Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire Pickups - Week 20

The waiver wire is where leagues are won and lost. The draft is long past and now your rosters feel completely different if you are even moderately active. Players come and go due to poor performances and/or injury all the time. Staying on top of your needs is essential to winning matchups and grinding your way to a championship.

As a reminder for most leagues, it is crucial to plan ahead. Waiver wire adds, scheduling, and player injuries are all things to consider. Make an effort to improve your team by maximizing your weekly adds and utilizing streamer spots via the waiver wire. Be wary of weekly streaming options and stay ahead of your opponents.

Our staff at RotoBaller has great insight and daily columns on how to improve your squad and tips to make your team successful, so be sure to check them out! Now, let's get prepared for Week 20.

Week 20 Standard Leagues - Waiver Wire Pickups

*Securing your categorical needs at this point is important, especially if you're playing in head-to-head leagues*

Columns are written based on H2H 9-category standard size leagues:

Shake Milton - PG - Philadelphia 76ers (44% owned) 

With Ben Simmons out for the foreseeable future and Joel Embiid sidelined for another week (at least) due to a shoulder strain, Shake Milton will carry a larger role in Philly's offense. He was already starting games alongside Ben Simmons while Josh Richardson missed time and has displayed a massive leap from where he was earlier in the year. Not only did Milton drop 39 points against a stout Clippers' defense on Sunday, but he also set the NBA record for consecutive three-pointers made (14) over his past few games. Milton is on a tear at the moment and while he may cool down, his usage should remain high enough to where he is worth adding and holding until the 76ers regain health. He is useful for threes, points, assists and as a percentage boost.

De'Andre Hunter - PF - Atlanta Hawks (30% owned) 

DeAndre Hunter's fantasy profile has been bolstered in recent weeks. Not only is he scoring more consistently and hitting threes over the past 30 days, but he is also providing some more stocks and rebounds. His field goal percentage is not ideal but it is not a killer and he does boost free throws with decent volume at a good clip. Hunter is only viable due to his massive minutes but that does not affect your bottom-line at the moment. Take the volume and run with it until he slows down or possibly gets shut down if Atlanta chooses to rest starters down the stretch.

Eric Paschall - PF - Golden State Warriors (36% owned)

Paschall is like a poor man's DeAndre Hunter from a production standpoint. He doesn't grab as many rebounds, hit as many threes or accrue as many stocks but, his scoring is consistently around 15 PPG and he provides more assists and a higher field goal percentage than Hunter. Paschall's role could become more limited if/when Steph Curry returns but he should remain productive given the lack of options on offense. Paschall benefits from the multiple games per month Draymond Green misses and has a chance to really take over if Green is shut down in the near future.

Brandon Knight - PG - Detroit Pistons (9% owned)

With Derrick Rose out for the next week or so with a sprained ankle, Brandon Knight should continue to receive more run out of the Pistons' backcourt. Knight has already become fairly fantasy-viable over his past four games. He is averaging 16 PPG on decent efficiency with five assists and four threes over this stretch and should continue to have an expanded role until Derrick Rose and Luke Kennard return. Knight is difficult to trust given how long it has been since he was fantasy relevant but for now, he is a fine addition in deeper league in need of the categories he provides.

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