This article is part of our NBA Waiver Wire series.
What is real? Usually, we play Fantasy sports to get away from that kind of existential angst, but the top adds this week all challenge our basic abilities to separate truth from fiction. Which breakouts (or injuries) we choose to believe in and which we dismiss could play a massive role in shaping the rest of our season – these players certainly have the potential to make major impacts. It's highly unlikely that all of these players – Gorgui Dieng, Gary Payton II, Damion Lee, Aaron Holiday – maintain the value they've shown recently. But if one does, he could be season-defining.
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.
Adds For All Leagues
Aaron Holiday, Pacers (22 percent rostered)
The Pacers made a decision in early December that they needed to get Holiday more involved. Up until December 9, excluding the games that Holiday started because he was filling in for an injured player, he was averaging just 15.2 minutes per game. He's played at least 21 minutes in each of the nine games since that date, scoring in double-digits in each and averaging 3.9 assists and 2.3 threes. As they've given him increased run, they've apparently begun to appreciate what Holiday can offer, elevating him to the starting lineup (and not because of an injury)
What is real? Usually, we play Fantasy sports to get away from that kind of existential angst, but the top adds this week all challenge our basic abilities to separate truth from fiction. Which breakouts (or injuries) we choose to believe in and which we dismiss could play a massive role in shaping the rest of our season – these players certainly have the potential to make major impacts. It's highly unlikely that all of these players – Gorgui Dieng, Gary Payton II, Damion Lee, Aaron Holiday – maintain the value they've shown recently. But if one does, he could be season-defining.
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.
Adds For All Leagues
Aaron Holiday, Pacers (22 percent rostered)
The Pacers made a decision in early December that they needed to get Holiday more involved. Up until December 9, excluding the games that Holiday started because he was filling in for an injured player, he was averaging just 15.2 minutes per game. He's played at least 21 minutes in each of the nine games since that date, scoring in double-digits in each and averaging 3.9 assists and 2.3 threes. As they've given him increased run, they've apparently begun to appreciate what Holiday can offer, elevating him to the starting lineup (and not because of an injury) for the last five games. With another month or more until Victor Oladipo (quad) comes back, and the team performing well since Holiday's role increased, Holiday has plenty of time to make a significant impact on Fantasy rosters.
Gorgui Dieng, Timberwolves (19 percent rostered)
Dieng's Fantasy value is closely tied to Karl-Anthony Towns' (knee) health. Towns has missed the last six games, but we really don't know if he'll be back Monday or in March – the Timberwolves have a history of being frustratingly opaque about injuries. Under most circumstances, we'd assume Towns is close to returning, as the team has given no indications that this is a long-term injury and they have declared him questionable before eventually ruling him out in each of these six absences. However, given the lack of information and the Timberwolves' history, we really don't know.
What we do know is that as long as Towns is out, Dieng should be started in all leagues. Dieng has taken over as the starter, and he's been great. He has 12 threes, 11 steals and five blocks in those six games. He's averaging 13.8 points and 9.6 rebounds. Dieng is still under 30, and only a couple years removed from putting up three-straight top-60 Fantasy seasons. As long as he has the opportunity, he can produce.
Damion Lee, Warriors (48 percent rostered)
Lee's in a weird spot. He's been a top-20 (not a typo!) Fantasy option over the last five games, but he's running out of days on his two-way contract. One would assume that the Warriors will figure out a way to keep Lee, given how good he's been, but doing so might be tricky. The best-case scenario is that they are able to seamlessly transition him to a full-time contract, but he could miss a few games while the team looks for the best possible solution.
Lee has started each of the past seven games, averaging 15.3 points, 8.6 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.1 steals in 31.7 minutes. His numbers over the past five games are even better. If he can keep this going – a gigantic "if" – he'd easily be the best pickup of the season.
Gary Payton II, Wizards (23 percent rostered)
I'm still a bit skeptical that this is going to last, but we have to acknowledge what Payton has done in his first three games this season. Payton is now in his fourth NBA season, bouncing around the league and participating in just 32 games before last week. Over the past few months, he'd been in the G-League and unaffiliated with an NBA team. Then, dealing with multiple injuries, the Wizards picked him up.
He instantly made an impact, scoring 10 points and dishing five assists in each of his first two games – in addition to averaging 8.0 rebounds, 3.5 steals and 1.0 blocks. In his third game, he entered the starting lineup and scored 15 points, snagged another six steals, and grabbed six more rebounds. The Wizards are in a position where they give Payton the freedom and opportunity to keep this going for as long as it lasts, and who knows, maybe they stumbled into something real here. If you've got someone droppable, it's worth adding Payton while we wait to find out if this is real.
Other recommendations: Enes Kanter, Celtics (61 percent rostered); Kevin Huerter, Hawks (54 percent rostered); Danuel House Jr., Rockets (37 percent rostered); Troy Brown Jr., Wizards (41 percent rostered); Duncan Robinson, Heat (37 percent rostered); Donte DiVincenzo, Bucks (35 percent rostered); Willie Cauley-Stein, Warriors (58 percent rostered); Chris Boucher, Raptors (27 percent rostered); Kris Dunn, Bulls (39 percent rostered); Jordan Clarkson, Jazz (40 percent rostered); Dwight Powell, Mavericks (27 percent rostered); Christian Wood, Pistons (19 percent rostered)
Don't Drop
Norman Powell, Raptors (45 percent rostered)
Powell's roster rate has taken a massive hit over the past week, due to his having missed the last five games. But managers should hold onto Powell if they have him, or pick him up if he's recently hit the wire.
First, Powell appears to be on the brink of returning. He's traveling with the team, which is a great sign. The team has not given an official timeline, so he could miss a few more, but at least there is some reason for optimism. Second, Powell has just been too good to let go. Since entering the starting lineup in early November, he's averaged 16.7 points in 30.9 minutes, and those numbers have improved as the season has worn on
In his last five full games before getting injured, he was averaging 22.5 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.0 threes, 2.5 assists and 1.8 steals in 33.0 minutes. He's become a crucial part of the rotation and a major offensive weapon. That's just not the kind of player you let loose over a couple of missed games.
Deep League Special
Dwight Powell, Mavericks (27 percent rostered)
This Powell has already burned me a few times this season, making me hesitant to give him a full-throated endorsement in standard leagues. But he's been on a bit of a run recently, and producing box scores good enough to warrant shallow league consideration. If you're a regular reader of this column, you've probably seen my go-to Powell stat – that he ranking inside the top-40 over the final roughly two months of last season, starting the day the Mavericks inserted him into the starting lineup. So we know he's more than capable.
The only questions are can he maintain a large enough role in the rotation to enable such productivity, and can he keep those levels for a longer stretch of time. In a deeper league, however, the risk is much smaller. Even when Powell falls short of my lofty expectations, he's usually still doing enough to be worth a roster spot. His minutes have gradually increased through the season, and he's up to 12.7 points, 8.0 rebounds, 1.3 steals and 0.7 blocks over his past three games.
Other recommendations: Anfernee Simons, Trail Blazers (11 percent rostered); Trevor Ariza, Kings (6 percent rostered)
