Fantasy Basketball Drop Candidates: Getting harder to depend on Nets’ rotation

With Wendell Carter Jr. missing time with a knee injury, it might be best to cut him loose from your fantasy basketball team to make way for a healthy player to contribute immediately. (Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images)

By Nick Whalen, RotoWireSpecial to Yahoo SportsAs we move into the middle portion of the NBA season, some fantasy managers can grow complacent with their rosters. But if you’re reading this right now, you’re not one of those managers. And believe me, that’s a good thing.

With key injuries to big-name players like Tyrese Haliburton, Ja Morant and Cade Cunningham changing the fantasy landscape this week, the waiver wire should be plenty busy. Whether you’re scrambling to replace one of those stars, streaming a spot or two, or looking to make room on your roster for a longer-term add, it can be difficult to decide which players to drop in order to clear a roster spot. Luckily, we’re here to help. Below are a handful of players you can comfortably cut bait with as we inch closer to the trade deadline and All-Star break.

Wendell Carter Jr., Orlando Magic (47% rostered)I’ll admit, I held out some hope for Carter when he returned from his initial injury, but he’s now dealing with a knee injury that’s kept him out of the Magic’s last three games (and counting). Even when active, Carter simply hasn’t delivered on his fantasy potential. Sure, we’re dealing with a small sample, but in Carter’s 10 starts this season, he’s posting just 7.3 points, 6.9 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 0.9 combined blocks and steals in 25.0 minutes.

Meanwhile, the Magic have two other viable options in Goga Bitadze and Moritz Wagner — both of whom have been more effective than Carter thus far. Recent history suggests that Carter will get his opportunities when he returns to full strength, so if you want to us an IL spot on him go ahead, but playing the waiting game with a low-upside player who has a history of injuries simply isn’t worth it right now.

Bruce Brown, Indiana Pacers (57% rostered)Brown is a difficult case because he could pick up some more playmaking duties with Haliburton sidelined, but that’s far from a guarantee. On balance, Brown has been fine this season, but he ranks 145th in points leagues and is outside the top 135 in nine-cat leagues, due in part to the fact that he’s struggled from three-point range (30.9% 3PT). The defensive production has also been spotty of late, as Brown has just two steals and two blocks over his last 173 minutes.

Fantasy managers can dream of the potential he flashed back in November and December — 13.8 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 2.5 APG, 1.5 SPG over an 11-game run — but I’m ultimately fine with dropping Brown in order to grab a hotter player off the waiver wire like Bitadze, Dennis Smith Jr. or T.J. McConnell.

Obi Toppin, Indiana Pacers (43% rostered)Like Brown, there’s a case to be made that Toppin helps pick up the slack in the absence of Haliburton, whose 26.3% usage rate will be on the shelf for at least the next two weeks. However, Toppin has never shown much in terms of playmaking, and he’s heavily dependent on teammates to set him up for scoring opportunities. For the season, 82.1% of Toppin’s field goals have been assisted, including 100% of his three-pointers (1.4 makes per game).

McConnell is a reasonable fill-in at point guard, but he’s obviously not close to the same caliber of player as Haliburton, so it’s possible Toppin’s production could actually suffer for the next few weeks. In deeper formats, I have no problem holding onto Brown or Toppin — due in large part to the fact that the Pacers lead the NBA in points per game and rank second in pace — but both players are droppable in 10- or 12-teamers.

Alex Caruso, Chicago Bulls (38% rostered)In terms of per-game value, Caruso is quietly a top-100 player on the season. The problem is he struggles to stay healthy and is not in a fantasy-friendly situation, especially with Zach LaVine making his return from a lengthy injury absence. Caruso’s steals production is plenty valuable, and he rebounds well for his size, but he’ll likely shift back to a bench role soon, which will limit his upside — at least until the trade deadline.

Across the 12 games this season in which Caruso has come off the bench, he’s averaging 8.7 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.3 three-pointers in 23.8 minutes per game. Again, the steals are nice, but the rest of the stat profile is that of a borderline-roster player who you’re probably only starting on a four-game week. Speaking of which, the Bulls don’t have another four-game week until after the All-Star break.

Spencer Dinwiddie, Brooklyn Nets (76% rostered)To be clear, I’m not ready to cut bait on Dinwiddie in deeper leagues, or in points leagues quite yet, but if you’re in a 10-team category league or even some 12-teamers, the veteran is a defensible drop in the right situation. While he’s been a staple in the starting five all season, Dinwiddie’s minutes have begun to drop off of late. He’s played fewer than 30 minutes in four of the last six games, posting just 11.5 points, 5.0 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 1.7 threes with a ghastly 35/29/83 shooting line in that span.

It could simply be a cold streak, but Dinwiddie is shooting only 39/32/77 on the season, so it’s not an overly notable drop-off. As you’re likely aware, the Nets play only once this week — they take on the Cavs in Paris on Thursday — so if you’re still holding him, he should be an obvious sit. Brooklyn has a four-game week coming up, but after that, the Nets have back-to-back three-game weeks.

Cam Thomas, Brooklyn Nets (63% rostered)While Dinwiddie may be a situational cut, Thomas is a player just about every fantasy manager is probably thinking about dropping right now. Since shifting back to the bench on Dec. 29 in Washington, Thomas has been on a major slide, averaging just 11.2 points on 31.1% shooting to go with his usual meager contributions in other areas. He’s still been a staple in the rotation, though Thomas has played fewer than 20 minutes in two of Brooklyn’s last three games.

Meanwhile, the Nets have seemingly pivoted toward Dennis Smith Jr., who saw 29 minutes of action against Portland on Sunday and has now topped 20 minutes in six of the last seven games. Brooklyn’s rotation is liable to change on a dime, but it certainly appears as though Thomas has fallen out of favor for the time being. If the 2021 first-round pick isn’t giving you high-volume scoring, he offers virtually nothing else, fantasy-wise.