Feb. 7 Fantasy Basketball Takeaways: Top Rookies and Waiver Wire Options | Saddiq Bey, Killian Hayes, Corey Kispert, Cody Martin, Marcus Sasser and More

Seven more NBA games took place on Wednesday night, so now it’s time to dive into the top performances from waiver wire options and rookies, as we do every weekday.

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Waiver Wire Options

We’ll open the conversation by talking about Atlanta Hawks’ Saddiq Bey, who is owned in 70% of leagues. Bey tallied 25 points, nine rebounds and one steal and assist across 36 minutes in the team’s loss to the Boston Celtics.

Bey has made this list a bunch over the past couple weeks. He’s scored in double figures in seven of the last eight games (and was hurt in the one game he didn’t reach double figures). 

Bey is a solid source for rebounds every night, so between boards and his scoring, he’s a good fantasy option in all formats for the time being. He at least can be rostered and played until he cools off a bit from a scoring perspective.

Detroit Pistons’ Alec Burks made five 3-pointers on his way to a 25-point outing in the team’s win over the Sacramento Kings. Burks, who is owned in 39% of leagues, also had seven rebounds and two assists across 28 minutes off the bench.

Burks is usually just a fantasy asset because he can score, but he did a nice job rebounding as well on Wednesday. He’s a solid option in deeper leagues on his point totals alone, but I’d like to see similar statlines to Wednesday before considering him heavily in standard leagues.

Washington Wizards’ Corey Kispert recorded 23 points, seven rebounds and two assists across 33 minutes off the bench in the team’s loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Kispert is currently owned in 22% of leagues.

Kispert continued to shoot the ball well, making at least six field goals for the fourth consecutive game. He’s averaging 20 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 0.3 steals over 29.2 minutes over that span. That’s solid enough production to add him in deeper leagues for the time being. He’ll need a couple weeks of this kind of production to be a standard league waiver wire possibility though.

Charlotte Hornets’ Cody Martin totaled 19 points, eight assists, five rebounds and two steals across 28 minutes in the team’s loss to the Toronto Raptors. Martin is owned in about 7% of leagues.

Martin returned from a two-game absence and delivered his best scoring performance of the season. He typically is a good source for assists and rebounds fairly well too. He simply is sparsely owned because he’s missed so many games this season.

I’d add Martin now in deeper leagues, while keeping a very close eye on him in standard leagues. If he has another solid game or two, you might need to add him before someone else scoops him up.

Detroit’s Killian Hayes accumulated eight points, nine assists and four rebounds across 28 minutes in the team’s win on Wednesday. He’s owned in just 11% of leagues.

His own percentage is so low because he only averages 6.9 points per game. If he ever could average 12-15 points a game, he’d be owned in a bunch more leagues, because his assist numbers (4.9 a game) are a solid mark. He’s been in trade rumors, so maybe a change of scenery could change his fortunes as a scorer.

Sacramento’s Kevin Huerter, owned in 77% of leagues, finished the night with 16 points and one rebound, assist, steal and block across 34 minutes played.

Huerter has scored the ball a bit better over the past month or so, and usually fills the stat sheet a little better across the board. Since Jan. 14, he’s averaging 15.5 points, 4.1 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 1.1 steals and 0.6 steals across 32 minutes. Those are pretty solid numbers, but until he scores a touch more (or has better rebound or assist numbers), his own percentage should probably stick around where it is now.

Top Rookies

For a second straight day, several rookies delivered strong showings. I want to discuss five rookies who played well on Wednesday.

We’ll stick in Detroit to discuss Marcus Sasser. He played 32 minutes off the bench, tallying 18 points, four assists and three rebounds. He was 7-of-14 from the field.

Sasser, owned in just 3% of leagues, has had a handful of good outings over the past couple weeks. The only problem is that in the games he hasn’t scored a bunch, he’s barely scored at all. He might be a streaming option if the Pistons make some deals at the trade deadline, otherwise I’d prefer to leave him on the waiver wire until he can deliver these kinds of outings on a nightly basis.

Detroit’s Ausar Thompson, owned in 68% of leagues, posted 12 points, six rebounds, two assists and steals and one block across 27 minutes played. He started for the first time since late December.

That’s now back-to-back strong outings for Thompson. Usually I’d like to wait another game or two before adding him, but seeing his current own percentages, you may need to add him now if you want him. He should continue to get over 25 minutes every single night with Detroit building toward the future, and that will allow him plenty of opportunities to score and rebound at a good clip.

Miami Heat’s Jaime Jaquez Jr. had 10 points and three rebounds across 28 minutes played in the team’s win over the San Antonio Spurs. He’s owned in 44% of leagues.

Jaquez made four field goals for a second straight game, but was far more efficient this time, needing only six attempts compared to 11 in the previous game. I mentioned this yesterday, but Jaquez was a pretty solid fantasy asset for much of the season before an injury derailed things. He’s starting to get back into the swing of things, so his own percentage could skyrocket again over the next couple weeks. He should be owned in deeper leagues and dynasties, and it will probably only take two or three more performances like this to be a waiver wire option in standard leagues too.

Charlotte’s Nick Smith Jr., who is hardly owned in any leagues, tallied nine points and an assist across 13 minutes in the team’s loss.

He’s got a decent amount of playing time over the past couple months, but it hasn’t translated to huge fantasy numbers yet. He’s capable of scoring in double figures, but he typically only accomplishes that every four to five games, if not less often. Smith doesn’t add much for other stats either, so I’d leave him on the waiver wire outside of super deep leagues.

Philadelphia 76ers’ Ricky Council IV recorded 17 points across 10 minutes played in the team’s loss to the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday. He’s also barely owned in any leagues.

Philly was, of course, playing without Joel Embiid, and several other players were also out, which afforded Council some playing time. He’s shown he can be a solid fantasy asset on his scoring alone, but he’s a very risky play because he only gets a few minutes per game. There’s probably better streaming options out there in deep leagues - I’d only consider him if Tyrese Maxey was one of the several Philly players inactive.