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 the priority of acquisition in mind, rather than roster percentage in ESPN leagues.
Point guard
Derrick White, San Antonio Spurs (Rostered in 43.2 percent of ESPN leagues): Found at 10th among point guards on the Player Rater as a productive combo guard for the Spurs, White is the best backcourt acquisition you can make this week.
Emmanuel Mudiay, New York Knicks (36.9 percent): Still a negative on defense despite his ascent as a scoring threat, that doesn't matter so much when it comes to fantasy value. If the team continues to start Mudiay and lean on him as a high-usage playmaker, then we should place more value in his recent production pattern (18.9 PPG and 5.3 APG past 15 games).
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, LA Clippers (14.7 percent): Most valuable in roto leagues thanks to his atypically strong defensive numbers, but still of some interest as a streamer in weekly formats, "SGA" has averaged 1.7 combined blocks and steals as a starter and just played a career-high in minutes and lofted the most shots (17) of his young career over the weekend against the Warriors.
Deep additions (players available in at least 80 percent of ESPN leagues): Shelvin Mack (1.7 percent) has been scoring and diming with regularity the past few weeks and could see more burn down the stretch if the Grizzlies deal off any vets like Garrett Temple.
Shooting guard
Marcus Smart, Boston Celtics (20.6 percent): The endorsement remains the same; one of the league's best steal rates combined with respectable assists, rebounds, and 3-point production drives real value for Smart, especially in rotisserie formats.
Bryn Forbes, San Antonio Spurs (21.2 percent): Producing a strong slash that includes 13.6 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 2.2 APG, 2.5 3PG, and nearly steal in 31.8 MPG the past 16 games, all starts, Forbes joins White as another backcourt gem unearthed by the Spurs.
Deep additions: Detroit's Luke Kennard (1.7 percent) is a shooting specialist who has been cold for much of the season but is warming of late with 16.3 PPG thanks to 2.8 3PG the past seven days. If the Pistons move Reggie Bullock (16.2 percent) -- who is also a useful shooting source -- at a deadline, Kennard's fantasy stock could rise.
Small forward
Robert Covington, Minnesota Timberwolves (49.0 percent): You'll need to be patient with Covington, as his lingering ankle injury could hold him out for a few more weeks, it appears. This is a perfect time to stash him, however, as he's available for the price of a roster spot in half of ESPN leagues and is a dynamic source of defensive production and 3-point volume.
Danny Green, Toronto Raptors (22.9 percent): Only Covington, Bradley Beal, and Green are averaging at least 2.2 3-pointers, 0.8 SPG and 0.8 BPG this season. The scoring won't always be there, yet robust defensive metrics fuels underrated fantasy appeal for Green.
Mikal Bridges, Phoenix Suns (6.2 percent): Another defensive specialist without much offensive pop, Bridges is averaging 2.5 "stocks" (steals plus blocks) the past 18 games and should see plenty of burn (30.9 MPG during this sample) down the stretch.
Deep additions: Ride the hot hand of Marco Belinelli (4.1 percent), as he's averaged 18 PPG and three 3-pointers per game the past week and is known to sustain such stretches for several weeks.
Power forward
Marvin Williams, Charlotte Hornets (15.6 percent): Cody Zeller's injury has opened more rebounding chances and post touches for Williams of late, but the real driving force behind his impressive production the past 15 games (11.9 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 2.5 3PG) has been hitting 43.5 percent of his 3-pointers.
JaMychal Green, Memphis Grizzlies (26 percent): Before struggling in fewer than 14 minutes in a loss to the Raptors, Green had averaged 12.7 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 0.9 BPG, 0.7 SPG while hitting 52 percent of his 3-pointers during a 10-game sample. Memphis needs Green's stretch scoring ability, signaling enduring value for the veteran forward in the weeks ahead.
Al-Farouq Aminu, Portland Trail Blazers (36.9 percent): Netting a career-best 8.2 rebounds per game and with 2.4 combined steals and 3-pointers per game this season, Aminu is a 3-and-D power forward who should see plenty of minutes and rebounding chances in a somewhat shallow Portland frontcourt.
Deep additions: Maximilian Kleber (2.3 percent) has been a bright spot for the Dallas Mavericks as a rim protector (1.3 BPG) with a bit of spacing value to his game (0.9 3PG).
Center
Thomas Bryant, Washington Wizards (28.6 percent): Even in the wake the outlier opus that saw him hit all 14 of his shots in a triple-overtime game with the Suns just before Christmas, Bryant has averaged 12.3 PPG, 7.4 RPG, 1.7 combined blocks and steals the past 12 games.
Ivica Zubac, Los Angeles Lakers (2.6 percent): A shift in the starting lineup saw Tyson Chandler take over for JaVale McGee, Zubac, meanwhile, has been the most valuable fantasy option of the team's trio of centers during the past week. With 43 points and 19 rebounds during his past two games (as of Sunday), Zubac is becoming an interesting offensive source for the Lakers.
Deep additions: Bismack Biyombo (2.7 percent) will only help you as a swat specialist, but given how scarce blocks prove, his 2.3 per game the past week is notable.