Waiver wire pickups: Two Warriors to add now

Working the waiver wire is pivotal to succeeding in fantasy basketball. With so many games, injuries and endless shifts in rotations throughout the marathon campaign, we'll need to source stats from free agency to maximize imaginary rosters.

A willingness to entertain competition for the last few spots on your fantasy hoops roster can prove rewarding. When curating this fluid collective of statistical contributors, it helps to consider your end-of-bench players in direct competition with the talent floating in free agency.

The goal of this weekly series is to identify players at each position widely available in free agency in ESPN leagues. Some nominations are specialists capable of helping in one or two categories, while others deliver more diverse and important statistical offerings. In the breakdowns below, I've ordered players at each position with the priority of acquisition in mind, rather than roster percentage in ESPN men's basketball leagues.

Point Guard

Scotty Pippen Jr., SG, Memphis Grizzlies (rostered in 25.4% of ESPN leagues): The Grizzlies have realized their backcourt is best balanced with a natural creator next to Ja Morant. This is at least the deduction made when you see how important Pippen is to setting up the team in halfcourt sets. With strong assist numbers and an awesome steal rate in recent weeks, Pippen is making dad proud while ranked No. 11 among point guards on the Player Rater the past two weeks.

Miles McBride, New York Knicks (12.4%): Minutes are what it's all about in fantasy hoops. Few coaches trust their top names as much as Tom Thibodeau, which makes McBride's shift to the starting lineup in place of an injured Jalen Brunson notable. McBride is a great source of 3-pointers and passing production as long as he's in this role.

Brandon Williams, Dallas Mavericks (13.9%): The Mavericks' rotation is depleted to levels we've rarely seen in the NBA. With the pressure on the team to dress at least eight each night, Williams has been thrust into an important role in the rotation. If he's rostered or you merely prefer more assists, Chicago's Tre Jones (15.9%) has been helpful in the wake of injuries to the Bulls' backcourt.

Shooting guard

Quentin Grimes, Philadelphia 76ers (43.9%): This team has not had an encouraging season, to say the least, but on an individual basis, Grimes has become a major success as an off-ball scorer. Time and money will tell what happens to Grimes in the offseason, but all signs point to top-10 production at the position while with Philly down the stretch.

Kyshawn George, SF, Washington Wizards (20.5%): It's amazing what a good draft haul can do for a franchise's outlook. With three first-round picks in the 2024 draft, the Wizards spent one on George, who has emerged as this uniquely productive two-way force. With the ability to create for others on offense and good effort on the glass, George is building a fun fantasy profile and is on the radar as a riser over the next few weeks.

Moses Moody, SF, Golden State Warriors (7.3%): It took a while, but Moody has become a key part of the Warriors rotation. The former lottery pick is beginning to flash the versatile game that made him a lauded prospect. An injury to Brandin Podziemski has opened up more minutes for Moody. It will be interesting to see how this shakes out.

Small forward

Naji Marshall, PF, Dallas Mavericks (40.0 %): Every March, we find new names to fall in love with for fantasy purposes. Marshall is one of those players this year; he's been vaulted into a massive role for the Mavericks with real success. Even as the team gets a bit healthier, Marshall is going to eat.

Tari Eason, PF, Houston Rockets (34.7%): A glue guy who is becoming a more important offensive option, Eason reminds me of Jaden McDaniels from the past few seasons. This season, "J-Mac" has become a true two-way force, but in years prior was mostly a busy defender with some special steal and block results from the wing. That is Eason's current identity, but with growth already surfacing, the floor and ceiling are elevated.

Power forward

Toumani Camara, SF, Portland Trail Blazers (35.0%): A recent dip in offensive production has seen Camara lose popularity among fantasy managers. Don't believe the dip, as he's still playing big minutes and delivering solid defensive rates even as he finds his offense. After all, he's been warming up of late and is the type of forward who can help you even with just a handful of made field goals.

Jonathan Kuminga, Golden State Warriors (54.2%): It's fitting to find Moody and Kuminga surface at the same time. The draft peers are becoming bigger contributors to the rotation, although Kuminga's ascent is more about getting comfortable after a long layoff. Kuminga also offers a more unique skill set on the roster; this energetic forward lives in the air. Don't be surprised if Kuminga takes off as the team turns into a contender in the final frame of the year.

Center

Alex Sarr, PF, Washington Wizards (24.1%): Friends, it's happening. You know, the part where a slept-on top prospect just suddenly leaps into prominence. Sarr has been volatile this season, no doubt, but has also sustained a nice block rate rare for a rookie. Fresh from his best game on offense, Sarr is looking more like a star than a secret.

Adem Bona, Philadelphia 76ers (1.9%): As mentioned with Grimes, this Philadelphia roster has been in search of positives all year. Bona qualifies, however speculatively, given some strong play as of late. There is reason to believe he plays a big role for this team in the next month.

Special Teams

This section focuses on specialists, players who flash in a singular category and can provide specific value to those in category and roto formats. Nominations are based on which category such players are helpful in and will rotate throughout the season.

3-pointers: Grimes has been a top-20 value in 3-point production for the past two weeks. We also find Marshall from the Mavericks enjoying newfound freedom to shoot.

Steals: Pippen is behind only Dyson Daniels in added value via steals the past 15 days, per the Player Rater. We also find Cason Wallace of the Thunder taking the ball away at an atypically high clip.

Blocks: His minutes remain capped, yet Portland's Donovan Clingan is an elite rim protector already. If he can settle into a bigger role next season, there's a lot to like. Washington's George is a rare wing who has an impressive block rate.

Rebounds: Clingan surfaces in rebounding volume, also. The major get on the glass is likely Orlando Robinson whenever he's starting for Toronto. The same is true for Kyle Filipowski whenever in a starting spot for the Jazz.

Assists: Chicago's Jones is No. 25 in assist value the past two weeks. Isaiah Collier is the real get if you need to chase dimes in a roto or category format.