January 3 Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Cason Wallace, Scoot Henderson, Luke Kennard, Max Christie and More

With the fantasy football season winding down, we’re going to start upping our fantasy basketball coverage here at FantasySP.

We usually do waiver wire stories just a couple times a week, but now will try to do a few more. We just went over some waiver wire targets on Thursday, and are back again on Friday to identify a few more players. I won’t do full writeups on guys we already covered in depth on Thursday.

All of these players are pulled from the FantasySP Waiver Wire Pickups page, which is updated daily.

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Kentavious Caldwell-Pope Fantasy Outlook

Caldwell-Pope is up to being rostered in 43.66% of leagues after another 5.18% increase.

Caldwell-Pope has started all 34 games he’s appeared in this season for the Magic. He’s averaging 31 minutes a game, along with 9.1 points, 2 assists and rebounds, 1.6 steals and 0.6 blocks. He’s shooting 40.7% overall and 30.3% from 3-point land.

He’s a solid deep-league option with the amount of time he spends on the court and the averages he posts. Caldwell-Pope is getting some waiver love now because of some better scoring games of late - he’s scored 10 or more points in three of the past four games, including a 21-point outing on January 1.

Caldwell-Pope was 8-of-11 shooting in that game, so that’s not a sustainable number. But with double figures in three of the past four, he’s getting added by fantasy owners to see if he can stay hot.

His own percentage will probably top out around 50%, but trend downward when he cools off again. For the time being though, I like the idea of picking up Caldwell-Pope in all deep leagues (and maybe even a few standard leagues) given all the injuries the Magic are dealing with.

Cason Wallace Fantasy Outlook

Wallace was added in 4.58% of leagues and sits at 28.87% overall now.

In his second NBA season, Wallace is averaging 26.5 minutes across 32 games and 19 starts. He’s also averaging 6.6 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.8 steals and 0.7 blocks while shooting 42% overall and 29.9% from deep.

None of his numbers really stand out, but his all-around numbers make him an intriguing fantasy asset. Wallace had played 30 or more minutes to end 2024 before just getting 17 minutes in the team’s first game of 2025. Fantasy owners are probably hoping he continues to start and get over 30 minutes a contest, but his playing time is going to depend on who else is available for OKC, and who is playing the best.

I do think Wallace deserves to be added in a few more deeper leagues, but unless he consistently is starting or playing 30+ minutes, his own percentage shouldn’t ever get too much higher than its current mark.

Scoot Henderson Fantasy Outlook

Henderson is up to 58.69% owned after a 3.69% increase.

Henderson hasn’t taken the step forward that fantasy owners were hoping for this season. He’s averaging 11.3 points, 5.2 assists, 2.8 rebounds, 1.2 steals and 0.3 blocks across 26 minutes, 26 games and three starts. Henderson is shooting 40.3% overall and 30.8% from 3-point land.

Despite coming off the bench of late, Henderson has averaged 27.3 minutes over the past seven games. His averages are 12.6 points, 5.7 assists, 3.3 rebounds, 1.9 steals and 0.6 blocks across that span and his shooting percentages have also gone up (41.1% overall and 36.7% from deep).

It makes sense to see Henderson’s own percentage rising after looking at his recent performances. He should be rostered in all dynasty leagues and just about every deep league at this point. His recent surge has him being added in a few standard leagues again.

If you aren’t ready to add him in your standard league, keep a very close eye on him, because his own mark is only going to keep rising if he keeps performing like he has been.

Luke Kennard Fantasy Outlook

Kennard got a recent 3.62% bump and now is rostered in 15.26% of leagues.

Kennard has battled injuries over the past three seasons, and only has played 22 of the team’s 34 games this season. He’s averaging 8.3 points, 3 assists, 2.6 rebounds, 0.6 steals and 0.1 blocks across 20.6 minutes, while shooting 44.3% overall and 44.8% from 3-point land.

