Week 11 Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire: NBA Deep Sleepers

January 8, 2015

In his Week 11 NBA Waiver Wire column, David Sass focuses on some deep-league sleepers for your fantasy basketball purposes.

With the 2014-15 NBA season now over two months old, the waiver wire has taken its typical place in the weekly/daily routine of fantasy basketball managers. The following group of players are not of the typical standard-league variety, but rather options for those participating in deeper formats.

Unless you have the roster space to stash one of these fringe contributors as a sleeper, there is little reason to own any of them outside of leagues with 12 or more teams.

If your New Year’s Resolution was to find the diamond in the rough, then you have come to the right place!

Position Eligibility & Ownership Rate Based on Yahoo! Fantasy Basketball Leagues

Deep League Waiver Wire Options

Cory Joseph (SA, PG) - 13% Owned

Coach Gregg Popovich has figured out how to win in the playoffs, and part of that success is to rest his stars during the year so they are fresh. Not only is Parker getting up there in age, 32 now but he has also been dealing with nagging injuries all year. When Parker is hurt, Joseph shines. Joseph is a very good shooter and also puts up assists numbers by default because of the system he is. Joseph played so well while parker was hurt that he started getting more minutes even when Parker plays now because he has proven to the Spurs staff he is a very solid point guard and it helps keep Tony Parker fresh. Over the last two weeks, Joseph averaged over 14 points and almost 4 assists per game.

Nikola Mirotic (CHI, SF/PF) - 21% Owned

Mirotic is an enigma to the common NBA fan, but this kid has all the tools to be a star. He was drafted this past year by the Bulls and is the prototypical European basketball player. Standing tall at 6’10” he grabs rebounds and can shoot threes. When Mike Dunleavy is hurt, which he has been recently, Mirotic has started and produced. He just received the rookie of the month award because he averaged 1.4 threes, 10.1 points, and 5.5 rebounds over that month long stretch. Those numbers should only improve as the season goes on and Mirotic gets more acclimated with the NBA game and gets more minutes.

Cole Aldrich (NY, C) - 24% Owned

Now that the Knicks have joined the Sixers in a battle for the first overall pick, someone must step up. With Amare being hurt for at least another week, the former Kansas star is a good bet. Aldrich has quietly been very solid this year on an absolutely terrible Knicks squad. Over the last two weeks, Aldrich has averaged 11.1 points and 8.4 rebounds with 1.3 blocks/game. Aldrich will continue to get minutes as the Knicks now just need to put players on the court. Another Knick to watch is Quincy Acy who is only owned in 6% of all Yahoo leagues and scored 19 points with 14 rebounds in 29 minutes of playing time. Both these Knicks big men should put up decent fantasy numbers for the rest of the season.

Keeper League Pickup of the Week

Joe Ingles (UTA, SF) - 1% Owned

Ingles is the best player in the NBA you have never heard of. He will not do anything special but is solid in almost every category. He was just named a starter for the Utah Jazz. If you need someone with guaranteed minutes and potential to get better grab Ingles now. Last week, the Australian averaged one three, 7.7 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 1.7 steals per game. He can help you in every single category and is on rise as the 27 year old has just started to find his game.