Gentleman and Gentleman!! (Who knows, maybe we do have a couple ladies out there!) It’s a glorious day to find some waiver bargains! We had our first full slate of the year last night, and the season is full of promise. The beautiful thing is, all of the awesome pickups that win championships are still out there for us to find. My mission this season, is to help you to be the first one to get them. Unless you happen to be in a league with me…. Then the goal is for you to be the second one to know about them!
Thanks to “A Hill O’ Beans” for the title this week! I’ll be using a few more suggestions in the coming weeks, so yours still might make it! For this series, I’m going to primarily stick with guys that are under 50% owned on Yahoo. If you have questions about much deeper or shallower leagues, feel free to ask them in the comments section. Basically the range is going to be from the competitive 10 teamer, to about 14 team. 12 team is going to be the primary focus though.
Also, there’s going to be a section at the end of each weekly article to feature a couple trades that are in the comments. I’ll be happy to give an opinion on any trades you post, and I’ll do so right away, but this is more for the amusement of everyone else! So possibly one or two solid trades, and I might throw in a rip-off, just so everyone can hate your guts and accuse you of being in a weak league. We’ll see! But yeah, post those below and we’ll have fun with em!
Ok! It’s time to dive in to the first inaugural edition of the RazzWired series! (Thanks to Newman for that name suggestion!)
First of all, Aaron Gordon is only 58% owned. This is a travesty. If he isn’t owned in every single RCL, then those people have some major explaining to do! Regardless, if he’s on your wire, please grab him… I’m begging you!! (Unless you play in a 4 team league, that is.)
Trey Ballers:
- Gerald Green -SG/SF- He shoots a lot of threes, and he’s going to be the primary option in the Miami second unit. It would not surprise me at all if he ends up if he ends up winning sixth man of the year honors. On top of his scoring, he also throws in a steal game.
- Nick Young -SG/SF- After last year’s fiasco, he definitely has fallen off the radar a lot, but with Kobe back, and better teammates around him, he should be able to be slightly more efficient. Plus, the Lakers are crazy thin at SF, so he should get the minutes to drop in a couple treys.
- Nick Stauskas -SG- A lot higher risk and reward than the two above. Stauskas is healthy to start the year and should have a clear path to plenty of minutes. What he does with those minutes is up to him. Definitely worth a flier, in the hopes that he can become a Korver-esque type player, on a Sixers team that is shooting handicapped.
- Marco Belinelli -SG/SF- The former 3 point contest winner moved from being a role player on a stacked Spurs squad, to having a mystery role on a Sac-town team with no identity whatsoever. Early preseason play indicated that he should have a solid role on the team, and close to 2 treys a game, with some big occasional outbursts, is about what I’m expecting.
- CJ Miles -SG/SF- An infamous Thragnof play of yesteryear. He’s not going to be consistent, but if you can catch him on a good night, you’ll be extremely pleased with the results. PG-13 being back shouldn’t affect his role too much, but just make sure to stream with caution. I will say that he won me a few DFS nights last year, and I’ll try to keep you informed if I see a great matchup coming his way.
- Mario Henzonja -SG- Even in limited minutes, he should contribute solid 3 point numbers. He clearly has the green light from range.
Glass Cleaners:
- Tristan Thompson -PF/C – As a Cavs fan, I don’t like him, but there’s no denying that he has an amazing nose for the ball. Even in the crowded Cavalier front-court, he should be able to make a solid positive impact on your board totals. Plus, he doesn’t really hurt you anywhere else.
- Steven Adams -C- another not so sexy pick, but he gets boards, plus he also has a positive influence in the blocking category as well. Hate his FT%, but he doesn’t really shoot enough of them for it to matter.
- Zaza Pachulia -C- I really hate myself for these picks, but boards in quantity just aren’t easy to come by off the wire. Barring an injury of course. Zaza should be effective, just because there’s nobody else.
Thieves and other Hoodlums:
- Patrick Beverly -PG/SG- Not sure why he isn’t owned more. Does anyone want to make a bet that Lawson will stay healthy this year? Didn’t think so. Either way, Beverly should have a role big enough to impact 3s and steals.
- Rodney Hood -SG/SF- Starting for the Jazz. He contributes in 3s, steals, and boards. Grab him. Nuff said.
Steals are a rough thing to project right now. I suppose Brewer and Stephenson are guys to keep and eye on, depending how the rotations pan out. Josh Smith could also end up having a big enough role to help with blocks and steals if you’re the kind of person that doesn’t mind having him on your team… We’ll see more help here once we have more games to go on.
The Rejectors:
- Kristaps Porzingis -PF/C- and Myles Turner -C- Blocks, 3s, and boards from a big man. Make sure they aren’t on your wire.
- Kosta Koufos -C- and Willie Cauley-Stein -C- Not sure how this rotation will pan out, but both of them should get enough minutes to contribute in blocks and boards. I’d probably give Kosta a slight edge right now, while Willie has more future upside.
- Brandan Wright -PF/C- Not an immediate grab by any means, but he should get consistent minutes in Memphis this year. An injury would give him great upside.
- John Henson -PF/C- If he could just get a few more minutes, he’d be a must-own type of guy. At the moment, he’s a fringe blocks-only option, but there is upside here.
Distributors:
- Dennis Schroder -PG- A very buzzy pickup after Tuesday night’s outburst. His output is going to vary a lot, but he should be a lock for 4-5 assists, with random contributions in steals and 3s. It’s not tough to imagine Atlanta playing Teague and Schroder together a lot, given the tumultuous situation at SG.
- Evan Turner -SG/SF- Evan is a very strange wing player. He did average 5.5 assists per game last year though, and that is fairly valuable. I’m not a big fan of his percentages, but if you found yourself lacking assists after the big PG rushes, then he may be a great option for you. Assists in bulk are just tough to find on the wire.
Hope you all enjoyed this edition of RazzWired! Please comment some of the trades you’ve made so far, and I’ll feature a couple of them right here, each week! Feel free to let me know which guys you think should’ve made the list, and who knows, maybe they will next week. I’d also love to hear any comments or criticisms you have about this format. There’s still a lot of speculation here, with only a game under our belt, so next week should start getting more definitive.
