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
Reggie Jackson, Detroit Pistons (rostered in 47.6% of ESPN leagues): With at least 20 points in each of his past three outings and a high-usage role whenever he's active for a depleted Detroit rotation, Jackson makes for a rewarding addition to fantasy rosters.
Ky Bowman, Golden State Warriors (6.2%): Recently signed to a multiyear pact with the Warriors after playing on a two-way deal with the team, Bowman is now a starting fixture for Golden State and the team's key passing force past Draymond Green. With 11 dimes this past Saturday against the Lakers, Bowman could immediately help fantasy rosters in need of passing production.
Markelle Fultz, Orlando Magic (45.3%): You won't get much, if any, help from Fultz beyond the arc, but you can net a nice blend of assists and steals from the former top pick.
Shooting guard
Malik Beasley, Minnesota Timberwolves (25.9%): Unquestionably my favorite free-agent addition of the week, Beasley produced his first career double-double in his debut with the Wolves this past Saturday, all while knocking down seven 3-pointers. The Wolves cleared out their guard and wing depth chart to make room for Beasley and D'Angelo Russell, making the former a top addition given this rewarding new starting role after being buried in Denver's deep rotation the past several seasons.
Josh Hart, New Orleans Pelicans (31.7%): Atypically awesome production on the glass from a backcourt role helps Hart remain relevant for fantasy purposes even in a bench role for the Pelicans. For confirmation of his outlier success on the boards, Hart has had at least seven rebounds in five straight outings for New Orleans.
Bruce Brown Jr., Detroit Pistons (12.4%): Playing roughly 35 MPG with a solid blend of passing, rebounding, and stellar defensive rates, Brown could continue to prove busy given injuries to Derrick Rose and Luke Kennard for Detroit's depleted rotation.
Furkan Korkmaz, Philadelphia 76ers (10.0%): I witnessed Korkmaz drop a career-high 34 points this past Friday evening along with my 11-year-old nephew in South Philly. The Turkish shooting specialist followed that opus with a 31-point showing on Sunday, suggesting that even with the 76ers' new depth at the wing, he could emerge as a fun source of shooting production in deeper leagues.
Small forward
Duncan Robinson, Miami Heat (27.1%): Surging of late with at least four made 3-pointers in 10 of his past dozen appearances, Robinson has emerged as one of the league's better floor spacers and one of fantasy's best shooting specialists.
Terrence Ross, Orlando Magic (37.8%): Another shooting specialist from the wing, Ross also offers some fun defensive rates (1.8 combined blocks and steals during the past week) for those in need of help at either shooting guard or small forward.
Tim Hardaway Jr., Dallas Mavericks (31.6%): A scoring microwave for the Mavericks who has been particularly steady with Luka Doncic sidelined, THJ has averaged 18 PPG and 2.8 3PG during the past seven days.
Danuel House Jr., Houston Rockets (28.1%): A great batch of open catch-and-shoot 3-point opportunities drives value for House, who is adding to his profile with solid defensive rates, namely 2.5 SPG during the past week.
Jae Crowder, Miami Heat (19.2%): A rousing debut for the Heat saw Crowder net 35 minutes with Jimmy Butler sidelined. We can expect quieter outings once Butler and the full Miami rotation is active, but it's worth watching his usage in the coming days given the team's recent departures at the wing.
Power forward
P.J. Tucker, Houston Rockets (45.0%): Valuably eligible at small forward, power forward, and center in ESPN leagues thanks to his versatile deployment for Houston's extreme small-ball agenda, Tucker can help fantasy teams with a nice blend of rebounds, steals and blocks. Look past his modest scoring totals and instead value the utility of his fluid eligibility status and steady defensive production.
Marquese Chriss, Golden State Warriors (28.6%): With at least 25 minutes in four straight and a stellar 26-point performance against the Lakers this past weekend, Chriss is yet another impressive reclamation project for the Warriors this season.
Dorian Finney-Smith, Dallas Mavericks (18.4%): While DFS was mostly, well, a DFS target in recent weeks, he's emerged as a useful re-draft option of late thanks to more minutes and touches with Doncic sidelined. The absence of Dwight Powell also helps, as does the fact Kristaps Porzingis is unlikely to play both sides of back-to-back sets going forward.
Center
Daniel Theis, Boston Celtics (17.0%): Dropped in many leagues due to a recent injury, Theis is back in the fold for the Celtics and just posted a versatile line over the weekend that included 13 points, 11 boards and five assists. With the Celtics standing pat at the deadline despite some needs in the frontcourt, Theis should remain quite busy in the weeks ahead.
Willie Cauley-Stein, Dallas Mavericks (42.2%): Only of interest in re-draft leagues whenever Porzingis sits, Cauley-Stein can prove effectively efficient as a post scorer in such scenarios.