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 10.0% of ESPN leagues): The devastating loss of Dejounte Murray to a significant injury means Alvarado will be tabbed as a starting distributor for the Pelicans. With an awesome steal rate and enough passing volume to help in the assist department, Alvarado appears set to be a real value in category leagues going forward.
Ty Jerome, Cleveland Cavaliers (16.5%): Kenny Atkinson truly trusts Jerome with the ball. This applies to running the second unit as a playmaker and also as an off-ball shooter and spacer next to either of the team's All-Star guards. The results have been solid for fantasy purposes in recent weeks, with Jerome compiling enough scoring, shooting, passing and steals to surface as a helpful utility option.
Lonzo Ball, Chicago Bulls (13.4%): The departure of Zach LaVine signals more touches and time for Ball. Tre Jones doesn't appear to be a major threat to Ball's role, especially as the size Ball provides on defense opens up different lineup looks. It might be wishful thinking, but a second-half leap is possible here.
Shooting guard
Christian Braun, Denver Nuggets (55.4%): A stellar recent run has Braun positioned in the top 15 among shooting guards on the Player Rater the past two weeks. With awesome rebounding results and really strong steal and scoring outcomes all merging at once, Braun is suddenly a must-add option in most formats.
Ayo Dosunmu, Chicago Bulls (34.6%): Between Dosunmu and Ball, I'd prioritize this younger and more durable combo guard. Dosunmu has some similar skills in that he can dabble in creation and off-ball work, suggesting there is a new level of usage possible in the wake of this recent big trade.
Small forward
Jaden McDaniels, Minnesota Timberwolves (44.3%): One of my favorite players in real life is now surfacing as a fantasy star. The word "star" might be bold, but the premise here is that an elite defensive producer is now suddenly posting respectable scoring and rebounding numbers. The sum of these contributions has seen him ranked third among all small forward eligible players on the Player Rater the past two weeks.
Zaccharie Risacher, PF, Atlanta Hawks (18.3%): With the Hawks proving patient with Risacher, his fantasy profile hasn't been so exciting -- until recently, that is. The Hawks have essentially been forced to give the rookie more run because of several frontcourt injuries creating space in the rotation. A recent scoring eruption isn't sustainable, but it does signal upside for a player who could sit around 25 MPG until the break.
Power forward
Guerschon Yabusele, Philadelphia 76ers (18.4%): The 76ers have played with more urgency and energy since being called out by coach Nick Nurse following a blowout loss in Denver earlier in January. Yabusele embodies this new tier of effort and grit from the team, as he has become a willing shooter, cutter, rebounder and defender. The scoring won't always be as impressive as these recent games, but there is growing value for him on a team still missing Joel Embiid.
Toumani Camara, SF, Portland Trail Blazers (23.2%): The market isn't really reacting to Camara's production. Which is to say, there's a lag between how valuable his play has been and the level of attention he has garnered from managers. There appears to still be time to acquire this two-way glue guy in many leagues. Portland doesn't have the most stable rotation in the league, but Camara has emerged as the rare reliable member of this roster.
Center
Onyeka Okongwu, Atlanta Hawks (46.3%): Injuries to Jalen Johnson and Clint Capela mean even more work for this ascendant center. Okongwu sees enough time to deliver double-double outcomes in most matchups. It will be intriguing to see if the deadline influences his role at all.
Kel'el Ware, Miami Heat (25.5%): Somewhat like Camara, there has been a delay in Ware's production level and fantasy managers noticing it. The team regularly starts Ware in throwback size-driven lineups. The results deserve more attention.
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: Miami's Duncan Robinson and Detroit's Malik Beasley live on 3-point volume. These specialists are surging at the moment, which makes both more viable for streaming purposes.
Steals: McDaniels and Jerome both show up as impactful defensive sources when it comes to steal rate and pure volume.
Blocks: Ware and even the Lakers' Jaxson Hayes have seen enough rim protection opportunities to help fantasy managers in this somewhat difficult statistic to find on the wire.
Rebounds: Atlanta's rising center gobbles up boards for the Hawks and fantasy investors. Ware has been No. 18 in added value on the Player Rater in rebounding volume over the past two weeks.
Assists: Jerome, Ball and Dosunmu all have real creation roles in their respective offenses.