Kennard is pretty much on the court to jack up 3-pointers, and he’s been doing a good job of that lately. He has scored at least nine points in three straight games, and has been over 15 points in three of those contests. Kennard has made at least three 3-pointers in four straight games and is also averaging 4.5 assists, 4 rebounds and 0.8 steals in those contests.

His improved production is the biggest reason behind his surge in own percentage. With several injuries to the Grizzlies’ roster, Kennard should continue to play a good amount of minutes for the time being, and with continued success from behind the 3-point line, Kennard should be able to keep his role when the team is closer to full health.

I think Kennard is a bit underrated right now and believe he should be rostered more in deeper leagues. Don’t write him off because of the lower own percentage - look at his recent numbers and compare them to some other available free agents in your league and see if Kennard might be able to help you out for a little while.

Max Christie Fantasy Outlook

Christie is up to 23.94% overall after a 3.51% increase.

He has played in 32 games overall, starting 11 and averaging 22.3 minutes for the season. Christie is also averaging 7.8 points, 2.3 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 0.9 steals and 0.4 blocks while shooting 44.6% overall and 37.1% from deep.

Christie has been trending up for several weeks, but got a nice boost when the Lakers and Nets made a trade. Even with Shake Milton and Dorian Finney-Smith inserted into the rotation in the team’s latest game, Christie went off for 28 points, three rebounds, two assists and steals and a block across 31 minutes. 

Sure, Anthony Davis was inactive, but Christie’s playing time won’t be too affected when Davis is out there because they play different positions. Christie might not be asked to score as much when Davis is out there, but this game shows Christie’s potential, and how the young guard could become a big part of the Lakers’ offense and gameplan moving forward.

Christie needs to be rostered in all dynasty leagues, and he should be added in a bunch of deeper leagues. He’s a player to keep tabs on in case he hits his stride and continues to deliver for the Lakers, as then he’d become a standard league option.

Other Waiver Options

I added this section to Thursday’s story and am sticking with it. Here are some other standard league options and deep-league options who either appeared in Thursday’s story or aren’t being added in quite as many leagues as the players we discussed above.

For you standard league owners, Immanuel Quickley, Dillon Brooks, Jalen Duren, Tobias Harris, Terry Rozier, Onyeka Okongwu, Rui Hachimura, Nicolas Claxton, Mark Williams and Dereck Lively II are options.

Quickley is up to 96.95% rostered after a 4.09% boost. Brooks got added in 3.35% of leagues and now sits at 57.51% overall.

Duren is up to 89.44% overall after a 2.74% increase. Harris got added in 2.24% of leagues and is at 91.55% overall now. Rozier bumped up to 57.98% overall after a 1.79% increase.

Okongwu was added in 1.68% of leagues and is up to 58.92% overall. Hachimura is rostered in 68.31% of leagues after a 1.64% increase. 

Claxton got a 1.6% increase and is owned in 97.79% of leagues now. Lively is up to 75.35% after a 1.48% boost.

In deeper leagues, Ausar Thompson, Toumani Camara, Bub Carrington, Kel'el Ware, Luguentz Dort, Keldon Johnson, Sam Hauser, Keon Ellis, Jose Alvarado and Wendell Carter Jr. are some options.

Thompson had the biggest jump of the day (7.57%), bringing his total to 42.49% overall. Camara is now rostered in 32.39% of leagues after a 4.29% increase.

Carrington was added in 3.34% of leagues and now sits at 18.54% overall. Ware is up to 6.22% after a 2.18% increase. Dort is rostered in 48.12% of leagues after a 2.17% increase.

Johnson was added in 2.15% of leagues and has an overall mark of 38.73% now. Hauser is rostered in 8.22% of leagues after a 2.04% bump.

Ellis is up to 7.28% after a 1.82% increase. Alvarado is rostered in 15.26% of leagues after a 1.72% increase. Carter was added in 1.52% of leagues and now is owned in 32.16% of leagues.