Spencer Dinwiddie among top fantasy basketball free-agent finds

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 available in at least half of ESPN leagues at each position. 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 priority of acquisition in mind rather than roster percentage in ESPN leagues.

Point guard

Spencer Dinwiddie, Brooklyn Nets (Rostered in 48.3 percent of ESPN leagues): This might just be goodbye to Dinwiddie given he's likely going to surpass the ownership threshold for this column. I've championed him as a choice sleeper since before the season, as he's a gifted playmaker and a key part of the Nets' future. I saw Dinwiddie score a career-high 39 points this past Wednesday, and it was every bit as impressive in person as in the box score.

Emmanuel Mudiay, New York Knicks (1.7 percent): While he's inconsistent, Mudiay has a helpful scoring ceiling, confirmed by 18.6 PPG the past seven games on a robust 15.1 shots per game during this sample. The Knicks are deploying him over their former top pick Frank Ntilikina, making him a nice addition in leagues of at least 12 teams.

Deep additions (players available in at least 90 percent of ESPN leagues): The Nuggets don't have a traditional point guard with Nikola Jokic as the key distributor on the first unit, while Monte Morris (0.9 percent) has been solid as the leading playmaker from the pine for Denver. At least until Will Barton is back in action, Morris merits attention for those seeking efficient sources of passing production.

Shooting guard

Bogdan Bogdanovic, Sacramento Kings (31.0 percent): Double-digit scoring in 15 consecutive games signals Bogdanovic as one of the best additions in all of fantasy hoops this week. The Kings remain competitive, thanks in large part to leaps from De'Aaron Fox, Buddy Hield, and Bogdanovic.

Marcus Smart, Boston Celtics (5.4 percent): Now earning steady minutes each night as a starter and the team's lead defensive stopper, Smart has at least one steal in 14 straight games, averaging an amazing 2.4 steals during this sample. With 4.4 dimes per game during this recent stretch of defensive dominance, Smart is becoming an atypically valuable fantasy commodity.

Danny Green, Toronto Raptors (3.9 percent): It can prove difficult to properly value players who provide immense value outside of the traditional surface statistics, such as scoring or rebounds. Green is a choice example of this premise, as he helps in blocks, steals and 3-pointers and was eighth among shooting guards on the Player Rater the past two weeks, just ahead of CJ McCollum and Donovan Mitchell.

Deep additions: Kevin Huerter (0.2 percent) is finally getting real run, likely due to Taurean Prince's injury. Even if it's a short-term absence for Prince, Huerter merits trust in deeper and keeper leagues; he has averaged 34.6 MPG and 15.3 PPG the past three games. ... You'd assume Austin Rivers (0.4 percent) will earn more touches and minutes in Phoenix than he had with the Wizards, making him an interesting speculative addition.

Small forward

Justin Holiday, Chicago Bulls (12.2 percent): Eleventh among shooting guard-eligible players on the Player Rater the past 15 days and still found in elite shooting territory at fifth in the league in 3-pointers this season. It also helps Holiday's case to consider he's fourth in the entire league in total minutes. Even as a potential deal to a contender looms, Holiday should sustain value given his seemingly legitimate leap as a floor spacer.

Terrence Ross, Orlando Magic (2.2 percent): Another trade candidate given his expiring contract on a team potentially headed for the draft lottery, Ross should retain utility for fantasy managers no matter his destination given his deft touch from outside the arc.

Bojan Bogdanovic, Indiana Pacers (26.2 percent): It's a Bogdanovic kind of season, with the veteran sharpshooter offering steady scoring and respectable-enough rebounding results to consider him more than merely a specialist.

Deep additions: The Phoenix Suns are going to lean on Mikal Bridges (0.9 percent) much more in the months ahead now that Trevor Ariza is on the Wizards. I prefer Bridges and Josh Jackson to Kelly Oubre going forward given superior defensive rates, for some context per the Suns' wing depth chart.

Power forward

Juan Hernangomez, Denver Nuggets (1.4 percent): Paul Millsap will miss more than a month with his toe injury, as Juancho has averaged 36.7 MPG the past five games. Lofting nearly five 3-pointers per game and tallying an impressive 1.6 combined steals and blocks during this sample, Hernangomez is a must-add player available in nearly all leagues.

Marcus Morris, Boston Celtics (9.1 percent): Part of the Celtics' magic the past few seasons has been getting career years from unlikely sources, such as Jae Crowder, Avery Bradley and even Isaiah Thomas. Morris is currently averaging career bests in scoring, rebounds, 3-pointers, effective field goal rate and true shooting percentage.

Thaddeus Young, Indiana Pacers (12.6 percent): A quiet start to the season has given way to an awesome stretch of production for Young in the past five games, a stretch that has seen the forward average 19.8 PPG, 9.8 RPG, 3.4 APG, 1.4 SPG, 1.2 3PG, and 0.8 BPG, which is just an incredible run of production across so many vital categories.

Deep additions: The Knicks' Noah Vonleh remains efficient from 3-point range and is even flashing some passing prowess of late, supporting value in leagues of at least 12 teams going forward.

Center

Jaren Jackson Jr., Memphis Grizzlies (38.9 percent): Here is the list of players averaging at least 13 PPG, 1.0 SPG, and 1.8 BPG this season; Anthony Davis, Rudy Gobert, Andre Drummond, Karl-Anthony Towns and Jackson. This prodigious talent can sustain fantasy value even during offensive struggles thanks to his rare defensive production, making him a must-add in all formats heading into the 10th week of the season.

Larry Nance Jr., Cleveland Cavaliers (18.3 percent): Tristan Thompson is expected to miss a few weeks with an injury, affording Nance added exposure as a result. During the past five games, Nance is averaging 30.7 MPG and a fun blend of points (11.7), rebounds (8.2) and defensive stats (2.8 combined blocks and steals per game).

Kelly Olynyk, Miami Heat (7.5 percent): Hassan Whiteside has missed time recently on paternity leave, but even when he plays, we can still fund some utility in Olynyk given his spacing keeps him on the floor to close games for Miami. Olynyk has scored in double-digits in eight straight games, posting a unique blend of 2.4 3-pointers and 1.9 combined blocks and steals during this recent sample.

Deep additions: Charlotte's Cody Zeller (1.7 percent) was ranked 16th on the Player Rater among centers the past two weeks thanks to slashing for 11.7 PPG, 7.7 RPG and 2.5 combined blocks and steals. Even if this just a momentary surge for the Hornets' big man, he's worth streaming as long as he's this productive on the boards and on defense.