February 20 Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire Options and Wednesday's Recap: Jaxson Hayes, Gary Trent Jr., Quentin Grimes, Donovan Clingan, Jusuf Nurkic and More

It's been a minute since we've been able to go over some fantasy basketball waiver wire options.

Only one NBA game was played on Wednesday, February 19, but there's enough names on the FantasySP Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire Pickups Page to put together a story. Let's dive in!

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Hornets 100, Lakers 97

Jusuf Nurkic, owned in 61% of fantasy leagues, didn't score, but posted eight rebounds, seven assists, two blocks and one steal in 18 minutes off the bench to be a good fantasy asset.

Jaxson Hayes, rostered in 51% of leagues, started and played 18 minutes. He had eight points, four rebounds and two steals.

Dorian Finney-Smith, owned in 15% of leagues, recorded 12 points, five rebounds and three assists in 28 minutes off the bench.

Rui Hachimura, available in 16% of leagues, totaled 17 points, eight rebounds, three assists and one steal across 39 minutes played.

Hornets, Lakers Waiver Options

The top waiver wire pickups are mostly players from that Hornets, Lakers game.

Hayes is the top one at the time of publication, being added in 6.79% of leagues.

I think it makes sense to add Hayes, even though he's not playing a ton of minutes right now. The Lakers are devoid of talent at the center position, and Hayes is the best bet to play center for the remainder of the season. For now though, I'd only want to roster Hayes in deeper leagues, waiting to add him in standard leagues until he starts playing or producing more.

Dalton Knecht is the second-most added player, up 3.19% and rostered in 23.58% of leagues overall. He played just 13 minutes off the bench on Wednesday, tallying three points, five rebounds and one steal, and that came after Austin Reaves was ejected.

Knecht is a better dynasty/keeper league fantasy option, and likely won't get much playing time unless Reaves, LeBron James or Luka Doncic miss extended time. There's got to be better options available to you in deeper leagues.

Finney-Smith is up 2.94%. His statline on Wednesday is part of the reason why he's trending up right now. 

Over his past six games (three starts), Finney-Smith is averaging 29.6 minutes a game, which is a great mark. He's averaging 8.7 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1 steal and 0.2 blocks per game in that span. I'd be fine adding him in some deeper leagues, at least until his production or playing time fizzles out a bit.

Hachimura is another Laker on the waiver list, up 2.53%. Since January 30, Hachimura has averaged 33.5 minutes a game and delivered pretty solid results.

In that stretch, he's averaging 19.4 points, 5.4 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 0.8 steals and 0.3 blocks. You'd like to see him stuff the stat sheet a bit more, but on scoring and rebounds alone, that's pretty good fantasy production. He should be rostered in all leagues, but he could stick between 70-90% for the rest of the season. 

Josh Green, Nurkic and Nick Smith Jr. are three Hornets on the waiver list.

Green had four points, three rebounds, two steals and one assist across 33 minutes on Wednesday. He's playing plenty of minutes this season, but with averages of 7.5 points, 2.8 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 1.1 steals and 0.2 blocks per game, he's just a deep-league option.

Green is up 2.48% and owned in just 6.89% of leagues overall.

Nurkic is up 2.12% today.

He's now played in two games with Charlotte, averaging 16.8 minutes per game. Nurkic is averaging 4.5 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal and 1.5 blocks per game. I think there's too many big men in Charlotte, but Nurkic is capable of filling up the stat sheet, so utilizing him in deeper leagues makes sense to me.

Smith is up 1.91% and rostered in 28.98% of leagues now.

He's been starting of late, but his minutes and production have varied wildly of late. Smith had 12 points, two rebounds and one assist and steal across 29 minutes on Wednesday, but that was after a two-point, three-assist and one-rebound showing in 16 minutes in the last Charlotte game.

Smith should get plenty of playing time the rest of the season, but until he can consistently contribute, his own percentage is going to remain relatively low. I like the idea of adding Smith in keeper/dynasty deeper leagues as he's only 20 years old. He should be rostered in some deeper leagues, but not all of them.

Other Waiver Options

Milwaukee's Gary Trent Jr. is the No. 4 waiver wire pickup today, up 2.92% and sitting at 23.58% overall now.

Trent got in a good groove before the All-Star break, but that also was with Giannis Antetokounmpo out of the lineup. I'd have no problem streaming Trent to see if he can keep things rolling, but if his production or playing time dips when Giannis returns, I'd turn my attention to another player instead.

Quentin Grimes is up 2.23% and is rostered in 46.31% of leagues now.

In his first four games (one start) with the 76ers, Grimes is averaging 16.8 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1 steal and 0.8 blocks across 32.8 minutes. I'd be in favor of adding him in deeper leagues, and if his production keeps up, he might be added in some standard leagues soon.

Donovan Clingan is rostered in 68.75% of leagues after a 2.08% increase today.

Clingan was great in the team's two games before the All-Star break, combining for 48 points, 27 rebounds, two assists and four blocks across 52 minutes. Clingan might be headed toward a bigger role in the latter portion of the season, and I'd be tempted to add him, especially if I had a roster spot to play with.

Russell Westbrook was added in 1.7% of leagues and is owned in 91.48% of leagues now.

He hasn't played in a game since January 31, but is very close to returning. Westbrook is averaging 13 points, 5.1 rebounds, 6.4 assists, 1.5 steals and 0.5 blocks across 27.7 minutes in 48 games and 27 starts this season. That's good fantasy production, and he was rostered in nearly every league before the injury, so this is a good chance to scoop up a good fantasy asset for nothing.

Ben Simmons is up 1.67% and rostered in 55.11% of leagues now.

In his first game with the Clippers, Simmons had 12 points, seven rebounds, six assists, three steals and one block across 27 minutes off the bench. LA wasn't fully healthy for that game, so he might not play as much going forward, but he's capable of stuffing the stat sheet and is another player I'd be really tempted to add.

Anthony Black, Caris LeVert, Jrue Holiday, Lonzo Ball, Max Christie, Karlo Matkovic and Georges Niang are the final few waiver wire options listed on the FSP list.

Black is up 1.39% and rostered in 9.38% of leagues now. LeVert is owned in 63.64% of leagues after a 1.38% increase.

Holiday is up 1.25% and rostered in 77.56% of leagues. Ball is up 1.08% and owned in 26.42% overall.

Christie and Matkovic are each up 1.07%. Christie is rostered in 80.68% of leagues to just 17.05% for Matkovic.

Niang was added in 1.06% of leagues and sits at 16.76% overall now.