The Playlist: Week 16 fantasy basketball waiver wire pickups and NBA Trade Deadline advice

Welcome back to The Playlist: my weekly column that lets you know who to add off the waiver wire and get in your lineup for the upcoming week in fantasy basketball.

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Every league is different — sometimes a 75% rostered player hits waivers, whether by mistake or because they’ve hit an intolerable slump. If they fit your build, go get ’em. But for this column, we’re focusing on players under 50% rostered who are widely available and ready to help in Week 16 or beyond.

Fantasy basketball pickups and advice.

One note for daily leagues: The NBA trade deadline ends on Thursday at 3 p.m. ET and deals are already happening. Save your transactions so you can react immediately when news breaks. Don’t waste pickups earlier in the week that could be overcome by events leading up to Thursday.

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Add: Kelly Oubre Jr. – FC, Philadelphia 76ers (29% rostered)

News of Paul George’s 25-game suspension elevates Oubre’s status to must-roster in fantasy. In his first game since the announcement, Oubre dropped a 19-10-4 line, scoring 39 fantasy points.

The Sixers are one of nine teams playing four games this week. Though Oubre has an appealing, tradeable $8 million contract, I doubt the Sixers move him now that George will be out until March. Meaning, I’d buy his stock as a starter playing 30 minutes a night.

Stash: Jalen Smith – FC, Chicago Bulls (25% rostered)

You’re probably tired of my Jalen Smith stash campaign, but we have four days left for the Bulls to make a move! Smith missed the past two games with a calf injury, and yet I’m banking on the Bulls (I know, it’s a tall order) to find a taker for Nikola Vučević and his expiring contract. The compensation might be lower than they want, but damnit, they’ll get something. That would leave a void in the frontcourt, where Smith has already been operating well alongside Vuč.

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Before exiting Thursday’s game early, Smith was well on his way to another double-double. Hold him through Thursday because it could be a game-changer for…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/fantasy/article/the-playlist-week-16-fantasy-basketball-waiver-wire-pickups-and-nba-trade-deadline-advice-153720220.html

Author : Dan Titus

Publish date : 2026-02-02 15:37:00

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