Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire - Week 6 Adds Include Bojan, Craig Porter and Caruso

Hello everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving – or, for our international readers, a fantastic Thursday. Speaking of non-Americans, is Black Friday shopping a thing internationally? (I'm not going to Google that, so either one of you is going to tweet me the answer or it will remain a mystery.) Whether or not you're shopping for goods and services, Friday, November 24 is a great day to "shop" for players who can improve your Fantasy rosters.

One thing I'm thankful for is another very good pool of possible pickups. Also my loving and supportive wife, but that's not really relevant here. So let's get to the players, highlighted by multiple options who could have season-long staying power.

As always, the players in this article must be rostered in less than two-thirds of CBS leagues. Players are listed in the order that I recommend adding them, assuming they are equally good fits for your team.

Last Chance

Keyonte George, Jazz (75% rostered)

He's been a starter for seven games. He's averaging 7.6 assists per game, which would be eighth in the entire NBA this season. Scoring will be a weakness for a while, but, as expected, it's already increasing: he's scored at least 15 points in three of his last five games. He's getting to the free throw line more, where he's highly efficient. He's (finally) rostered in more than 67% of CBS leagues (good job team), so this will be the last time I include him here. But, even at 75%, he's still under-rostered. And, for readers who also play on other host sites, his roster rate elsewhere is still way too low – it's below 10% on one popular platform!

Double-check your league

Players rostered in more than two-thirds of leagues, but who are still under-rostered. Double-check to make sure they aren't available in your league.

Jalen Suggs, Magic (69% rostered)

Herbert Jones, Pelicans (73% rostered)

Duncan Robinson, Heat (68% rostered)

Tim Hardaway Jr., Mavericks (70% rostered)

Adds for all leagues

Bojan Bogdanovic, Pistons (58% rostered)

Bogdanovic is getting close to making his season debut, potentially as soon as early Week 6. He should instantly be rostered in all leagues after averaging 22-4-3 with 2.5 threes on 49-41-88 shooting last year. With those numbers as a baseline, he could experience a lot of regression and still be an all-leagues auto-start. Detroit is much deeper on the wing this year after the offseason additions of impressive rookies Ausar Thompson and Marcus Sasser, and Cade Cunningham is healthy after missing most of 2022-23. That said, this team is awful, and the young talent is in desperate need of shooters who can improve the floor spacing when they play – see those splits above. While Bogdanovic is unlikely to match last season's highs, he's an obvious must-add.

Craig Porter Jr., Cavaliers (12% rostered)

Porter is an undrafted rookie on a two-way contract who's been thrust into an expanded role while Donovan Mitchell (hamstring) and Isaac Okoro (knee) are sidelined. He's making the most of the opportunity. Through four games, he's up to 15-3-6 with 1.0 steals and 1.0 blocks. His minutes have increased in each successive game, and he's showing that he deserves a more regular rotation role (at least in as many games as the two-way contract rules allow). Mitchell is the player whose absence most directly impacts Porter, and the former remains without a clear timeline. Hamstring injuries are in the category of "the more rest the better", so Porter's strong play may motivate the Cavs to slow-play Mitchell's return.

Alex Caruso, Bulls (33% rostered)

Caruso was promoted to the starting lineup last Friday (just hours after publication, which is why he wasn't included in last week's column). Through four games, that new role hasn't had a huge impact on Caruso's stats. Nonetheless, I think it portends good things to come. Despite a mid-game trip to the locker room, he's up to 26.5 minutes as a starter. His field goal attempts have skyrocketed, from 5.1 to 9.0, while his impressive defensive contributions have remained stable. He's already scoring more, and his assists are likely to follow.

Kyle Anderson, Timberwolves (35% rostered)

Jaden McDaniels (ankle) is out for at least two weeks, opening a window for extra minutes for Anderson. Last season, Anderson averaged 28.4 minutes and finished as a top-100 player. Anderson is already averaging 24.3 minutes in games when McDaniels is active, so he only needs a small boost to get back on the Fantasy radar. Anderson won't help in points, but he can help everywhere else. Naz Reid (38% rostered) and Nickeil Alexander-Walker (3% rostered), mentioned in the other recommendations section below, should also benefit from McDaniels' absence.

Jonathan Isaac, Magic (24% rostered)

Isaac has at least one steal and at least one block in each of the last seven games. That kind of defensive production is almost impossible to find on waivers. Isaac comes with a lot of downsides, most of which stem from his tiny workload. He's been limited to just 15.1 minutes per game – and between his injury history, the Magic's depth, and their team success (did you realize they're currently second in the East?!), it's unlikely his workload meaningfully increases before the postseason. As a result, he's getting just 8.3 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. The limitations are important, but there are multiple teams in every league who should add Isaac.

Jaime Jaquez Jr., Heat (40% rostered)

We don't have a clear timeline for how long Tyler Herro (ankle) will be out, but he only just got out of his walking boot, and there are not yet reports of him returning to on-court activities. Presumably he's out at least another week, if not longer. While Duncan Robinson (68% rostered) has been the real star of Herro's absence, Jaquez has also excelled in an expanded role. Since Herro went down, Jaquez has put up 15-5-3 with 2.0 threes on a fantastic 54-54-82 shooting split. It's unlikely that Jaquez will remain standard-league viable once Herro is back, but Jaquez is usable in all leagues until then.

Goga Bitadze, Magic (25% rostered)

Wendell Carter (finger) is getting close to returning, which will probably mean the end of Bitadze's Fantasy viability. But Bitadze has shined in Carter's absence, especially defensively. Get whatever value you can before the clock runs out.

Trey Murphy, Pelicans (41% rostered)

I dove deep on the Murphy situation last week. Nothing has changed, but I wanted to remind people that Murphy should be on radars as he gets closer to making his season debut. Depending on league settings, some teams should consider adding him.

Other recommendations: Daniel Gafford, Wizards (62% rostered); Bilal Coulibaly, Wizards (52% rostered); Brandin Podziemski, Warriors (19% rostered); Naz Reid, Timberwolves (38% rostered); Cole Anthony, Magic (57% rostered); Reggie Jackson, Nuggets (41% rostered); Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Timberwolves (3% rostered); Christian Braun, Nuggets (19% rostered); Isaiah Joe, Thunder (10% rostered); Obi Toppin, Pacers (33% rostered)

Deep League Special

T.J. McConnell, Pacers (7% rostered)

A recurring theme in this section is that we're focusing on players who are usable right now, but possess a lot of upside if the situation they're in changes. McConnell has put up an OK-not-great 8-2-4 with 0.8 steals in 15.8 minutes over the last five games. It's not much, but, in some deep leagues, 4 assists and a steal per game qualifies as a waiver wire bounty. More importantly, McConnell's passing skills and per-minute effectiveness gives him a lot of upside if anyone else in the Indiana backcourt gets hurt.

In most circumstances, I'd rather add Sam Hauser, but I focused on him last week. It's also worth noting that multiple players with roster rates below 20% are listed as potential all-leagues adds, above.

Other recommendations: Sam Hauser, Celtics (12% rostered); Jacob Gilyard, Grizzlies (3% rostered)