Fantasy Basketball Week 12 Waiver Wire Pickups | Should You Add Kevin Love, Cody Martin and Duop Reath?

The fantasy football season is over (outside of a few playoff leagues). This is the time of the year that fantasy owners start paying a little closer attention to the NBA.

In what’s the 12th week of the fantasy basketball season, let’s talk about a few waiver wire possibilities. We’ll discuss Miami Heat’s Kevin Love, Charlotte Hornets’ Cody Martin and Portland Trail Blazers’ Duop Reath.

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Kevin Love Fantasy Outlook

Love isn’t the player he once was, but he’s still playing a pretty big role and putting up decent numbers for Miami. 

Love has started five of the team’s 28 games, averaging 19 minutes, 10.1 points, 6.9 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 0.4 steals and 0.2 blocks, while committing 1.9 fouls and 0.7 turnovers. He’s playing a minute less than a season ago, but has better averages in points, rebounds and assists.

The veteran big is shooting 45% overall, 35.7% from behind the 3-point line and is 76.5% from the free throw line.

He has missed his fair share of games this season, but has scored in double figures in four straight. He’s reached double figures in points on 12 occasions now. He’s gone over five rebounds in 21 games, including seven contests with 10 or more boards. He’s topped four assists on three occasions, while tallying a steal in nine games and a block in four.

Verdict: Love’s averages are pretty solid for the amount of minutes he’s playing, which should have already had him on the fantasy radar. The fact that he’s gotten into a bit of a groove from the field of late makes it a perfect time to capitalize on some improved numbers. He’s not a great waiver wire addition in every league - I’d try to avoid him in dynasty/keeper leagues unless you have a deep roster - but as long as he’s playing 20 or more minutes a game, his numbers are going to be solid, and he can help your fantasy team out.

Cody Martin Fantasy Outlook

Martin is just getting into the swing of things after dealing with an injury. He’s played in just seven games, making two starts.

Martin has averages of 25.9 minutes, 8 points, 2.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.7 steals and 0.6 blocks, while committing 1.6 fouls and 0.9 turnovers per contest. He's shooting 38.6% overall, 33% from deep and just 40% from the line.

In his limited action, Martin has reached double figures in three contests. He’s gone over four rebounds and over four assists just one game each. He’s had a steal in six games and a block in three contests.

Martin only played in seven games a season ago, so it’s likely going to be a bit until he feels really comfortable out on the court. A positive is that he’s nearly averaging as many minutes as he did two seasons ago, but a negative is that he’s going to miss Monday’s game with a groin strain.

Verdict: Martin is a talented player, but if you can’t stay on the court, you aren’t going to be a good fantasy asset. He had scored in double figures in three of his past four games, but with another injury, it’s not worth adding him until we know the severity of the injury. I’d definitely keep an eye on Martin, but would avoid having him take up a roster spot - unless you have really deep rosters.

Duop Reath Fantasy Outlook

Reath is a pretty lesser-known name, but he continues to pop up in my NBA takeaways stories. It’s time to add him to the waiver wire conversation. Reath is getting his first NBA action this season, so he’s considered a rookie even though he is already 27 years old. 

Reath has started six of the 23 games he’s played in, averaging 16.5 minutes, 8.9 points, 3.7 rebounds, 1 assist, 0.6 steals and 0.4 blocks. He’s shooting 45.6% overall, 37.2% from deep and 87.1% from the line.

While his averages don’t look great, some recent game logs are fantastic. Reath has scored in double figures in 10 of the past 14 games he's played in. He’s played between 25-40 minutes in three of the past four games he’s appeared in, but only played in six minutes in the other contest. Reath has also had between 7-13 rebounds during that span, with just two boards in the game he played six minutes in.

Verdict: It’s tough to make a call on Reath because his playing time has been inconsistent all season. When he’s played extended minutes, he’s done some nice things, but then he’s barely played in the following game. With Deandre Ayton out for a bit, and with some of the other injuries on the Trail Blazers’ roster, I’d definitely be in favor of adding Reath. I wouldn’t go out of my way to add him, and I’d have a pretty quick hook with him if he randomly continues to get limited minutes in some games. He might be a solid streaming option if you have the time to add and drop him throughout the week.