Week 4 Fantasy Basketball Drop Candidates: Royce O'Neale, Mason Plumlee, Isaiah Joe, Bub Carrington and Kyle Lowry
Analyzing the top five fantasy basketball drop candidates as week four of the season wraps up.
After looking at the top fantasy basketball waiver wire options, it’s time to go over the players being dropped the most.
The top dropped players can be found under any NBA page at FantasySP. Find the waiver trends tab and then click most dropped for the latest names.
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Royce O'Neale Fantasy Outlook
O’Neale is the most-dropped player who isn’t dealing with an injury. He got dropped in 3.6% of fantasy leagues.
Across 12 games and 297 minutes this season, O’Neale has accumulated 116 points, 75 rebounds, 29 assists, 12 blocks, nine steals and 11 turnovers. After an 18-point outing on November 8, O’Neale has just 22 total points on 7-of-34 shooting in the three games since.
O’Neale is still playing a healthy amount of minutes, but with his scoring down, fantasy owners are turning to hotter scorers instead. He was probably always only going to be a good deep-league option, and his own percentage is getting close to resembling that now.
In deeper leagues, rostering players who play a lot is always a good idea. O’Neale isn’t going to stay hot as a scorer all season, but he’s one I’d still want to roster and start when he’s going well.
So I’d drop O’Neale in standard leagues, but still hold on to him for a bit longer in deeper leagues.
Mason Plumlee Fantasy Outlook
Plumlee has been dropped in 3% of leagues, making his overall mark 8%.
Across 12 games and 202 minutes this season, Plumlee has 60 points, 69 rebounds, 17 assists, six blocks, four steals and seven turnovers. He’s made 23 of his 37 shot attempts.
Plumlee had played over 20 minutes on November 10 and 12, but only saw 11 minutes on November 13. Plumlee was a good fantasy asset when he got over 20 minutes, but barely did anything in his last game played.
He was another deep-league fantasy option, but he only made sense if he was playing a healthy amount of minutes. He’s likely going to have other nights where he’s needed more, so keep an eye on the Clippers’ injury report and react accordingly.
As is, Plumlee is only worth a fantasy roster spot in the deepest of leagues right now, and he’s not a good starting option for the time being.
Isaiah Joe Fantasy Outlook
Joe has been dropped in 2.9% of fantasy leagues, and is now rostered in 17% overall. He’s getting dropped after a poor showing in his last game.
Joe has been a pretty solid contributor for the Thunder this season. Across 12 games and 256 minutes, Joe has 109 points, 37 rebounds, 18 assists, nine steals, one block and just three turnovers. He’s played over 20 minutes in each of the past eight contests.
Joe had scored in double figures in seven straight before missing all five of his field goals and not scoring on November 13. He had three boards and a steal in that contest.
I think fantasy owners react too quickly to outlier games, and I think that’s the case here. Joe is another deep-league option, and still got a good amount of minutes in his last game. Just because he didn’t perform one time doesn’t mean it’s time to bail on him.
If anything, just stash him on your bench if you aren’t confident enough to start him. He’s going to provide good fantasy value most nights, so don’t let one night ruin your thoughts on him, and let another league opponent scoop him up.
Bub Carrington Fantasy Outlook
Washington’s Carrington has been a pleasant surprise early in the NBA season. He’s averaging 29.5 minutes a game across 10 games.
He’s tallied 99 points, 45 rebounds, 51 assists, 13 steals, four blocks and 20 turnovers along the way. Carrington has scored in double figures seven times, while having five or more assists six times.
Carrington is still rostered in 56% of leagues, and that 50-60% mark seems like his sweet spot for the time being. He’s more valuable in deeper leagues, but isn’t a bad streaming option in standard leagues for the time being.
He’s playing close to 30 minutes most nights and filling up the stat sheet pretty well. I’d hold on to Carrington if I rostered him already, unless a can’t-miss waiver option was available.
Kyle Lowry Fantasy Outlook
Lowry is averaging 23.8 minutes a game across 11 contests played so far. He’s got 76 points, 40 assists, 28 rebounds, 12 steals, five blocks and 10 turnovers to his name.
He’s only scored in double figures four times, and hasn’t done so in the team’s past five contests. Lowry fills up the box score enough to still be a decent fantasy contributor every time he’s on the court.
He’s been dropped in 2.8% of leagues and is rostered in 17% overall. I’d guess it’s dropping now after he failed to score across 17 minutes in his last game.
I think Lowry’s own percentage was a little low for the numbers he produces on a nightly basis. There’s guys who play more minutes, but with the way Lowry can impact the game, I like him as a deep-league fantasy option. He’s another one who I’d hold out hope on in most deep-league setups.
