Fantasy Basketball 2012: Waiver Wire Add/Drops - It's Byron Mullens Time

So looks like we were all a little wrong on Dorell Wright. While we should not be ready to proclaim Wright "back", he at least gave his fantasy owners a reason not to cut him. If you picked him up on the cheap from an owner, it looks like your gamble might pay off. Before I hack into the waiver wire adds I just wanted to start off by saying how awesome the FakeTeams community is. There are some great writers, the comments are mega active and I’ve received some great questions and trade questions from the readers. You can reach me via e-mail at maxmillien.fantasysports@gmail.com or even better follow and hit me up on Twitter Follow @maxmillien Add/drops, trade help, whatever the question…

Onto the Waiver Wire….

Before I start, the waiver wire can be tricky. All leagues are different sizes, different categories (I’m in a league with no 3’s, so players like Reddick and Jimmer are unowned) while some leagues are just less active leading to gems on the wire. As a result I’m going to try and give a balace for shallow and deeper leagues.

8-10 Team Leagues:

Byron Mullens: If you’re in a deeper league, Mullens has probably been owned for a while but he was recently bumped into a starting position and has proven he can score the basketball. You’d like to see more than an average of 5.0 boards per game as a center but with 7 in his last two games those numbers could be coming around. Think a poor mans Andrea Bargnani and add him accordingly.

Zaza Pachulia: Another guy that became a hot add this week with Al Horford out 3-4 months. Zaza has always been productive as a starter (averaging 10 points, 7 rebounds, 1 steal shooting 46% as a starting center in his career) and is a nice guy to add to the end of your bench. I’d take Mullens over him but think Zaza’s consistency has him favoured over guys like Marreese Speights, Tiago Splitter and Andris Biedrins who are all making noise for deeper league fantasy players.

Rudy Fernandez: Still only at 18% owned in ESPN.com leagues, Fernandez is providing some lower end value and is worth a look in 10 team leagues if you are desperate at SG. Averages over the last 2 weeks of 10 points, 2.9 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.3 steals, 1.4 3PTM all while shooting .483% makes him a viable end of bench player to plug in. He has 15 points in his last two games and is also a nice option in weekly leagues due to his 4 game week for Jan 16^th.

Kawhi Leonard: Just when it looked like Gary Neal was the guy to own from the Manu Ginobili fall out, T.J. Ford went and got injured, pushing Neal to the back up PG role and promoting Leonard to the starting SG spot. He has responded with 11 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1 block, 1 steal, shooting .470% as a starter and is worth a look in all leagues. The more he starts he should also gain extra eligibility in ESPN and other leagues, as he is currently just PF on ESPN but starting at SF.

Extra guys I think should be owned in 10 team leagues and don’t need to be discussed:

Iman Shumpert, Carl Landry, Udonis Haslem, Thaddeus Young, Channing Frye, MarShon Brooks.

12+ Team Leagues:

Luke Ridnour: Most owners are scared off of Ridnour cause of the impending J.J. Barea return. Even with Barea active, Ridnour has been a productive player. Shooting over .500% for a guard is hard to come buy and even with Ricky Rubio’s promotion to the starting five, Ridnour has stuck and just shifted to shooting guard. If you need a guy for 10+ points per game, some dimes and some boards, a steal per game and a great percentage, Ridnour is an end of bench player that wont hurt your team in any area.

Leandro Barbosa: Barbosa looks ready to turn on his scoring touch with back-to-back 20 point games. Barbosa is one of the streakier players in the NBA but a points needy team should add Barbosa and ride out the hot streak and then just cut him for the next waiver wire darling.

Matt Barnes: Barnes, like Barbosa will go hot and cold but looks locked into the starting unit for the Lakers. Expect his averages to land somewhere around 9-10 points per game, 5 or 6 boards, a sprinkle of assists with close to a block and a steal and the occasional monster line.

Other guys worth looking at in deeper leagues include:

Taj Gibson, Josh Howard, Markieff Morris, Vladimir Radmonovic, Chandler Parsons, Norris Cole, Jonas Jerebko (again), Chase Budinger (could break out again), Baron Davis (could be time to pounce in weekly leagues), Michael Redd (he couldn’t actually start right?), Delonte West (for as long as he starts), O.J. Mayo.

Thanks and see you all next week...

-maxmillien.fantasysports@gmail.com

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