Happy New Year, RotoBallers! We're almost, officially, 50 percent of the way through the NBA season already. This season is flying right by.
The Drop List returns for another week, and it might not be kind to some of your rosters. Each week, I'll take a look at a handful of NBA players that can be dropped from your fantasy team.
Without further ado, let's get to the fantasy basketball drop list. Every Saturday, we'll have a list of NBA players and a small dive into why they can be cut from some or all fantasy formats. Please take into account: each fantasy league is different. Make sure you check out the waiver wire and have a player in mind to replace one of the following players that you may drop.
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Players to Consider Dropping or Replacing
Cole Anthony (PG/SG, ORL) - 57% rostered
Ever since returning from an extended absence, Cole Anthony has seemingly been on a steady decline. Which is especially disappointing after the growth from his rookie year to last year.
When looking at his per-game fantasy value for the season, he's still ranked in the top 130, but in the last week, he was 307th and 257th over the last two weeks. Last week alone, Anthony only mustered up averages of 5.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game. That's a considerable step down from his season averages of 12.1 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 4.4 assists per game.
Leagues that are deeper than 14 teams might want to hang on to him, but there are better options on the waiver wire and Anthony will just take a bigger value hit since Jalen Suggs has returned.
Marcus Morris Sr. (PF/C, LAC) - 53% rostered
Let me start off by saying, if your league has more than 12 teams, then this recommendation is not for you. Marcus Morris Sr. can still help plenty of teams in deep leagues.
In all of those other leagues though, there are definitely higher-quality players on the waiver wire that either match or outperform 12.0 points and 3.0 rebounds per game over the last week. His 2.3 threes per game are probably the most valuable thing about Morris lately.
Especially for any managers in a category league, the mid-level scoring isn't going to help much when he's barely scratching one assist per contest and isn't chipping in with many defensive stats either. It's time to move on to someone that isn't starting to fall out of the top 150 players in fantasy basketball.
Ivica Zubac (C, LAC) - 84% rostered
With the way that Ivica Zubac started the season, I didn't think he would ever be close to making this list for this season. Yet... Here we are.
First and foremost, Zubac is currently in the top 120 for fantasy value, so for those of you in the deeper leagues, again, this doesn't apply. In leagues of 12 teams or fewer, however, the 25-year-old is probably hurting your team over the last couple of matchups.
He went from averaging a double-double on the season so far to 8.3 points and 5.3 rebounds per game over the last week. Coming from a starting center, this is embarrassingly bad. Ty Lue and the Los Angeles Clippers seem to be opting for smaller lineups a lot more often and Zubac's minutes have seen a ton of fluctuation. If that's the game plan moving forward, then the former second-round pick is going to keep falling out of favor.
Herbert Jones (SF/PF, NOP) - 68% rostered
Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram are both out for an extended period of time, Larry Nance Jr. just returned, and Willy Hernangomez still doesn't consistently play. These are all reasons that Herbert Jones should be considered a top streaming option right now.
The reality of the situation is that he's regressed over the last week and overall for the season, he's only ranked 127th amongst all fantasy basketball options. Over the last week, he fell down to 147th as he only put up 6.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 1.8 steals per game. His saving grace is the defensive side of the ball right now, but the rest of his production is good enough for a league with over 14 teams.
Last season, he finished 77th in the same rankings. Don't let the downfall of Jones be the downfall of your fantasy team at the same time!
Rui Hachimura (SF/PF, WAS) - 39% rostered
Rui Hachimura has been going through some crazy hot and cold trends throughout the season so far. He was just going off a couple of weeks ago and then last week happened.
Over the last two months, he was up to as many as 15.0 points per game while chipping in 4.2 rebounds and 1.5 assists per contest. His rank ballooned all the way to 141st and he was one of the hottest additions in fantasy basketball. Last week, however, that crashed like the market as he fell all the way down to 207th which forced his season-long rank to also fall to 217th.
Hachimura and Marcus Morris Sr. are very similar in fantasy value as they provide some decent scoring, threes, and a few rebounds. Outside of that, they provide as much value as the 10th man on any team. Let him go until he inevitably returns to one of his hot streaks when Kristaps Porzingis misses some more time.
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