Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire Pickups for Week 15 (2024-25): February 3 - February 9

If you're like me, you woke up to one of the biggest trades in recent NBA history (Luka for AD) and are still trying to make sense of it. It will likely be the biggest trade of the week, but it won't be the only deal made this week as Thursday's NBA trade deadline looms.

Most leagues have a weekly moves cap, and some have season-long caps. Always check your league settings to plan how many moves you want to make each week, and if you have a season-long cap, save some of those moves for the playoffs!

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 (20-40% rostered) and deeper formats (less than 20% rostered) every week and the schedule breakdown for all 30 teams. Let's see who we should be eyeing to add to our teams in Week 15!

Week 15 Schedule Breakdown (2/3 - 2/9)

• Teams Playing 5 Games: HOU
• Mon-Tues B2B: HOU, IND, NYK, POR
• Tues-Wed B2B: BKN, CHI, CLE, MIA, PHI, TOR
• Wed-Thurs B2B: DEN, GSW, MIN, ORL, SAC
• Fri-Sat B2B: ATL, OKC, PHX, SAS, UTA, WAS
• Sat-Sun B2B: HOU

Standard Leagues - Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire for Week 15

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

Nikola Jovic - PF/C (34%), Toumani Camara - SF/PF (33%)

I'm going to skip the analysis for these two guys. I had them here in this column for multiple weeks, and I just wrote some more words about them here. They are rotational players who likely have a lock on solid minutes for the rest of the season and should not be available in standard leagues (yet they still haven't cracked that 40% rostership threshold).

Ayo Dosunmu - PG/SG/SF (30%)

Zach LaVine is doubtful to return tonight and we saw Ayo start for Chicago in a super small lineup on Friday night. He's played 30+ minutes in three straight games, and with the Bulls being potential sellers here at the deadline, it makes sense to snag some of these younger Chicago players ahead of the deadline, too.

UPDATE: LaVine was dealt to Sacramento in a three-way deal with San Antonio! The Bulls are getting Kevin Huerter back, but

Stephon Castle - PG/SG (29%)

Congrats to those of you who stuck with Castle through a rough month of December because the rookie appears to have turned a corner in January. Check out these numbers from his last eight games.

16.6 PTS, 4.3 REB, 3.8 AST, 1.6 3PM, 0.8 STL

His shooting is slowly improving, especially from outside the arc, and he's seen his minutes stabilize around 30 per night. If there is a De'Aaron Fox trade in the works with Sacto, then Castle could be involved and would most likely be in the Kings' rotation if he was dealt there, too.

Zaccharie Risacher - SF (26%)

The Hawks are another team rumored to be engaged in trade negotiations this week. However, one player they aren't likely to move is Risacher, who they took with the top pick in this year's NBA draft.

It's been an uneven rookie campaign for Risacher, but he's shown some promise lately and could be poised for a big second half as minutes have opened up in the rotation since Jalen Johnson went down.

Zaccharie Risacher is the ONLY teenager in NBA history to have multiple 30 point games with ZERO turnovers 🤯

Put some respect on his name. pic.twitter.com/TcYo0kqZXx

— Zach Langley (@langleyatl) January 31, 2025

He will have good and bad nights shooting, but his length will allow him to contribute in boards, steals, and blocks, even if his shot is off. He was taken No. 1 overall for a reason, and he's a toolsy player with a ton of upside.

Jose Alvarado - PG (25%)

I'm surprised that Alvarado is still so widely available. He has been one of the most added players in the last 24 hours as the Pels announced that Dejounte Murray's injury is going to end his season (torn Achilles).

Jose Alvarado : 20 points on 6-14 shooting, 3-9 from 3, 5-6 from the FT line & 6 assists in 34 minutes off the bench pic.twitter.com/t2A2DiRfZf

— Lee Harvey (@MusikFan4Life) February 1, 2025

The Pelicans were already trending towards tanking anyway, so Alvarado could finish the season as their starting point guard. He's not a great shooter, but he does enough assists and steals to make him worth rostering in all formats.

Dillon Brooks - SG/SF (24%)

The Rockets have five games this week! Tari Eason is already rostered in 42% of leagues, but check that he's not available in yours, too.

