RADIO
Daniel Lubofsky looks at some mid-week waiver wire options for fantasy basketball leagues. These players may be free agents to pick up off waivers in Week 16.
The product on the NBA court this week is not as important as the drama taking place off it. By the time you read this, it's possible that the Feb. 6 trade deadline has come and gone, and perhaps the landscape of the league is noticeably different.
We got an advanced taste of this frenzied week when the Houston Rockets, Atlanta Hawks, Minnesota Timberwolves, and Denver Nuggets took part in a mega 12-player trade with noticeable names like Clint Capela and Robert Covington being moved.
The ramifications of this stretch from a fantasy perspective are clear. Some players are forced to split minutes with a new acquisition while others see a hole in the rotation open for their services. It's a case by case basis that might affect some of the guys found on this list, but time will be the only way to truly tell. Here are five mid-week waiver wire pickup options for Week 16 of the NBA fantasy season.
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Week 16 Mid-Week Waiver Wire Pickups
Reggie Jackson - PG/SG - Detroit Pistons - 36% owned
Don't let a recent three-point, one of 16 shooting performance fool you. Reggie Jackson has been productive since missing nearly three months, averaging 15.1 points, 4.1 assists, 3.1 rebounds, and 2.1 three-pointers in 26.1 minutes a night in the seven games he's played.
Outside of Derrick Rose, the Pistons lack consistent scoring options, especially from the perimeter. It's why they rank 19th in efficiency and 22nd in scoring. Those figures could only dip further if Detroit decides to ship Rose out before the trade deadline.
The Pistons are slowly easing Jackson back into the fold after his extended absence, but they are sure to ramp up his playing time after the All-Star break.
Whether Rose remains or not, Jackson's ballhandling will afford him control of Detroit's below-average offense. He might be better in points leagues on account of a sub-40 shooting percentage, but he should be reliable for solid stat lines on a nightly basis as he gets his legs back under him.
Dorian Finney-Smith - SF/PF - Dallas Mavericks - 23% owned
No single player on the Dallas Mavericks was going to replace the production of Luka Doncic. To keep steady as the All-Star rehabs a sprained ankle, several players would have to pitch in, and Dorian Finney-Smith has been one of those guys.
Since Doncic went down three games ago, Finney-Smith has managed to contribute across the board with averages of 16.3 points, 8.7 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 3.0 three-point makes a game.
That's incredible across the board production from a player known more for his high energy defensive acumen.
Finney-Smith doesn't have a long history of consistent statistical production, but it appears to be a likely bet that he'll keep up this level of play to try and make sure Dallas doesn't collapse in the absence of Doncic.
Bruce Brown Jr. - SG - Detroit Pistons - 15% owned
On the aforementioned Detroit Pistons team in desperate need of some offensive sources with one eye to the future, Bruce Brown Jr. has been given north of 27 minutes per game in an attempt to evaluate potential assets moving forward.
The results have so far been mixed for the sophomore guard, who follows up stretches of encouraging play with immense scoring struggles.
It's been Detroit's last two games where Brown's game has been more on the rise, cobbling together a combined 31 points, 17 rebounds, and 12 assists. It's not a coincidence that two of Brown's highest minute totals on the season led to this production with playing time in the high 30s.
If the Pistons intend to have the 23-year-old Brown come close to the 40-minute mark, there's a route that has him put up similar numbers for a team slowly falling out of the playoff picture. Here's to hoping he can continue capitalizing on it.
Malik Beasley - PG/SG - Minnesota Timberwolves - 6% owned
Even before a massive four-team, 12-player trade sent him to the Minnesota Timberwolves, Malik Beasley was trending upwards with averages of 14.0 points and 3.3 three-pointers a game over his last three outings.
Having departed from a crowded rotation that offered sporadic opportunities, Beasley is part of a Timberwolves team in need of some perimeter assistance.
A talented two-guard in his own right, Beasley averaged 11.3 points and 2.0 three-pointers in just 23.2 minutes a game last season. Expect Minnesota to afford the pending restricted free agent a similar role at the minimum, trusting Beasley to help pull the team out of their struggles with the chance to show off the talent that has sparingly seen the light of day so far in his career.
Shake Milton - PG/SG - Philadelphia 76ers - 5% owned
As the Philadelphia 76ers desperately search for shooting wherever they can find it, Shake Milton has emerged as an unlikely source of offense for a team still ironing out its imbalanced roster while coping with the absence of Josh Richardson.
The former late second-round pick has scored in double figures in four straight games, all starts, highlighted by the career-high 27 points he dropped against Atlanta. During that stretch, he's averaged 15.0 points on 54.1 percent shooting to go with 3.0 assists, 2.5 rebounds, and 1.3 steals a game.
Losers of three straight with just a 6-4 record over their last 10 games, Philly is desperately trying to search for the right pieces to fit this oddly-shaped roster.
A trade that brings in some external assistance could derail Milton's ascent up the depth chart, but the Sixers seem to be relying on him a lot more compared to the start of the season. With Richardson still on the mend, there's no reason to think that will change as long as the current roster remains intact past the deadline.
