Michael Kidd-Gilchrist’s improved defense has earned him valuable minutes and extra opportunities
We’re just over two weeks until the All-Star break and as each NBA team takes stock of their roster, so must NBA fantasy team owners as well. With that said, here are this week’s suggested waiver targets.
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(All owner percentages are for ESPN leagues as of February 1)
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (SF – CHA): 51%
Even though he’s a wing who hasn’t hit a three since mid-December and whose last 20-point game was the Hornets’ first of the season, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and his evolving defensive skills deserve a pick-up.
The fourth-year pro is up to 7.4 rebounds per game this season (8.4 just in 2017) from a career average of 6.2. He added a block a game and scored a season-high 9.4 points per game in January.
While the Hornets themselves may be on a six-game losing streak, Kidd-Gilchrist’s ascendent numbers and his role as the primary defensive wing on a defense-oriented team will keep him in the lineup and productive. So while Kidd-Gilchrist may not score another 20-point game this season, if he can keep his defensive and rebounding numbers up and his scoring average at least close to double digits, he’s valuable.
Marvin Williams (SF/PF – CHA): 37%
Ostensibly the Sam Bowie to Michael Jordan’s Chris Paul, Marvin Williams has never quite lived up to the expectations of being the second overall pick in a deep 2005 draft. However, he’s remade himself the past two years as the Hornets’ small-ball power forward. Williams’s relative value derives mostly from his three-point shooting and his 36 percent shooting from downtown this season sits slightly above his career average.
He’s on an upward trend since early December, with better shooting percentages and higher scoring through the winter months. The 30-year-old isn’t a great rebounder for a power forward a power forward and lacks the all-around skills to be firmly planted at small forward, but his skills from downtown make him a solid add to plug and play off the bench.
Ivica Zubac (C – LAL): 14%
With Julius Randle dealing with both pneumonia and reduced minutes in January, Ivica Zubac has stepped up his game and developed some nice pick-and-roll chemistry with Lakers’ point guard D’Angelo Russell. The 19-year-old big man has double-doubles in three of the past four games where he’s played at least 20 minutes (and the game where he fell short included 17 points, six rebounds, and only one missed field goal).
Zubac’s getting praise from fellow Basketball League of Serbia alum Nikola Jokic, per the O.C. Register and, while young, may get some run with a Lakers team whose priority is developing its next round of homegrown stars. Even if Randle returns quickly, Zubac has shown what he can do and deserves your attention.
Willy Hernangomez (C – NYK): 7%
While the Knicks certainly expected one polysyllabic big man to emerge as a possible franchise centerpiece, Kristaps Porzingis’ injuries throughout January have opened the door for Willy Hernangomez to demonstrate his abilities as a potential building block. The rookie center has tallied at least ten rebounds in each of the past six games where he’s played at least 20 minutes and is currently 11th in the NBA in rebounds per 36 minutes (according to SportingCharts.com). Hernangomez played 32 minutes alongside Porzingis on Tuesday, so there may be an opportunity even when Porzingis fully recovers.
Should Carmelo Anthony eventually be traded, the Knicks may be looking at their starting big men in the two young Europeans. If you need rebounds, Hernangomez is a solid pickup with upside.
Yogi Ferrell (SG/PG – DAL): 6%
With starting point guard, Deron Williams missing the past four games with an injured toe recently acquired Yogi Ferrell becomes a sneaky pick-up – as long as you don’t care about efficiency. Ferrell spent some time with the Brooklyn Nets earlier this season and is currently on a 10-day contract with the Mavericks, but he’s getting his minutes, playing at least 36 in each of his first three games with the team.
With USA Today’s Sam Amick reporting that the Cleveland Cavaliers have inquired about trading for the injured Williams, it’s possible that Ferrell’s playing time could stay high should he remain with the Mavericks past this 10-day stint. If you need scoring and don’t care about meager shooting percentages, the undrafted rookie may be your guy.
Jake Stern is a correspondent with FantasyPros. For more from Jake, check out his profile or follow him @TVsJakeStern.
