Herbert Jones (SF/PF, NOP): Week 23 Waiver Wire Pickups

BALLER MOVE: Add in 14+ Team Leagues

ROSTERED IN: 54% of leagues

ANALYSIS: See, it sucks to have Zion Williamson missing another full season, but we're inching closer to that becoming a reality whether Z-Will wants it or not – looks like those dunk reels over IG aren't cutting it for NOLA to bring him back yet. The good news? Well, same as it's happened in other places (Denver with Bones Hyland, for example), the Pelicans lucked into a phenomenal rookie who has done everything – and then some – to give his team a boost all season long in Herbert Jones. Gotta take advantage of his half-Yahoo availability in Yahoo leagues and upside ROS as he will retain his role and keep getting tons of opportunities and production off them.

Jones isn't the most efficient of fantasy players out there. That is, obviously, because he's getting nearly 30 MPG of playing time over the full season and ranks seventh on that front while an even higher fourth in total minutes played (both among rookies). That's incredible considering Jones was an early second-round pick. Herb has done everything to merit those large runs, though, and the bulky minutes soften the efficiency blow as he just puts up numbers on pure brute force.

Herb's line is sitting at (rounding up just a few tenths) 10-4-2-1-1. I know Jones is still not quite there because of little details such as averaging 9.8 PPG instead of 10, but you get where I come from. And what I wanted to say is that the line I just typed at the start of this paragraph is one at the reach of only seven players this season: AD, Giannis, Jerami, Embiid, KAT, LBJ, and Vucevic. Really. Forget about rostering Jones and getting a production similar to that of any of those behemoths, but keep in mind that Jones is a bona fide under-the-radar performer on a nightly basis with a clear path to stay on the court ROS.

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