This article is part of our NBA Waiver Wire series.
Following the Thanksgiving holiday, the NBA regular season is about 25% complete. By this time, you should have a pretty good grasp on your fantasy team's strong points and weak points. No matter what position you're in, it never hurts to scoop talent off the waiver wire.
Malik Monk, Kings 
(38%)
Monk has played two games since missing a week and a half with an ankle injury. He popped off in his most recent appearance, going for 27 points, nine assists, eight rebounds and a steal in 35 minutes. That increased run and usage was due to the absence of DeMar DeRozan, however. Don't expect Monk to play those kinds of minutes and see that kind of usage every game, especially since he was a bit underwhelming to start the year.
But hopefully, this sparks something for Monk and the team, and he can become more involved like he was last year. Either way, I'd be looking to add him to at least have him as an option off my bench. And in the scenario that DeRozan or De'Aaron Fox suffer an injury, it's more opportunity for Monk.
Malcolm Brogdon, Wizards 
(31%)
It gives me no pleasure in recommending Brogdon, one of the most injury-prone players in the league, and a veteran playing on a plucky rebuilding squad. I don't want more Brogdon; I want more Bub Carrington.
Well, it doesn't matter what any of us want. Brogdon is in the rotation after missing the beginning of
Following the Thanksgiving holiday, the NBA regular season is about 25% complete. By this time, you should have a pretty good grasp on your fantasy team's strong points and weak points. No matter what position you're in, it never hurts to scoop talent off the waiver wire.
Malik Monk, Kings (38%)
Monk has played two games since missing a week and a half with an ankle injury. He popped off in his most recent appearance, going for 27 points, nine assists, eight rebounds and a steal in 35 minutes. That increased run and usage was due to the absence of DeMar DeRozan, however. Don't expect Monk to play those kinds of minutes and see that kind of usage every game, especially since he was a bit underwhelming to start the year.
But hopefully, this sparks something for Monk and the team, and he can become more involved like he was last year. Either way, I'd be looking to add him to at least have him as an option off my bench. And in the scenario that DeRozan or De'Aaron Fox suffer an injury, it's more opportunity for Monk.
Malcolm Brogdon, Wizards (31%)
It gives me no pleasure in recommending Brogdon, one of the most injury-prone players in the league, and a veteran playing on a plucky rebuilding squad. I don't want more Brogdon; I want more Bub Carrington.
Well, it doesn't matter what any of us want. Brogdon is in the rotation after missing the beginning of the year due to injury. After struggling for two games, Brogdon has averaged 16.3 points, 4.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.0 steals in 24.0 minutes across his past four. He won't keep shooting 55.6 FG%, but I think his minutes and role are pretty secure – at least until the trade deadline.
Stephon Castle, Spurs 
(29%)
Castle has stepped up his game immensely since joining the starting five, playing with a ton of confidence and looking like he belongs. The rookie's efficiency comes and goes, but he's now a staple of the team's gameplan and knows how to make plays.
Over his past 12 games, Castle has averaged 14.7 points, 4.8 assists and 2.8 rebounds in 30.4 minutes. I think he'll only get better as the season goes along. And if the 39-year-old Chris Paul misses any time – which should almost just be expected – Castle's role will take a jump. He's one of the better long-term adds on this list.
Someone from the Nets 
I have a feeling Cam Thomas' month-long absence due to a hamstring injury will mostly be a negative for Thomas managers without being much of a positive for waiver wire additions. Although, if you're already rostering Dennis Schroder or Cam Johnson, you're going to start benefiting.
Tyrese Martin (1%), Ben Simmons (26%) and Trendon Watford (1%) were the biggest winners during Wednesday's win over the Suns. Watford is someone to keep an eye on since it doesn't seem like Nic Claxton can stay healthy, and Noah Clowney has a weeks-long injury.
I would have been comfortable recommending Simmons as an add even before the Thomas injury. Yes, it's annoying that he doesn't play back-to-backs. He's still a good fantasy player if you don't need points. He's giving you five assists and five rebounds with some defensive stats thrown in.
Martin had 30 points in 28 minutes during that win over Phoenix, but he shot 8-for-10 from three and 10-of-13 from the field while providing four rebounds and two assists. If he shoots a normal percentage, that statline is something like 15 points, four rebounds and two assists.
There are also names like Shake Milton (0%) and Ziaire Williams (9%) who could do more and are worth considering in fantasy. Williams may have the most all-around upside of the group but didn't do anything special in the Wednesday game. Maybe the best course of action is to throw all these guys on your watchlist.
Robert Williams, Trail Blazers 
(22%)
Williams is in concussion protocol, but if you have the bench spot, I'd add him now. Donovan Clingan is dealing with a Grade 2 MCL sprain. Portland said they're re-evaluate him in two weeks, but the average missed time for that injury is closer to six weeks. That gives Williams a runway to be the full-time backup center (minus back-to-backs). And if Deandre Ayton misses time, Williams could end up being one of the best bigs in fantasy. Stash now; figure it out later.
Marcus Smart, Grizzlies 
(22%)
Jake LaRavia, Grizzlies (9%)
I'm grouping these guys together because they play on the same team, and I don't know what the hold up is. I know Smart has been hurt, and LaRavia's statline appears underwhelming, but these roster rates are just way, way too low.
When he rounds into shape, Smart will be Memphis' starting shooting guard and probably play roughly 30 minutes per game. He has upside in assists, steals and threes. Per 36 minutes this year, he's averaging 7.0 assists, 2.4 steals and 2.6 threes. He's not some theorhetical rookie playing 12 minutes per game and I'm blowing up his stats for context. This is Marcus Smart.
LaRavia is not a must-roster standard league player. I know that. But 9% rostered? If you're in a 14-teamer, and definitely 16-teamer, he shouldn't be on waivers. His strong suits are assists (3.9), blocks (0.8) and FG% (51.3). But he's just well-rounded, also providing 9.0 points, 4.9 rebounds, 0.8 steals and 0.9 threes. LaRavia is also averaging 24.3 fantasy points per game, so this isn't just a category-league add. He's useful in every format.
Cody Martin, Hornets 
(7%)
Martin is a lot like LaRavia, but Martin is seeing a significant boost due to teammate absences. Charlotte is playing Friday's game against the Knicks as I'm typing this, but over his past six games, he's averaged 6.3 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 2.0 steals and 1.7 blocks in 27.2 minutes. He's a great add for managers seeking defensive stats.
Schedule notes for daily moves leagues
Yahoo's default league format includes daily transactions, so I'll use this space to note some advantageous schedule spots beginning this Saturday.
It's a dense stretch of games, with every team playing either three or four times from Saturday-Friday. And, all teams that play four games during that stretch also play a fifth game the following Saturday or Sunday.
The lowest-density schedule spots for this upcoming stretch are Saturday (5 games), Monday (4 games) and Wednesday (6 games). The following teams play at least four times total Saturday-Friday and on two of the low-density days. If you want to stream players in, picking from these squads is your best bet to maximize game count:
- Atlanta (Saturday, Monday, Wednesday)
- Boston (Monday, Wednesday)
- Lakers (Monday, Wednesday)
- Milwaukee (Saturday, Wednesday)
- Philadelphia (Saturday, Wednesday)
