RADIO
Today we are looking into some potential Week 13 waiver wire pickups for power forwards and centers. These NBA players might fit well with your lineups 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.
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).
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Standard League Waiver Wire Big Adds
Jahlil Okafor, PF/C, DEN (58% Owned)
Jahlil Okafor is the newest victim of crazy rotations and a too crowded frontcourt in Philadelphia. His averages are way down from his rookie season and are currently 11.2 PTS on 51.9 FG% and 59.0 FT%, 5.0 REB, 1.0 AST, 0.4 STL, 1.1 BLK and 2.0 TO. Furthermore, not counting the last game against Washington on Jan. 14, Jahlil played in just one game (only 10 minutes) of the 76ers last six, four of which were DNP-CD. That's rough! Owners who drafted him couldn't have seen that coming, even with him, Joel Embiid and Nerlens Noel battling it out for minutes. Those DNPs saw Okafor dropped in more than a couple of leagues.
On Jan. 14 Embiid was rested and Okafor finally got some on-court time and showed us what he can do when unleashed. He scored 26 points on 10 of 16 from the field and 6 of 11 from the line, had nine rebounds, a block, a steal and three turnovers in 35 minutes of action. Now that's more like it!
Okafor is a good player in a bad situation. There's been talk for a long time that one of those three talented bigs will be on the move by the trade deadline. Embiid seems a lock to be the focal point of Philadelphia's "process" so it's quite possible that either Noel or Okafor is moved pretty soon. If Noel is moved Okafor will probably see his minutes and role increase in Philadelphia. If Okafor is moved than his value will depend on the landing spot. At the moment, anywhere is better then the position he is currently in. And just in case nobody leaves the 76ers, both Noel and Embiid have had serious injury woes in the past and Okafor is the most durable of the bunch, so if one of the two gets hurt, that would mean more minutes for Okafor, even in this nightmare in Philadelphia.
In addition to Okafor probably getting more minutes due to a trade that seems imminent in Philadelphia, we mustn't forget that he was the third overall pick in the 2015 draft. He was also great last season for the 76ers with averages of 17.5 PTS on 50.8 FG% and 68.6 FT%, 7.0 REB, 1.2 AST, 0.4 STL, 1.2 BLK, and 2.3 TO.
While it is unlikely that he will be as good as last year whatever changes take place, he will still be worth owning in most leagues if his situation improves. That's especially true for fantasy owners who don't mind his low free throw percentage and high turnovers.
Cody Zeller, PF/C, CHA (49% Owned)
Cody Zeller's back! He sustained a concussion a couple of weeks back that saw him miss three games. He returned against the Spurs on Jan. 7 with nine points on 60.0% field goals and 75% from the line, nine boards, one assist, one steal, two swats and two turnovers in 33 minutes. Then he got ill and sat out the loss at Houston. But he was back again against Philadelphia on Jan. 13 and played really well scoring 16 points on 6 of 14 from the field and hitting 4 of 4 from the charity stripe. He also added 10 rebounds, one assist, two steals with three turnovers in 36 minutes. Decent game from Cody!
His season averages of 10.8 PTS on 58.6 FG% and 66.7 FT%, 6.4 REB, 1.4 AST, 0.7 STL, 1.1 BLK and 1.2 TO in 27 minutes per game paint a pretty picture for a free agent, but don't tell the whole story. He was in a minutes battle with Spencer Hawes and Roy Hibbert to start the season and in his first nine games he played just 22 minutes per game. He played 28 minutes per outing in 24 games since then. It seems that his minutes are safe as Charlotte's starting center.
Interesting fact. Zeller was dropped recently in my 20-team (12 players per team) 10-cat head-to-head league (9 standard cats plus double-doubles) and was picked up from the waiver wire by an owner for a full $100 from the waiver budget. I taught it was a bit too much, but with the way Zeller played his last game, and with the form he was in before the injury, even $100 might turn out to be a bargain.
So if you're in a need of a big with double-double potential with nice FG% and great defensive stats, give Zeller a look. He shouldn't cost you $100 if you're not in that deep a league, but can be equally helpful on your team as well.
Standard League Honorable Mentions: Bismack Biyombo (47% owned), Montrezl Harrell (41% owned)
Deep League Waiver Wire Big Adds
Kelly Olynyk, C, BOS (16% Owned)
First of all, I must warn all readers that I'm writing this at a time when there's no new information about Olynyk's injury. He rolled his ankle when he tripped up by a ball boy in practice on Jan. 15. The severity of the injury is unknown at the moment and he is listed as questionable for the game against Charlotte on Jan 16, so take this advice with a grain of salt and make sure to get some more info before doing anything drastic with Olynyk.
The reason I'm still writing this is that Kelly has been playing pretty well recently. In his six games in 2017 he is averaging 11.7 PTS with 1.7 3PM on 54.2 FG% and 66.7 FT%, 5.5 REB, 3.2 AST, 0.3 STL, 0.8 BLK and 1.0 TO in 23 minutes a game. Furthermore, his last game was his best. On Jan. 13 against the Hawks Olynyk hit 9 of 11 from the field, 4 of 5 from beyond the arc and 4 of 4 from the line for 26 points, eight boards, three assists, a steal, no blocks but no turnovers either in 32 minutes. Nice! Niceee!
Hopefully the injury isn't serious and he is able to keep up his good play. Those sort of performances could see him in an increased role in Boston. If he is able to earn minutes in the high 20s and keep up his good play as of lately, he could easily be worth a roster spot, even in standard leagues.
Deep League Honorable Mentions: Frank Kaminsky (17% owned), Lucas Nogueira (21% 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.
