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 will be looking at some wings who are ready to fly off your waiver wire and help their owner march towards the playoffs and even the championship. So if your small forwards have failed you, take a look at some of the names possibly still not owned in your league. They just might make the difference you need to beat your buddies.
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Standard League Waiver Wire Wing Adds
Tony Allen, SG/SF, MEM (32% owned)
Tony Allen is a great defender for a gritty Memphis team. His career averages of 1.4 steals, and his 1.8 this season show just that. You shouldn't expect him to score thirty points, have five three-pointers or even hit all of his free throw attempts. You can expect, however, something similar to what he is averaging now. That is 10.1 PTS on 46.7 FG%, 5.4 REB, 1.0 AST, 0.5 BLK along with the aforementioned 1.8 STL in 27 minutes per game.
Memphis has been banged up with Mike Conley, Chandler Parsons, James Ennis and Zach Randolph all missing time this season, and that could have been the reason Tony was getting more minutes compared to his 25 minutes per outing last season. But now Conley and Randolph are back, and since the last game so is Ennis, but Allen still got 31 MIN in the previous week. Parsons' return might have more of an impact on Allen's minutes, but his defense should keep him on the court for close to 30 minutes a night.
Allen's stats would have him Owned in more than every third fantasy league if it wasn't for his injury history. In his previous three seasons he played 55, 63 and 64 games. This season he has already missed seven of his teams 29 games.
If you're in the market for steals, blocks and rebounds, with decent FG% and don't mind the lack of threes and FT%, Allen is your guy. But be wary of him getting injured or being rested from time to time.
Courtney Lee, SG/SF, NY (40% owned)
Courtney Lee is a starter for the New York Knicks. He plays a consistent 30 minutes a night and gets his owners nice and efficient stats. Just 0.8 TO in 30 minutes of action, along with 86.4 FT% and 45.4 FG% are not too bad for a guy who can be scooped up from the waiver wire in more than half the leagues. Lee also contributes with 10.1 PTS with 1.5 3PM, 2.8 REB, 1.9 AST, 0.9 STL and 0.2 BLK so far this season.
His playing time will remain around the 30 minute mark. You better believe the Knicks will give Lee the space and run considering they signed him to a four year $48 million contract.
Furthermore, Lee is one of the more durable players in the NBA. He hasn't missed more than 11 regular season games in a season so far in his career. Having a player as healthy as that is heaven for fantasy owners.
So if you are looking to add some efficiency and consistency to your team from the wire and could use a boost in threes and defensive stats, pick up Courtney Lee if he is still there in your league.
Other options: Brandon Ingram, SG/SF, LAL (47% owned) and Evan Turner, SG/SF, POR (38% owned)
Deep League Waiver Wire Wing Adds
Tim Hardaway Jr., SG/SF, ATL (14% owned)
The Atlanta Hawks have a deep rotation at the two and three positions with Kyle Korver, Kent Bazemore, Thabo Sefolosha, Tim Hardaway Jr. and even Malcolm Delaney all fighting for minutes. Tim Hardaway Jr. is playing pretty well lately. In his previous five games he has averaged 14.4 PTS while hitting 2.0 treys, grabbing 2.8 REB, dishing out 2.8 AST and getting 1.0 STL in 30 minutes per game. The minutes seem to be trending up, with him having played just 21 minutes per game before that period.
So far this season he is hitting 43.7% of his field goals, which is not too bad, considering half of his shots are from beyond the arc. His FT% is surprisingly poor at the moment, only 65.1%. But he is a career 79.9% free throw shooter, so he should turn that around pretty soon.
His output in three-pointers and points, along with a few rebounds, assists and steals should have him owned in more than just 14% of Yahoo! leagues. If he can keep up this production of late, and get stable minutes in the high 20s, Tim Hardaway Jr. will not be sitting on waiver wires for long.
Other options: Andre Roberson, SG/SF, OKC (12% owned) and Marco Belinelli, SG/SF, CHA (19% 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.