Grayson Allen (SG/SF, MEM): Week 17 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 12-Team Leagues

ROSTERED IN: 16% of leagues

ANALYSIS: When it comes to fantasy players, you have three types of them: those putting up ridiculously efficient per-minute numbers on low playing time, those putting up high counting stats thanks to large playing time, and those combining both things. The first group is hardly rosterable, the latter is impossible to get via WW, and the second one is right in the sweet spot. A golden member of that high-minutes, high-counting-stats bunch of players? Grayson Allen.

Allen is always going to divide opinions because he's been doing so for ages, going back to his Duke college days. Grizzlies fans are clamoring for De'Anthony Melton to play more minutes. Memphis, good for us fantasy GMs, is not paying attention. That's why Allen keeps playing and starting every single game for the Griz. It's been 17 starts in a row for Allen, he keeps logging 28 MPG per game, and although he's on a rather bad efficiency-related skid (below-average 0.8 FP/min mark in games from Apr. 6 to Apr. 16) he's still been able to play on an above-average per-minute basis in 8 of his last 12 games from Mar. 24 on.

I haven't literally checked, but Allen is one of the very few locked-starters in his NBA team rostered in fewer than 20% of Yahoo leagues. The usage rate is low because Ja Morant and Jonas Valanciunas are the clear lynchpins of the squad, but it's not that Allen needs to command tons of opportunities to rack up points. He's dropping 15+ PPG since the start of April, hitting 3+ 3PG in that span, and adding almost a 3-and-3 in rebounds and dimes to go with high shooting percentages from the free-throw line (83 FT%) and the floor (44 FG%) considering his long-range shooting profile.

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