If you have to settle for Brooks as a consolation prize, that's alright. The mercurial forward can run hot and cold shooting the basketball but is only a week removed from drilling ten threes against Boston. He adds enough steals to be worth a stream this week and could be in line for solid minutes if Alperen Sengun continues to miss time (or if Houston rests any of their regulars in either of their B2Bs).

Isaiah Collier - PG (22%)

The Jazz backcourt has gotten crowded as Jordan Clarkson returned from injury. Clarkson and Keyonte George have been coming off the bench while Collier starts at point guard and Collin Sexton at shooting guard.

Collier is the only true pass-first point guard of the bunch and if Utah is going to develop their young guys, then he could hold onto the starting gig for the remainder of the season. He's averaging over five dimes per game this year, and you simply can't find that many assists on the wire that often.

Ty Jerome - PG/SG (22%)

Caris LeVert could return any day now, so Jerome's awesome run could be at an end. But I am curious to see what his minutes look like once the Cavs backcourt is fully healthy. You could argue that he's been their most consistent player this year, and it's clear that he gives them some much-needed offensive firepower off the bench.

He only needs around 20-22 minutes a night to warrant consideration in standard leagues with his rates of production.

Deeper Leagues - Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire for Week 15

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

Keldon Johnson - SG/SF/PF (19%)

Johnson has strung together a few good games again to put himself on the radar in deep formats. I'm intrigued to see if he would be in a package that brings back Fox to San Antonio, too.

Luke Kennard - SG (16%)

Last week I said to hold onto Kennard even though a slow game or two and sure enough he delivered a solid performance (22 points, three treys, two steals) in a spot start against Houston. With the Grizzlies constantly battling injuries, I love Kennard as a solid, low-end producer for the end of your bench.

Jaxson Hayes - PF/C (14%)

Will the Lakers add another center after trading Anthony Davis? It's quite possible, but it may not be a big name, either. They could sign someone like Jonas Valanciunas if he's bought out or another veteran, but for right now it looks like they are going to roll with Hayes and Jarred Vanderbilt as their options at the center position.

Hayes isn't the long-term answer, but even a 25-minute role for him over the next few weeks would be plenty of minutes for him to provide decent numbers in points, boards, and defensive stats.

Jalen Smith - PF/C (13%), Patrick Williams - PF (10%)

One of the biggest names on the trade rumor mill is Bulls center Nikola Vucevic, which has caused some hype around backup big man Jalen Smith. Fantasy managers love Smith's ability to rack up points, boards, and threes at an elite per-minute rate and the idea of 25 minutes of Smith as the starting center is incredibly appealing.

Jalen Smith tonight:

17 points on 7-10 from the field, 3-6 from downtown
5 defensive rebounds
1 assist

... in only 16 (!!!) minutes. He currently has a plus/minus of +8.

Another facet of the youth movement showing its promise tonight. pic.twitter.com/mMpjr1LivQ

— Just Another Year Chicago: Bulls (@JAYChi_Bulls) February 1, 2025

I'm not convinced that Vooch will get traded, but I think stashing Smith and fellow Chicago big man Patrick Williams makes a lot of sense until we see what happens. Both guys are already offering low-end production and could get a big upgrade if Vucevic was dealt and Chicago didn't get any big men back in return.

Moussa Diabate - C (10%)

Mark Williams returned to the lineup for Charlotte last night, but his backup, Diabate, still had a noteworthy performance with 12-7-3 and two stocks in 21 minutes off the bench. It remains to be seen how the Hornets handle the oft-injured Williams down the stretch, but if they give him some rest nights, expect Diabate to stack up some double-doubles and rack up blocks.

The Single Digit Crowd (Super Deep Leagues)

Cole Anthony - PG (9%)

Isaiah Joe - PG/SG (8%)

Jaylen Wells - SF (8%)

Matas Buzelis - SF/PF (7%)

UPDATE: With LaVine leaving Chicago and no real impactful players coming back in the deal, it's a sign that Chicago is ready to start their rebuild. Matas was one of my favorite rookies in this year's draft and is a great stash candidate now, even if Vucevic doesn't get moved.

Gary Trent Jr. - PG/SG/SF (6% )

Brandon Boston Jr. - SG/SF/PF (4%)

Rob Dillingham - PG (4%)

Steven Adams - C (2%)

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