Working the waiver wire is pivotal to succeeding in fantasy basketball. With so many games, injuries and endless shifts in rotations throughout the marathon campaign, we'll need to source stats from free agency to maximize imaginary rosters.
A willingness to entertain competition for the last few spots on your fantasy hoops roster can prove rewarding. When curating this fluid collective of statistical contributors, it helps to consider your end-of-bench players in direct competition with the talent floating in free agency.
The goal of this weekly series is to identify players at each position widely available in free agency in ESPN leagues. Some nominations are specialists capable of helping in one or two categories, while others deliver more diverse and important statistical offerings. In the breakdowns below, I've ordered players at each position with the priority of acquisition in mind, rather than roster percentage in ESPN men's basketball leagues.
Point Guard
Jose Alvarado, New Orleans Pelicans (rostered in 14.5% of ESPN leagues): Alvarado is a solid source for passing. There is also a strong steal rate to add some dimension to his profile. The scoring and shooting are below par for the position in fantasy terms, but pure point guard results have been encouraging.
Keyonte George, SG, Utah Jazz (45.2%): Wild concept here; a combo guard comes off the bench for the Jazz and has freedom to find his own shot and create for others. Sounds like Jordan Clarkson the past several years, right? George seems to have taken command of this rewarding role in the Jazz rotation and is performing at a high level while doing so. The ceiling for scoring is high, while the floor for dimes is stable. Teammate Isaiah Collier is a worthy alternative for those who want assists.
Shooting guard
Brandin Podziemski, PG, Golden State Warriors (28.7%): You might think the addition of Jimmy Butler III would soak up a ton of touches, but his usage remains relatively low and allows a player like Podziemski to actually thrive with better spacing and more catch-and-shoot looks. With an awesome rebound rate dating back to his first games as a pro, Podziemski is a fun combo guard to roster at the moment.
Quentin Grimes, Philadelphia 76ers (13.1%): Things just haven't gone right for Philadelphia this season. With their high-usage superstar considering options for his knee and the team turning back the age of the team's wings at the deadline, Grimes has a viable path to a productive starting role in the weeks ahead. Joel Embiid takes a lot of shots and consumes lots of touches, thus his absence trickles even to players like Grimes. This could be a career-best run for Grimes.
Small forward
Ausar Thompson, PF, Detroit Pistons (51.0%): A popular name in this space the past few weeks, Thompson is still a bit underappreciated by fantasy managers given his ascent to an important two-way role in the Detroit rotation. His minutes can fluctuate when fouls show up, but there's too much upside on defense to worry about the leaner lines.
Zaccharie Risacher, PF, Atlanta Hawks (17.5%): This rookie class has not wowed, but that doesn't mean Risacher is absent of fantasy impact, especially as changes in the rotation since the trade deadline have elevated his position in the rotation. The real fun comes in rim protection, as his off-ball dashes to the rim on defense are resulting in fun block numbers.
Power forward
Toumani Camara, SF, Portland Trail Blazers (32.3%): Karl-Anthony Towns, LeBron James, Miles Bridges, Kevin Durant, Evan Mobley and Naz Reid are the six players eligible at power forward who have provided more statistical value than Camara the past two weeks, per the Player Rater. His scoring isn't the reason, rather a balanced two-way game that has him as one of the better producers of steals in the league.
Jabari Smith Jr., C, Houston Rockets (44.4%): Unique eligibility at center given his exposure as a small-ball five for the Rockets adds real value to Smith's profile. A quiet game against the Jazz recently reveals a fairly low floor, but like with Camara, enough steals and blocks often surface for Smith to help your team.
Center
Alex Sarr, PF, Washington Wizards (23.8%): The top pick hasn't played in some time, but a return is coming given recent updates. If we see Sarr return in the coming days, don't be surprised if he sees plenty of run and work as the team is intentionally turning things over to their prospects. Be patient, it might pay off. If you need help right now, Onyeka Okongwu and even Jaxson Hayes have surfaced with some traditional center results.
Special teams
This section focuses on specialists, players who flash in a singular category and can provide specific value to those in category and roto formats. Nominations are based on which category such players are helpful in and will rotate throughout the season.
3-pointers: Detroit's Malik Beasley has had one of the better 3-point seasons in recent memory for a volume-driven specialist. The same can be said for Boston's Payton Pritchard.
Steals: Podziemski is fifth in added value via steals the past two weeks, while Camara is 13th in this index. The Thompson twins are also impact defenders in this category.
Blocks: Both Bol and Matkovic are both fairly elite at swatting shots. I'm rostering these two for as long as they are playing big minutes.
Rebounds: Goga Bitadze is back to protecting the rim, but not much else shows up. The Pelicans' Karlo Matkovic has been a fun addition in deeper leagues given his block rate.
Assists: Alvarado, George, and Collier are all great options for those in need of passing production.