Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 3 (2024-2025): November 4 - November 10

We are already two weeks into the season and the injury bug has hit several big names. Joel Embiid has yet to play a game and neither has Kawhi Leonard. Paolo Banchero and Scottie Barnes joined the long-term injury list and the opportunities for lesser-known players across the league have been many as a result.

So stash those studs that are injured, but drop any other dead weight and get healthy, productive players in those daily and weekly lineups!

I am a big advocate of being aggressive on the waiver wire. If your league has daily lineups, you should use that to your advantage and maximize your weekly games in H2H formats. I'll give you my top adds for standard leagues (25-40% rostered) and deeper formats (less than 25% rostered) every week and the schedule breakdown for all 30 teams. Now let's see who we should be eyeing to add to our teams in Week 3!

Week 2 Schedule Breakdown (11/4 - 11/10)

• Teams Playing Only Three Games: BKN, NOP, UTA, WAS
• No Games Tuesday 11/5 (Election Day)
• Wednesday-Thursday B2B: CHI, SAS
• Thursday-Friday B2B: MIL, MIN, POR
• Friday-Saturday B2B: BKN, ATL, CLE, LAC
• Saturday-Sunday B2B: TOR

Standard Leagues - Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire for Week 3

Percent owned numbers for Yahoo! "Standard Leagues" refer to 10 or 12-team leagues.

Scotty Pippen Jr. - PG/SG (40% rostered)

If you remember correctly, Pippen Jr. was only 17% rostered in last week's column. He won't be available for long, even in shallow leagues, as he continues to put up awesome numbers off the bench for a Memphis team that is missing both Desmond Bane and Marcus Smart.

Payton Pritchard - PG (38% rostered)

The diminutive guard has established himself as one of the most dynamic sixth men in the league so far. With the Celtics being down Kristaps Porzingis and now Jaylen Brown, Pritchard should continue to play big minutes. He's averaging 4.1 made threes and 15.7 points per game while shooting 45% from the floor.

Payton Pritchard through 7 games:

- 15.7 PPG (44 3FG%)
- 3 RPG
- 2.6 APG
- 1.3 SPG

pic.twitter.com/BNpkXNO3JM

— CelticsUnite (@CelticsUnite18) November 3, 2024

Alex Sarr - PF/C (37% rostered)

Holy blocks, Batman! The second overall pick in this year's draft has averaged 2.8 swats per contest and has blocked four shots in each of his last two games. His offensive game is still a work in progress, but he's worth rostering for the blocks alone for now.

Jose Alvarado - PG (32% rostered)

With Dejounte Murray and C.J. McCollum both on the shelf, Alvarado has filled in admirably as the starting point guard for the Pelicans. He had a tough shooting performance last night (3-12) but totaled seven assists for the second straight game and is averaging 1.4 steals per contest.

Jose Alvarado knocks down the mid range jumper 🙌pic.twitter.com/OMJgKkfZzc

— Pelicans Nation (@PelsNationCP) November 4, 2024

He's certainly worth a roster spot at least until McCollum returns to the lineup and possibly beyond that.

Jordan Hawkins - SG (28% rostered)

Hawkins is another youngster starting for the Pelicans, and while Alvarado is more of a pass-first point guard and defender, Hawkins is a straight-up gunner. If you need points and threes, Hawkins is averaging 2.6 made threes and 17.6 points per game so far this season and he likely has a handful more starts coming this week.

Keldon Johnson - SG/SF/PF (26% rostered)

Johnson has been moved to a bench role this season in San Antonio but has responded by posting 12.7 points and six boards per game. He's playing close to 28 minutes per game and is coming off a season-high 25 points and eight boards against Minnesota this weekend.

Ochai Agbaji - SG/SF (25% rostered)

Agbaji has been logging heavy minutes for the banged-up Raptors and is putting up some sneaky good numbers. He's producing 1.4 threes, 1.3 steals, and 0.7 blocks while also scoring 12.7 points per game on 59% shooting from the field. With Scottie Barnes out for an extended period, he should continue to get plenty of opportunities going forward.

Tari Eason - SF/PF (25% rostered)

Eason saw 35 minutes of playing time on Saturday and predictably put up an eye-popping line with 27 points, nine rebounds, four steals, three steals, and three treys. He's worth a speculative add for now, but don't be surprised if his minutes fluctuate again. If he could settle into a 25-minute role at some point, he'd be worthy of sticking on standard league rosters for good.

Deeper Leagues - Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire for Week 3

Percent owned numbers for Yahoo! "Deeper Leagues" refer to 14-team leagues or more.

Garrison Mathews - SG/SF (19% rostered)

Mathews has emerged in Atlanta as a viable option in deeper leagues as a nice addition if you need a sharpshooter. Dyson Daniels returned last night, but the Hawks are still missing Bogdan Bogdanovic and need some scoring off the bench. Mathews dropped 23 points on seven threes against Sacramento on Friday and is now up to 3.7 made threes per contest in just 23 minutes per night.

Yves Missi - C (17% rostered)

Missi has played 26 minutes now in back-to-back games as the starting center in New Orleans. And while he's not scoring much, he's up to six boards and 1.6 blocks per game in just 21 minutes per contest this season.

Friendly reminder that Pelican’s rookie Yves Missi, a 6’11” center with a 7’2” wing span, had a 38.5” max vert 🤯

He’s taken control of the Pelican’s starting center spot, and his improved play will ensure he never lets it go pic.twitter.com/Td2uyYyGyJ

— Point Made Basketball (@pointmadebball) November 4, 2024

If the rookie keeps earning the majority of center minutes for the Pelicans, he's going to be a useful source of boards and blocks.

Corey Kispert - SG/SF (10% rostered)

Kispert, like Mathews, is another 3-point specialist who has had a sizeable role off the bench so far this season. He shot just 1-10 in his last game but played 31 minutes and is averaging 30 minutes per game so far this season and 2.0 triples.

Jay Huff - C (10% rostered)

If you haven't watched any Huff highlights yet this season, you should check him out. He's been phenomenal for Memphis off the bench and is putting up some impressive stats even in a very limited role.

Jay Huff has always been super underrated and deserving of a full-time NBA spot for the past 3 years, but this has been absurd.

Through 3 quarters he's got 20 points in 14 minutes of play and has hit 5 threes. https://t.co/jOSqPHTNd0 pic.twitter.com/2pbgYSoo3W

— Dan Olinger (@dan_olinger) November 3, 2024

Huff is averaging 2.1 threes, 11 points, and 1.3 blocks per game in just 16 minutes! He has a unique fantasy skill set and is a player who should be rostered in more leagues than he is right now. Memphis loves playing their bench guys and has a few injuries to their rotation right now, too. Huff already earned a guaranteed contract and should continue to be an impact player off the bench for Memphis.

David Roddy - SF/PF (10% rostered)

Roddy (a former Memphis Grizzly) has made the most of his opportunities in Atlanta so far. He played 32 minutes in a spot start last week and posted 17 points. Since then, he's been playing 26.5 minutes off the bench for the Hawks while DeAndre Hunter continues to miss time. His minutes are tied to Hunter and Bogdanovic's injuries, though, so once Atlanta gets healthy he's probably one of the first guys to return to the bench.

The Single Digit Crowd (Super Deep Leagues!)

Keon Ellis - SG/SF (8% rostered)

Jonathan Mogbo - PF (7% rostered)

Chris Boucher - PF/C (6% rostered)

Jake LaRavia - SF/PF (5% rostered)

Jaylen Wells - SF (3% rostered)

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