RADIO
As R. Kelly says, I believe you can fly! Your fantasy NBA team that is. But to fly, you've got to spread your wings. Yeah, I changed it up so much it defeats the purpose of quoting the great artist.
Anyway, if you're unsatisfied with your current set of aforementioned wings, you might want to check out this article to see if there are any possible improvements available in your league.
Welcome to a new edition of Waiver wire pickups for the wing spots for Week 15 here at RotoBaller. Let's take a look at some of your choices to give your squad that extra lift it needs to win your league.
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Standard League Waiver Wire Wing Adds
Courtney Lee, SG/SF, NY (53% owned)
First of all, let's take a look at Courtney Lee's statistics so far this season. He is averaging 10.3 PTS with 1.5 3PM on 45.3 FG% and 89.1 FT%, 3.1 REB, 2.0 AST, 0.9 STL, 0.3 BLK and 0.7 TO in 31 minutes of action. Now one could argue that Lee's stats aren't flashy and he could have a point. But all fantasy owners in Roto leagues, or those sporting a well-balanced strategy to beat their punting, head-to-head league compatriots will know how much an all-around contributor with such efficiency as Courtney's is can be helpful in those close, tough matchups.
Second of all, let us focus our attention to recent form. Lee has been killing it in the previous two weeks with averages of 13.9 points and 1.9 three-pointers, going 36 of 71 from the field and hitting all 12 of his free throws in those seven games. As if that wasn't improvement enough he also grabbed 5.4 boards, dished out 2.9 dimes, stole the ball 1.0 times and blocked 0.7 shots while losing the ball only 0.4 times in 36 minutes a game. OH! MY! GOD!
He is the best ranked fantasy player on the Knicks Roster at 39, if you take into consideration per game averages in my Yahoo 10-cat (double-doubles being the 10th cat) H2H league in that period, even with Carmelo Anthony scoring 28.1 points a game. And if you change the filter to the last 7 days he goes up to 22.
And if that doesn't sell you on Lee, maybe the fact that Melo trade rumors are heating up will. The Clippers and the Celtics have both been included in those talks and even though Carmelo would have to waive his "no trade" clause, it's becoming more realistic every day. If Anthony was to leave New York, it's hard to imagine a situation where enough quality players join the Knicks to ruin any of Lee's value. Furthermore, there's a solid possibility that Lee assumes more offensive responsibilities with Anthony out and his value might grow even more.
If Lee is not owned in your league, be sure it doesn't remain the case for too long. He is an efficient, multi-cat contributor who is playing great at the moment and his situation might improve even more so he is a nice option still available in an unreasonable 47% of the leagues.
Dario Saric, SF/PF, PHI (43% owned)
This is a celebration of Dario Saric getting the SF position eligibility on Yahoo! He has been a roller coaster ride for his owners so far this season, but the rookie is still coming to terms with the diferences between Europe and the NBA. His season averages aren't spectacular with him getting his owners 9.9 PTS with 1.2 3PM on 38.5 FG% and 79.1 FT%, 5.7 REB, 1.7 AST, 0.5 STL, 0.3 BLK and 1.9 TO in 24 minutes per game. The rebounds, threes and defensive stats aren't really enough to compensate for those poor percentages and high turnovers for most fantasy teams.
But Saric has turned it up lately with 13.6 points and 0.4 threes on 50.0% from the field and 84.2% from the charity stripe, 4.6 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 0.4 steals, 0.4 blocks and 0.8 turnovers in 22 minutes per game. His efficiency has gone way up in those five games and it makes him a boarder line option in standard leagues.
Add to that his untapped potential, the possibility that Nerlens Noel and/or Jahlil Okafor get traded and the reality that, even though currently only 4.5 games behind Charlotte in the eight place in the East, Philadelphia will sooner rather than later turn their attention to developing their future stars instead of trying to compete and Dario jumps over that boarder line like it was a jump-rope. If things were to unfold in that way, Dario would get a chance to become really fantasy relevant. So relevant in fact, that he might be worth a look even in shallower leagues.
Other options: James Johnson, SF/PF, MIA (53% owned) and Al-Farouq Aminu, SF/PF, POR (50% owned)
Deep League Waiver Wire Wing Adds
Tim Hardaway Jr., SG/SF, ATL (26% owned)
Ah, here's one of our regulars! Tim Hardaway Jr. is enjoying his time on the Hawks rebuilding roster and is taking advantage of the opportunity that has presented itself. His surge started just around the time Kyle Korver was traded to Cleveland for Mike Dunleavy and a draft pick. So a starter at Tim's position was replaced by a player who played an average of 18 minutes a game since the trade. Lovely!
Let's take a look at Hardaway's numbers in the last month. He is shooting 46.0% from the field and 70.0% from the line for 14.5 points and 2.3 three-pointers, 2.9 boards, 2.9 assists, 1.0 steals, 0.2 blocks and 1.3 turnovers in 28 minutes a game. Apart from the FT%, on just 2.0 attempts a game though, and to some extent the TO the rest of the stats are pretty nice. Especially the threes!
With Atlanta trying to trade away their "older assets" (Paul Millsap and Thabo Sefolosha have been mentioned) to make way for the younger talent and future picks, we could see Tim getting all the run and responsibility he can handle. If you don't have a roster spot for Hardaway right now, you better make sure you're at least keeping one eye of the developments in the Hawks organization and the other on your waiver wire. If you don't and a rival grabs him, you might regret it come fantasy playoffs.
Other options: Tony Allen, SG/SF, MEM (22% owned) and P.J. Tucker, SG/SF, PHO (22% 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.
