Feb. 22 Fantasy Basketball Takeaways: Top Rookies and Waiver Wire Options | Gary Trent Jr., Grant Williams, Ivica Zubac, Amen Thompson, Taylor Hendricks and More

The NBA returned to regular season action on Thursday, with 12 games being played.

As we do every weekday, let’s take a look at some of the top-performing waiver wire options and rookies.

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Waiver Wire Options

We’ll open the conversation by talking about Toronto Raptors’ Gary Trent Jr. He’s owned in 23% of leagues, but went for 25 points, two assists and one rebound and steal across 31 minutes in the team’s win over the Brooklyn Nets. Trent was 9-of-12 from the floor and 5-of-7 from deep.

Trent has started 16 straight games for the Raptors, with mixed results from game to game. Over that span, he’s scored over 20 points three times now, but he’s also had seven games where he failed to reach double figures (including the four games before the All-Star break). 

He typically doesn’t fill the stat sheet other than his scoring, so I’d try to avoid adding him in any format, instead looking for a bit more well-rounded player. He’s a guy to keep an eye on in case he gets hot for a bit though.

Charlotte Hornets’ Grant Williams, rostered in 38% of leagues, made six 3-pointers among his seven total field goals on his way to scoring 24 points in the team’s win over the Utah Jazz. He also posted two assists and a steal across 27 minutes off the bench.

Despite coming off the bench in all four of his games with Charlotte, Williams is averaging 29.5 minutes per game, along with 18.8 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2 assists, 0.8 steals and 0.3 blocks. He’s playing well enough to add in deeper leagues, at least until he cools off. He typically will fill the stat sheet better than he did on Thursday as well.

Orlando Magic’s Moritz Wagner, owned in 18% of leagues, recorded 22 points, seven rebounds and one steal across 25 minutes off the bench in the team’s win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Wagner hadn’t played that many minutes in a game since late January, and he responded with one of his best games in the past couple months. Coming off the bench is going to limit his ceiling, but he’s not a half bad option in deeper leagues as he typically scores in double figures and adds in a handful of rebounds every night.

New York Knicks’ Bojan Bogdanovic, owned in 78% of leagues, finished the night with 22 points, three steals and two rebounds across 24 minutes off the bench in the team’s win over the Philadelphia 76ers.

Bogdanovic is averaging 16 points, three rebounds, 1.3 steals and 0.3 blocks and assists across 26.5 minutes played in his three games with the Knicks. His scoring average is great, but lacking a ton of other stats, you can probably find better long-term fantasy options in standard leagues.

Sacramento Kings’ Kevin Huerter, rostered in 56% of leagues, totaled 21 points, five assists and four rebounds across 31 minutes played in the team’s win over the San Antonio Spurs.

Huerter has had an up-and-down season, but he’s been able to score in double figures pretty consistently for the past month and change. He does enough else to roster and play him in deeper formats, but until he’s a bit more consistent with his scoring, he shouldn’t be a huge waiver wire addition in standard leagues.

New York’s Josh Hart, owned in 74% of leagues, accumulated 18 points, 12 rebounds, three assists and one block across 44 minutes on Thursday.

Hart continues to log huge minutes and fill up the stat sheet on a pretty regular basis. His scoring has been a bit inconsistent since the trade deadline, so I’d keep a close eye on him, but avoid adding him if I could. The team’s several trade acquisitions might be the reasoning behind the scoring outputs, but it’s still too early to tell.

Los Angeles Clippers’ Ivica Zubac, rostered in 85% of leagues, ended the night with 13 points, 12 rebounds and one assist and block across 29 minutes played in the team’s loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Zubac was a player I highlighted in a streaming option article for this week of fantasy basketball, and he delivered a pretty solid outing in his first of three games. With a couple more favorable matchups ahead, he’s worth streaming at least for the next few days, and might be worth hanging onto if he continues to deliver.

New York’s Precious Achiuwa, owned in 70% of leagues, made 7-of-9 shots to finish with 18 points in the team’s win. He also had 11 rebounds, two assists and steals and one block across 38 minutes.

Achiuwa has really excelled of late, partly because he’s been playing so many minutes. He’s scoring and rebounding consistently enough to roster him in all formats, at least until OG Anunoby and Julius Randle return to the team.

New Orleans Pelicans’ Herbert Jones had a wild statline in the team’s win over the Houston Rockets. He had 17 points, five rebounds, four assists and seven steals (yes, seven) across 37 minutes.

Jones, rostered in 59% of leagues, tends to stuff the stat sheet every night he’s on the court, and Thursday was no different. I love fantasy assets that can stuff the stat sheet, as they are far less likely to post stinkers for your team. Jones won’t score a ton of points, but his all-around efforts make him a good fantasy asset in all formats.

Top Rookies

Five rookies stood out on Thursday.

Houston’s Amen Thompson, rostered in 63% of leagues, didn’t start, but recorded 22 points, five rebounds, four assists and three blocks across 28 minutes.

He’s playing his best basketball of the season and has done enough over the past few weeks to roster him in any format. There will be games where he doesn’t score as much, but he typically does enough in other areas to give a little leash to.

Golden State Warriors’ Trayce Jackson-Davis, rostered in just 3% of leagues, went for 17 points, five rebounds, two blocks and one assist across just 15 minutes in the team’s win over the Los Angeles Lakers.

Jackson-Davis hasn’t gotten as much playing time since Draymond Green returned, but has put together some solid outings of late despite playing limited minutes. He’s a guy to keep an eye on, as he was a pretty solid fantasy asset earlier in the season, and could carve out a bigger role if he continues to deliver.

Utah’s Keyonte George, owned in 59% of leagues, had 16 points, five assists and three rebounds across 31 minutes on Thursday.

George has scored in double figures in three straight games and 10 of the last 11 contests. There’s some bigger scoring outputs over that span (21 and 33 points), but most nights, he’s going to score between 10-16 points. He adds enough other stats to be a pretty solid fantasy asset in any format, but there might be better options available.

Utah’s Taylor Hendricks tallied 12 points, nine rebounds and one assist across 26 minutes. He’s owned in just 5% of leagues right now.

Hendricks started for the first time this season and came through with one of his better all-around performances. This could be a sign that he’s going to get more playing time as the season winds down, so keep a close eye on him over the team’s next couple games.

Golden State’s Brandin Podziemski, owned in 72% of leagues, was just 3-of-12 shooting, but totaled 10 points, nine rebounds and one assist across 28 minutes in the team’s win.

Podziemski isn’t always going to be super efficient, but playing as big a role as he is now, he’s typically going to finish in double figures, while providing at least one other big number on his stat sheet. I like the idea of adding him in any format if you have the room to.