It’s Thursday. You know what that means.
The NBA season is back, baby, and we are already looking ahead to Week 4. Weekly, I will look at the waiver wire for the players you should be targeting for both short and long-term success.
We’ll look at players that you should consider picking up who are rostered in four different rostership tiers:
- 50-60%
- 30-49%
- 15-29%
- 0-14%
What’s more, we’ll give you a breakdown of how many games each team has for the upcoming week so that you can maximize the minutes of your streamers.
Without further delay, let’s get to it, starting with the schedule of games being played for next week.
Check out the latest fantasy basketball expert consensus rankings 
Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire Week 3
Five games:
N/A
Four games:
BOS, CHI, CLE, DAL, LAL, MIL, NYK, OKC, ORL, PHI, POR, SAC, TOR
Three games:
ATL, BKN, CHA, DEN, DET, GSW, MEM, MIA, MIN, NOP, PHX, SAS, UTA, WAS
Two games:
HOU, IND, LAC
Rostered in 50-60% of Leagues
Terry Rozier is injured in Charlotte, which could mean that the rookie is more involved in the offense. He’s played 36 and 30 minutes over the last two games – the latter being a blowout loss – and with LaMelo Ball finding his groove of late, expect Brandon Miller to be a third option for the Hornets. If Miller shows out, he could take hold of major minutes even when Charlotte gets fully healthy.
I wrote about Naz Reid last week, and he jumped up to the top rostership tier this week. His time in this column might be nearing an end, and rightfully so. He’s continuing to play a huge role for the Timberwolves, playing around 22 minutes per game. What I like to see – along with the defense he offers to Minnesota’s top-ranked defensive unit – is that he’s letting it fly from behind the arc. He’s had 36 field-goal attempts over his last four games, 16 of which have come from three-point range.
Rostered in 30-49% of Leagues
The letdown game on Wednesday wasn’t a surprise – but don’t let that fool you. This kid can shoot and score, even if it’s inefficient. The UConn product dropped 31 points on 10-of-19 shooting (7-of-14 from three) Monday against Denver in the first game without CJ McCollum. The 14-point follow-up was fine but paled compared to his breakout game. The Pelicans are dealing with significant injuries right now, which should extend the run for Jordan Hawkins. He’s a must-grab if you can withstand the bad FG%.
We have brutal news out of Utah, with Walker Kessler set to miss a few weeks with a UCL sprain. His lack of involvement early on makes a little more sense now. Kelly Olynyk becomes the preferred pickup in his absence. He was in foul trouble early in the first game sans Kessler, but he can give you some run if you’re in need of a big.
Rostered in 30-49% of Leagues
Don’t get it twisted; this is and always will be a Jaden Ivey stan account. But there’s no denying that what the rookie out of Houston is doing right now is impressive. He has two bookend 22-plus point outings against the Suns and Bucks, respectively, and he’s shooting 50 percent from behind the arc. The Pistons desperately need perimeter shooting to surround Cade Cunningham with. While I don’t expect Marcus Sasser to keep performing at these levels, his performance warrants a pickup.
Lonnie Walker IV (SG/SF – BKN)
He had the Lonnie Walker Game in the playoffs for the Lakers but then reverted back to his usual self. But for the Nets this season, he’s quietly been playing every game like it’s the Lonnie Walker Game. Walker is averaging 16.3 points while shooting 51.9% from the field and 43.2% from behind the arc in 22.6 minutes per game. You won’t get much defensively from him (1.3 STOCKs per game), but it looks like he’s carved out a role to the point where he will be useful for those in deeper leagues.
Rostered in 0-14% of Leagues
When the Lakers bumped the Grizzlies from the playoffs, I was excited – as a Memphis fan – to watch Ja Morant and co. run it back in 2023. Then Morant was suspended. Still, I was looking forward to watching Marcus Smart and a healthy Steven Adams hold down the fort while Morant served his 25 games. Then Adams had season-ending knee surgery two days before the season started. I now find myself trying to convince, well, myself, that there could be something there with a two-man game with Jacob Gilyard and Bismack Biyombo. This is the life of a fan of the 1-7 Memphis Grizzlies. Biyombo can help in deeper leagues, but we’ve seen this story before.
Hold up, wait a minute? Y’all thought I was finished? This should be the last time that Keyonte George appears in this bottom tier because Utah promoted him to the starting lineup on Wednesday. So long, Talen Horton-Tucker. Hello, George. He played 31 minutes in his first start – a loss to the Pacers – scoring seven points and dropping nine dimes. George just turned 20 yesterday, so there will still be some growing pains. Still, he’s the best point guard that Utah has. In a season where the Jazz have low expectations, why not develop George as much as possible? He’s right behind Hawkins for me in my preferred adds of the week.
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Michael Waterloo is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Michael, check out his archive and follow him @MichaelWaterloo.
