RADIO
This year, RotoBaller is separating its waiver wire recommendations by position a little differently. In our three position breakdowns, we'll be separating players into GUARDS, including point guards (PG), shooting guards (SG), and combo guards (PG/SG); WINGS, including small forwards (SF), swing men (SG/SF), and small ball fours (SF/PF); and BIGS, including power forwards (PF), centers (C), and bigs who play both front court spots (PF/C).
Today we are looking into some potential Week 10 waiver wire pickups for power forwards and centers who might fit well with your team and are sitting on the waiver wire in about a half or more of the Yahoo! leagues. So if you're in the market for a big to help your team fill out it's needs, one of the players from this article might just be what you're looking for.
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Standard League Waiver Wire Big Adds
Bismack Biyombo PF/C, ORL (59% Owned)
Now I know that 59% owned in Yahoo! leagues is a bit shallower a league than we usually talk about, but I believe it's necessary to mention Bismack Biyombo at this time considering the situation in his team.
When Orlando signed Biyombo this off season, in addition to their already strong front court consisting of Nikola Vucevic, Serge Ibaka and Aaron Gordon, it started the rumors that one of those guys won't finish the season with the Magic. Strangely enough, all of those players have played pretty well and found a place in Frank Vogel's system, despite all of them having to share minutes and Aaron Gordon, a natural power forward, shifting to play most of his minutes at small forward.
But for the last couple of days the rumor mill is active again with reports that Orlando is looking into trading Nikola Vucevic. Now those are some wonderful news for Biyombo's owners! So far this season he is averaging 6.3 PTS on 49.6 FG%, 8.3 REB, 1.2 AST, 0.3 STL, 1.6 BLK in just 26 minutes per game. Vucevic on the other hand is playing 28. Imagine if half of those go to Biyombo if Vooch is moved!
Now, with Biyombo, there is the other side of the coin. This season he is at his career worst from the free throw line at 47.0% and those 1.3 turnovers a game for a center with a relatively low usage of 12.8% aren't too great. Furthermore, increased minutes would surely up those turnovers and his 3.7 free throw attempts per game too.
If you team's politics is based on having a strong FT%, Biyombo might not the best option for you. But for a team punting free throws he could prove to be real gold, especially if he can be had off the waiver wire and if the rumors surrounding Nikola Vucevic come true.
Jon Leuer PF/C, DET (49% Owned)
Jon Leuer started the season as a backup in the Detroit Pistons rotation. Two months later and his good play earned him a start in his last game. Detroit is on a five-game losing streak and coach Stan Van Gundy is trying to shake up his team. Leuer was the first choice to help that process as he started for Tobias Harris and matched his season high with 33 minutes on the court.
And there's no wonder why Van Gundy is depending on Leuer to turn things around. In Detroit's past six games, Leuer has arguably been their best player, at least from a fantasy perspective. He missed one of those games due to back spasms and played 21 minutes in his return from injury. He played over 30 minutes in each of the other four games in the past two weeks. His averages during that period are another proof of his contribution in both real life and fantasy. He is flirting with top-50 value in that period with 15.6 PTS on 66.0% from the field and no misses in his 10 attempts from the line, 0.4 3PM, 6.0 REB, 2.2 AST, 0.6 STL, 0.4 BLK and only 0.8 TO in 29 minutes per game.
While Tobias Harris is probably a more talented player with a higher upside than Leuer, Marcus Morris might not be. At the moment those three are sharing minutes at the three and four positions and are all playing 28-30 per game. As long as Leuer is getting around 30 minutes per game, and playing like he has been in these difficult times for the Pistons he is worth owning, especially in deeper leagues, so go snatch him up before one of you mates wises up!
Standard League Honorable Mentions: Alex Len (45% owned), Joakim Noah (43% owned)
Deep League Waiver Wire Big Adds
Marreese Speights PF/C, LAC (24% Owned)
Marreese Speights is a guy who has seen limited minutes throughout his career. With the exception of his 2011-12 season with the Memphis Grizzlies, he has never averaged over 20 minutes per game. But even in those low minutes he contributes to his owner. He is averaging 9.5 PTS with 1.1 3PM on 45.1 FG% and 85.3 FT%, 5.0 REB, 0.8 AST, 0.4 STL and 0.4 BLK in just 16 minutes per game this season. Let me say that again. In JUST 16 minutes per game!
Let's translate that into per 36 minutes averages, shall we? If Speights were to keep his productivity up on it's current level, and get 36 minutes per game his averages would be 21.2 PTS, 2.5 3PM, 11.1 REB, 1.7 AST, 0.8 STL, 0.9 BLK and 1.4 TO. Those are some early round numbers! Now it's not probable that Speights would keep up that kind of production if he were to play that many minutes night after night. Nor will he get the 36 minutes per game that we are talking about. But a bump from 16 to the mid 20s would help him become relevant in more fantasy leagues.
And with Blake Griffin out for another 3-5 weeks Marreese might get just that. We saw a glimpse of what he can do on Christmas Eve against the Lakers. He shot 3 of 7 from the field and hit all six of his free throws on his way to 15 PTS with 3 threes, 4 rebounds, one assist, one steal and no turnovers in 21 minute of action. Deep league owners in need of three-point shooting, rebounds and a sparkle of defensive stats with decent percentages should give Speights a look, at least until Griffin returns.
Deep League Honorable Mentions: Frank Kaminsky (18% owned), Kyle O'Quinn (16% owned)
By popular demand, RotoBaller has aggregated all of our fantasy basketball NBA waiver wire pickups into a running list of NBA waiver options, so bookmark the page and check back often for updates.
