Feb. 5 Fantasy Basketball Takeaways: Top Rookies and Waiver Wire Options | De'Andre Hunter, Josh Green, Dennis Smith Jr., Max Strus, Gradey Dick and More

A six-game NBA slate on Monday night provided fantasy basketball owners with plenty of talking points.

Let’s dive into the top-performing waiver wire options and rookies from Feb. 5.

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Waiver Wire Options

Let’s kick things off with Atlanta Hawks’ De'Andre Hunter, who scored 27 points in the team’s loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday night. He shot 10-of-12 overall across just 19 minutes played. Hunter also had seven rebounds and three assists.

The 27 points tied a season high for Hunter, although this scoring outburst came in 11 less minutes. Hunter, who is owned in 33% of leagues, just got back from an injury, so he’s available in a lot more leagues than he should be. Over time, you’d expect him to start playing more minutes, which will only help his fantasy outlook. Hunter is a guy I’d add in standard or deeper leagues.

Cleveland Cavaliers’ Max Strus, owned in 70% of leagues, tallied 22 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals across 26 minutes in the team’s win over the Sacramento Kings.

Strus has had inconsistent results of late, scoring in double figures twice over the past four games. This was his first 20-point outing since early January, and usually when a shooter like Strus gets hot, it lasts at least a couple games. He does enough else on the court to consider adding for the time being if you can make the transaction work.

Sacramento’s Harrison Barnes finished with 22 points and one rebound and steal across 30 minutes played in the team’s loss. Barnes is owned in 51% of leagues.

Barnes has now scored in double figures in three straight games and seven of the past eight contests. The problem isn’t scoring, it’s doing enough else on the court, and he didn’t do much else again on Monday. I’d probably look elsewhere for fantasy help in standard leagues, but Barnes is a solid asset in deeper leagues.

Dallas Mavericks’ Josh Green totaled 20 points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals across 32 minutes in the team’s win over the Philadelphia 76ers. He’s currently owned in 27% of leagues.

Green has been hot from the floor over the past three contests, making at least six field goals and scoring at least 18 points in each game. He’s also rebounded well over the past two games, while adding in a few assists. He’s a decent option in all formats, but definitely needs to be added in deeper leagues, at least until he cools off a bit.

Philly’s Kelly Oubre Jr. had another solid outing on Monday, tallying 19 points, six rebounds and one steal across 32 minutes. He’s owned in 74% of leagues.

With Joel Embiid out of the picture, Oubre has had a bigger impact on the offensive end of the court. He’s averaging 19.3 points over the past six games, also averaging 5.2 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 0.8 blocks and steals over that span. I’d add Oubre if I had the space, at least as long as he’s scoring this well each night.

Atlanta’s Saddiq Bey, owned in 58% of leagues, finished the night with 18 points, five rebounds and one steal across 33 minutes played.

Bey got back on track after missing the previous game. Not counting the game he got banged up in, Bey is averaging 18.2 points per game over the past six contests. He’s also been a good source of rebounds most nights, and usually tosses in some assists. He needs to be owned in all deeper leagues, and isn’t a half bad option for the time being in standard leagues too.

Clippers’ Mason Plumlee, owned in 18% of leagues, tallied eight points, nine rebounds, three assists and one steal and block across 21 minutes in the team’s win over the Hawks.

Plumlee is typically only a good fantasy asset when Ivica Zubac is out, and Zubac was inactive on Monday. Plumlee is a guy you can stream when Zubac is not out there. It remains to be seen if Plumlee can still make an impact with Zubac also playing - Plumlee had five points and nine boards across 26 minutes in Zubac’s first game back on Feb. 4.

Brooklyn Nets’ Dennis Smith Jr., owned in 12% of leagues, recorded 12 points, eight rebounds, five assists and two steals and blocks across 31 minutes in the team’s loss to the Brooklyn Nets on Monday.

Smith is a pretty well-rounded player when on the court, but typically lacks much scoring. If he could consistently average around 10 points, he’d at least be an asset in deep leagues. I’d hold off on adding Smith in deeper leagues until I saw a couple nights of similar scoring production.

Top Rookies

I want to discuss a trio of rookie performances from Monday.

Let’s start with Toronto Raptors’ Gradey Dick, who had 22 points, four rebounds, two assists and a steal across 30 minutes played in the team’s loss to the New Orleans Pelicans. He’s owned in just 4% of leagues right now.

The 30 minutes played was a new season high for Dick, who responded with the first 20-point game of his career. He made four 3-pointers, which tied a season high. Toronto was without several key rotation players, so that afforded Dick some more minutes. The lopsided final score also worked in his favor. 

While the outing was great to see, I wouldn’t immediately go adding him to my fantasy team in any format. Chances are that Dick won’t get too many minutes when the team is at full strength. I’d watch the team’s injury report closely leading up to their next game, and add him as a streaming option if a few rotation players are going to be out. If you have high hopes for the rookie, you could stash him in deeper leagues and dynasties.

Golden State’s Brandin Podziemski had another big-time outing in the team’s win over Brooklyn. Podziemski, who is owned in 58% of leagues, went for 15 points, 11 rebounds and three assists across 38 minutes.

Podziemski has played at least 34 minutes in each of the team’s past four games. He’s averaging 13.3 points, 8.8 rebounds, 6.3 assists and 0.5 steals and blocks across that span - Podz has started two of those four games.

Podziemski had been a good option in deeper leagues and dynasties most of the season, but his recent surge should get him some extra love in standard leagues. I wouldn’t mind adding him to my team to see if his hot stretch continues for a little while longer.

Golden State’s Gui Santos also had a solid outing on Monday. He tallied nine points, five rebounds, two blocks and a steal across 18 minutes off the bench. Santos is owned in just a few leagues.

Santos hadn’t topped 10 minutes in a game this season until February hit. He’s played 10, 15 and then nearly 18 minutes in the three games this month. Monday was his best outing yet, but I’d still like to see another game or two of similar production before burning a roster spot on him. It’s also worth noting that guys like Chris Paul, Gary Payton II and Andrew Wiggins have missed games since Santos has started making an impact.