The Cut List - Who To Drop for Fantasy Basketball Week 8

December 18, 2023

Alex's fantasy basketball players to drop when making waiver wire moves in Week 8 (2023-24). He helps fantasy NBA managers decide on who to cut from rosters.

We're back again for another cut list, RotoBallers! This is the point of the season when the disappointments start to show their true colors, new potential All-Stars cement their status as up-and-comers, and "enforcers" get suspended. Okay, the last one may just be a current event, but it tends to happen quite a bit.

If any fantasy managers reading this are new to the cut list, let's make sure we lay out the game plan. Each week we make a list of players that managers can consider dropping or replacing so that they don't have to bang their head against a wall when that player isn't performing up to expectations. Some are better to drop in shallow leagues while others can be dropped in every league for reasons that range from health to minutes to weird coaching doghouses.

So, with that being said, let's jump into the Week 8 edition of the cut list! If you have any other players to add to this list, let me know X/Twitter @__Fisch.

Players to Consider Dropping or Replacing

Draymond Green (PF/C, GSW) - 62% rostered

Many different punchlines could fit in this space, but we're going to take the high road. Draymond Green has been suspended indefinitely after yet another dirty play against the Phoenix Suns. We're far beyond the point where this kind of event can be considered an accident.

Not only is Green missing games due to his own mistakes, but he's also seen decreases in his averages almost across the board outside of points, threes, and free throw percentage. Compared to the league average this season, he's giving negative value to his fantasy managers in points, threes, rebounds, steals, and turnovers. The only stat that's more than slightly above the league average is the 5.8 assists per game mark that he's set.

If that's not enough to consider dropping Green, well he's also outside of the top 100 in nine-category leagues. He's ranked right at 148th in per-game value right now and this would be the first time he's been outside of the top 100 since the 2013-14 season. It's pretty hard to improve his fantasy value while he keeps getting suspended by the way.

Mitchell Robinson (C, NYK) - 70% rostered

This case, in terms of considering to drop or hold, comes down to how many IR spots your league utilizes. If there are only one or two spots and they're filled with people that are suffering from some sort of illness that's being passed around the league, then Mitchell Robinson becomes a little more expendable. If you're one of the lucky ones and don't have any other IR candidates, then Robinson can be a hold right now.

Robinson is out for at least two months with an ankle injury, which is something that isn't all that new for the New York Knicks. The 25-year-old big man has been known to go through some long injury stints throughout his career and it ends up affecting fantasy teams for much longer than expected.

Even though Robinson is producing enough to be inside the top 90 in nine-category leagues, missing at least eight weeks is a huge chunk of the fantasy season. Whether it's Isaiah Hartenstein or another center on the waiver wire, they're at least going to contribute to winning over the next eight matchups.

Kevin Huerter (SG/SF, SAC) - 52% rostered

Inconsistency can be the most frustrating trait for fantasy basketball managers. Getting 11 points, five assists, and three rebounds in one game and then following that up with four points, two assists, and two rebounds can make a fantasy manager want to pull their hair out. Well, that's the Kevin Huerter experience.

Huerter lured a lot of attention in fantasy basketball after posting the best fantasy season of his career last year. He's now seen fewer minutes, points, threes, steals, and usage compared to the previous season. Currently, Huerter is ranked outside of the top 125 in nine-category formats and he hasn't shown signs that he's going to creep back up to the top 100.

At this rate, managers are better off using his roster spot as a streaming position. Essentially, that's where Huerter's value comes from anyway.

Ausar Thompson (SG/SF, DET) - 75% rostered

Welcome to another episode of "We're not sure what these rotations mean." Ausar Thompson was looking great on both ends of the floor to start the season. He seemed like he was going to challenge Victor Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren for Rookie of the Year while being a huge fantasy asset in both redraft and dynasty formats.

Well, head coach Monty Williams had to crush all of our dreams. All of a sudden, Thompson wasn't seeing the same minutes as he was before. Over the last two weeks, he's averaged 24.1 minutes, 9.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per game. That type of production while receiving north of 20 minutes per game doesn't move the needle in fantasy leagues. To make matters worse, he's not even producing on the defensive end, which made him that much more valuable.

We can't really tell if this is a Thompson problem or a Monty Williams problem, but we're tending to lean toward the latter. Thompson is a very promising player, but at this rate, it's better to leave this headache to someone else.

Cameron Johnson (SF/PF, BKN) - 87% rostered

Has anyone watched a player and felt like they should just be better than they seem? That's Cameron Johnson every time another preseason rolls around. Everyone remembers his streaks of hot shooting and contributing in more ways than just scoring and threes. Then, the season actually plays out and it never seems to be pretty.

As we speak, Johnson is ranked outside of the top 100 in terms of per-game value. His rebounding and playmaking have slightly improved (0.9 and 0.8 per game increases), but everything else has taken a turn for the worse. Over the last two weeks, he's averaged 12.8 points, 4.2 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 2.5 threes per game. That's not the worst stat line anyone has ever seen, but it equates to the 110th-ranked player versus the league average.

Add in the fact that his usage went from 22.8 last season to 19.8 this season and 17.3 over the last two weeks, then you get even more of a reason to move on. He's on a Brooklyn Nets team that could always use more offense and one that boasts quite a good defense, but it's not translating to box scores and fantasy games when it comes to Cameron Johnson.

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