Tons of crazy news this week which sees many backups and rookies being given their chance to make a name for themselves to close out the season. While these players are mostly sitting on the outskirts of standard league value, there are always a few that make it up to being must rosters.
This article aims to highlight some of these players, while also identifying players who are struggling to remain a hold, and we take a look at three add candidates and three drop candidates going Week 17.
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Ausar Thompson
(Shallow Leagues)
His brother has been stealing the show for quite a long time now in Houston, but Ausar Thompson has been quietly putting up numbers during an incredible 8-2 run from the Detroit Pistons. The Pistons are a team lacking perimeter defense, and Ausar serves to fill that niche almost perfectly, providing All-NBA level defense for the franchise. Combine that with a four-game schedule on the week and you have an easy path to getting great value off of the wire.
Ausar is foremost a steals specialist of the highest degree. Over the last two months, he has generated 1.9 steals per game, placing him in the conversation with some of the best in the category, and making him an anchor in the category for many. The sophomore has a very similar profile to that of his brother, displaying a knack for rebounding, playmaking, and hunting down efficient shots.
Ausar is a punt-specific player, requiring a certain punt in field goal percentage and most likely threes as well, but should you eliminate these categories, he can easily grab top-30 value. All of this serves to make Ausar an easy add nearly everywhere, especially in points leagues that allow his weaknesses to be easily overlooked.
Moses Moody
(Standard Leagues)
The acquisition of Jimmy Butler to the Golden State Warriors has seen a few changes for the team, perhaps some that are likely to stick given their winning ways of late. The biggest from a fantasy perspective has been in the form of Moses Moody, who is making the most of his 3/D skill set to finally make a name for himself. His team also plays pretty much every game on a low-volume day, making him a strong add as a streamer alone.
Fantasy-wise, Moody is a strong no-error type of wing that rarely chips in negatives to your league. He adds the most value in field goal percentage and threes, although he does have incredible shot-blocking prowess as a wing. He tallies 1.5 a night over the last two weeks, more than enough to keep him amongst the elite for non-centers.
On the whole, Moody has averaged a career high in minutes over this four game stretch, and his play has solidified himself as a starter for the foreseeable future. While his upside remains capped in points leagues, Moody ranks top 60 in category leagues off of the back of his unique mix of threes, efficiency, and stock value (particularly for blocks). This makes him a lock in standard leagues for the time being.
Kelly Olynyk
(Deeper Leagues)
The New Orleans Pelicans are a mess of roster decisions right now, perhaps one of the most notable being the decision to run Kelly Olynyk as a starter. While they are more or less forced into this action by the woeful spacing of Zion Williamson and Yves Missi, this questionable choice made by Willie Green will no doubt cause ripples for those looking to take advantage of the unique skill set of Olynyk.
Olynyk is a big who has long operated as an ideal tank commander, and he looks primed to take that title back again for another consecutive season. He is a great source of out of position stats, regularly being a positive to your assists, threes, and free throw percentage despite his position. While his upside is limited a bit in category leagues, he has long proven to do damage in points leagues everywhere.
The big man is still shaking off some injury rust, but he is currently starting over Karlo Matkovic despite a limited 24 minute role. Regardless, a player with the proven ability of Olynyk being thrust into a spot he should thrive in (despite the defensive concerns of him/Zion, his shooting/playmaking is essential for the team on offense) makes him an easy flier for deeper leagues.
Drops
D’Angelo Russell
(Shallow Leagues)
The Brooklyn Nets have leaned more and more into their dumpster fire of a season with each passing day, and have earnestly committed themselves to losing whenever possible. While their players have actually been successful as a unit, D’Angelo Russell has stood out as a vet struggling to make anything work. With no reason to develop an aging vet and a laundry list of injury issues in his short stint in Brooklyn, Russell becomes a clear drop in shallow leagues.
So what exactly is failing the vet? The most obvious answer is everything (except for assists), but it is a bit deeper than that. Since arriving in Brooklyn, the veteran guard has been shooting a dreadful 38% from the field on high volume (11+ FGA). As a result, his points, threes, and field goal percentage have all tumbled to be noticeable negatives. Coupled with his inability to generate rebounds, stocks, or even hold on to the ball, Russell is providing neutral value in only two categories.
All of this has caused Russell to spiral outside the top 200 over the month of February. On a normal team, some might consider this a great buy low time, however in my opinion there are plenty of better options for those in need of firepower. Combine that with his injury woes and the Nets desire to lose, and Russell does not deserve to be rostered in 83% of leagues.
Khris Middleton
(Standard Leagues)
Another aging vet with injury issues (there is certainly a pattern forming here) will make the list for standard leagues. Khris Middleton has struggled to look like himself this season, and a move to the Washington Wizards on deadline day only serves to limit his already low upside. With the franchise prepping for the future, Middleton remains one of the odd men out as a veteran with a known ceiling.
While the veteran has only played one game for the team so far (so no judgments can be made about his play due to sample size limitations), there were a few notable issues from his game. He is still being held on a minutes limit of 25, all while showing no signs of being eligible to play back to backs anytime soon. Add to that the wholesale negatives he has shown all season for fantasy, and he becomes a great drop candidate.
As mentioned above, the issues with rostering Middleton mostly come from his inability to stay eligible and on the court. He has also noticeably lacked a lot of the upside he has displayed in the past, hovering consistently around the top 120 for much of the season. As will always be the case, unless a player can justify their lack of availability with massive upside, they will be dead weight for fantasy managers, and Middleton is no exception.
Nick Richards
(Deeper Leagues)
Death. Taxes. Phoenix Suns centers being strong drops. All of these things are certain in life, and Nick Richards finds himself making the drop list after a highly disappointing start to his tenure with the Suns. I was pretty low on him when he arrived, but his performances have still managed to disappoint.
The hope with Richards was that he would be a serviceable end of bench player with decent upside in grabbing big man stats however, he has only managed to scrape out 23 minutes a night despite being a constant starter. While he has been a great rebounder (9.8), that has been his only big positive, and he remains a massive negative in at least four categories (-1.5 Z-Score or below).
Unfortunately for Richards, he stands out as a great example of why bad players will not thrive, even in perfect situations on paper. His poor play has resulted in him being shifted out of a big rotation role in favor of players like Bol Bol and Royce O’Neale, with no signs of him being able to reclaim it. This does make the big man a drop in all but the deepest of leagues, and he has ranked well outside the top 150 for multiple weeks on end.