Fantasy Basketball 2022: NBA Pickups to Watch After November 16
It's not the prettiest week on the NBA fantasy waiver wire, but there are still some names worth considering. Whether you need a short-term injury fill-in or want a speculative upside play, the free-agent pool is full of intrigue.
This week's list is headlined by three players, all rostered in under 33 percent of Yahoo leagues and all enjoying a sudden bump in minutes: Marvin Bagley III (31 percent rostered), Cam Reddish (27 percent) and Jalen Williams (17 percent).
They're not high-budget league-winners by any means, but each can provide immediate value with the potential to earn their spot in your lineup moving forward. At the least, they should all be taken into consideration and added to your watchlist.
Marvin Bagley III, PF/C, Detroit Pistons
If your fantasy lineup needs help in the frontcourt, Bagley's return from injury may have come at just the right time. It's not exactly clear why he got the start over Saddiq Bey in his second game back, but the situation deserves monitoring.
If Bagley is going to continue getting starting minutes or, at minimum, a large role in Detroit's rotation, then he has some appeal for fantasy. Last season, he averaged 14.6 points and 6.8 rebounds in 27.2 minutes per game as a Piston—enough to help bolster those categories.
In 29 minutes as a starter on Monday, Bagley scored 16 points with one three, five rebounds and one steal. His versatility isn't jaw-dropping, and his role is uncertain, but there are worse gambles than a steady big man who doesn't mind shooting a little from outside and apparently has starter upside.
Cam Reddish, SF/PF, New York Knicks
It's been a weird year for the Knicks and, perhaps unsurprisingly, a weird year for Reddish. After flying into the season with 22 points in New York's first game, the 23-year-old wing has played fewer than 20 minutes in eight of the Knicks' 14 games since.
Over the past three games, though, Reddish has earned a starting spot and played 33-plus minutes in each. In that span, his streaky shooting has been on display, scoring 26, 19 and 10 points, but he's shown his offensive upside and some surprising defensive numbers—totaling 10 "stocks" (steals or blocks).
Right now, Reddish seems capable of helping your scoring and defensive categories while contributing positively to threes and free-throw percentage. A 2019 lottery pick on a team with opportunity on the wing, his longer-term potential also remains enticing.
Jalen Williams, SG/SF, Oklahoma City Thunder
Outside of a few regulars, the Thunder rotation remains a mystery to both NBA teams and fantasy managers alike. Recently, rookie wing Jalen Williams has emerged out of the haze, playing 27-plus minutes in three of the team's last four games.
When Williams does play, he contributes in the versatile fashion his all-around prowess at Santa Clara suggested he could. On November 11, he had a 10-point, 11-assist double-double. Over his past two games, he's totaled 24 points (with two threes), 10 rebounds and eight assists.
With Darius Bazley rehabbing an ankle injury, Williams has gone from the bench to the starting lineup and back to the bench in a matter of games. In that Wednesday return to the bench, though, he still played 28 minutes—one more than his replacement in the starting lineup, Aaron Wiggins. It's impossible to be certain of the multifaceted wing's playing time, but he has the upside to carve out a bigger role in a nebulous Oklahoma City rotation.