dealing with Stuckey will start the season as their lead ball handler. He has the chance to pace them in scoring and assists. George Hill and C.J. Watson are both currently out in addition to not having Paul George and Lance Stephenson. Indiana’s offense is going to be trash, but there’s still stats to be had. I’m betting on Stuckey getting them.
Philadelphia 76ers center Henry Sims — available in 63 percent. We all know the Sixers stink, but they did average 99.5 points and 42.7 rebounds per game last season. Raw numbers are less important when analyzing basketball yet when it comes to fantasy it’s important. As with the Pacers, there are numbers to be had when it comes to Philly. Sims is going to be their starting center and he’s worth monitoring to see if he can be a source of points, rebounds and blocks.
Detroit Pistons guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope — available in 85 percent. Caldwell-Pope is starting the season as the Pistons shooting guard. Even when Jodie Meeks eventually returns there will be minutes for the second-year lottery pick due to Detroit’s desperation for shooting. He flashed last season when given the chance and with his consistent play if you’re looking for 3s he can be a quality source.
Oklahoma City Thunder center Steven Adams — available in 78 percent. He was recently named the starting center by head coach Scott Brooks. I already discussed him in the Who to Draft, Who to Avoid story.
Washington Wizards wing Otto Porter Jr. — available in 75 percent. Porter is purely in the monitor stage. I would need to see a string of quality games before I even considered dropping someone for him. He was an excellent college player at Georgetown and an injury filled rookie season gets him overlooked currently. If he gets going,Porter has the potential to reap the benefits of playing with a shot creator like John Wall. He can get points in transition and will get a ton of open 3-point looks.