The fantasy basketball waiver wire becomes even more important after the All-Star break, as NBA injuries, rest schedules and expanding roles create new breakout opportunities. Smart managers who stay aggressive on the waiver wire can gain a crucial edge during the fantasy basketball playoff push. This week's top waiver wire pickups feature emerging starters, high-upside rookies and short-term injury replacements seeing increased minutes and usage. If you're looking for the best fantasy basketball adds, streaming targets or deep-league sleepers, these six players are positioned to provide category boosts and strong fantasy production for the remainder of the season.
Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire Pickups
Maxime Raynaud, Kings 
28% rostered
Word came down yesterday that Domantas Sabonis will miss the remainder of the season due to meniscus surgery, shortly followed by news that Dylan Cardwell is out for a month. That cements Raynaud as the Kings' go-to center for at least the next month – and potentially the rest of the season.
When playing at least 24 minutes, the rookie is averaging 13.4 points, 8.6 rebounds and 1.1 assists, shooting 59.1 percent from the field. He doesn't do much in the steals or blocks categories, but everything comes together to average a solid 28.0 fantasy points in the aforementioned minutes load. In deep leagues, the center needs to be added. In standard leagues, he's really only a must-roster player for managers who need field-goal percentage and rebounds. But he makes for a solid depth piece for almost all league types and
The fantasy basketball waiver wire becomes even more important after the All-Star break, as NBA injuries, rest schedules and expanding roles create new breakout opportunities. Smart managers who stay aggressive on the waiver wire can gain a crucial edge during the fantasy basketball playoff push. This week's top waiver wire pickups feature emerging starters, high-upside rookies and short-term injury replacements seeing increased minutes and usage. If you're looking for the best fantasy basketball adds, streaming targets or deep-league sleepers, these six players are positioned to provide category boosts and strong fantasy production for the remainder of the season.
Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire Pickups
Maxime Raynaud, Kings
28% rostered
Word came down yesterday that Domantas Sabonis will miss the remainder of the season due to meniscus surgery, shortly followed by news that Dylan Cardwell is out for a month. That cements Raynaud as the Kings' go-to center for at least the next month – and potentially the rest of the season.
When playing at least 24 minutes, the rookie is averaging 13.4 points, 8.6 rebounds and 1.1 assists, shooting 59.1 percent from the field. He doesn't do much in the steals or blocks categories, but everything comes together to average a solid 28.0 fantasy points in the aforementioned minutes load. In deep leagues, the center needs to be added. In standard leagues, he's really only a must-roster player for managers who need field-goal percentage and rebounds. But he makes for a solid depth piece for almost all league types and sizes.
Also, check to see if Nique Clifford (18% rostered) or Keegan Murray (38% rostered) are available in your league. Murray has the most upside of this group, but he's already rostered in most competitive standard leagues, so I didn't want to make him a feature.
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Jarace Walker, Pacers 
22% rostered
Walker has been on a steady climb up the fantasy rankings since Christmas, but his real breakout has occurred over the past nine games. During this run, he's averaged 16.9 points and 1.8 threes on 50/39/77 shooting, 5.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.3 steals (29.7 fantasy points). He started six of those contests.
Walker struggled with consistency from late November through late December, but this turnaround makes him one of the most appealing long-term options in fantasy basketball. The Pacers don't seem to be interested in winning games and could rest veterans down the stretch, which would give Walker an even bigger role. You won't find many players on the waiver wire right now who are expected to play 30 minutes per game down the stretch with good usage.
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Day'Ron Sharpe, Nets 
19% rostered
Sharpe is expected to start Thursday's game against the Cavaliers due to Nic Claxton sitting out with an ankle injury. There's no indication the injury is long term, but it could be worth adding Sharpe in standard leagues just in case. He's an elite per-minute producer, and any bump in minutes makes him arguably a must-add player in standard leagues.
Sharpe is a great add for fantasy managers in deep leagues, or standard leagues for those who need rebounds. On the season as a whole, he averages 1.2 fantasy points per minute and 6.7 rebounds in his 18.5 minutes, not to mention 1.1 steals. Over his past 25 appearances, he's averaging 10.1 points, 8.1 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.4 steals (27.1 fantasy points) in 21.0 minutes while shooting 62.0 percent from the field. At the very least, keep him on your streaming radar.
Stay up to date on who is in and who is out with RotoWire's NBA Injury Report!
Nolan Traore, Nets
17% rostered
Traore was one of the hottest adds in fantasy basketball before the All-Star break. Over the last four games, he's averaged 17.3 points and 1.8 threes on 59/47/71 shooting, 8.0 assists and 2.8 rebounds (32.3 fantasy points) in 31.5 minutes. The rookie has taken over the starting point guard job following the release of Cam Thomas, with Egor Demin moving to shooting guard.
While Traore won't continue this scorching hot shooting, the role increase alone is enough to give him a speculative add. When he plays more than his season average of 21.0 MPG, the point guard averages 11.3 points, 4.8 assists and 2.1 rebounds (22.6 fantasy points). I think that's probably on the lower end of what's possible for him during the remainder of the season, especially if we see rest days for Michael Porter Jr. down the stretch.
Tristan Vukcevic, Wizards 
5% rostered
Starting center Alex Sarr is expected to be out for at least another week with a hamstring injury. Given the nature of hamstring recovery, two-plus weeks is possible. So, at the very least, Vukcevic makes for an appealing short-term add in most fantasy basketball leagues.
In appearances where Vukcevic has played at least 20 minutes this season, he's averaged 14.4 points and 1.3 threes on 45/30/73 shooting, 4.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.1 blocks (26.7 fantasy points). That's more than enough to make him addable in standard formats for a week-plus. I have some doubts about his true long-term viability, but managers in deep leagues may at least want to hang onto him after Sarr returns just to see how things shake out.
