NBA Waiver Wire: Ten Days

We've reached the ever-popular 10-day contract portion of the season. What's a 10-day contract and why should we care? Glad you asked.

First off, the "what" is fairly self-explanatory. A 10-day contract is a free-agent deal that lasts for 10 days (or three games). Teams can't sign players to 10-day deals until after Jan. 5 and can't sign any player to more than two 10-day deals in one season. After that, they have to sign him for the remainder of the season (or beyond) or cut him loose.

Some teams use these deals to fill crucial roster spots or deal with injuries. Others use them as a way to take an extended look at an unheralded journeyman or up-and-coming D-leaguer. And some of those players become valuable assets in fantasy leagues. Last season, Miami's Hassan Whiteside and New York's Langston Galloway made the leap from obscurity to become significant fantasy contributors by season's end.

The first notable 10-day signee of this season is Denver's Sean Kilpatrick. A 26-year-old shooting guard who played his college ball for the Cincinnati Bearcats, Kilpatrick has been one of the top performers in the D-League this season, averaging more than 27 points, four boards, three threes and a steal per game for the Delaware 87ers. It's not a given that he'll crack Denver's rotation, even with Jameer Nelson recovering from a hip injury, but he's certainly worth watching.

The next wave of callups could include combo guard Erick Green of the Reno Bighorns, forward Ronald Roberts of the Raptors 905, shooter Jimmer Fredette of the Westchester Knicks and defensive specialist Toure Murry of the Texas Legends. (I've seen Jimmer in person a couple times now -- I have no idea if he'll ever be a contributor at the NBA level, but against D-League competition he looks like a poor man's Steph Curry most of the time.)

When looking for potential value in a player on a 10-day deal, look first to the NBA's worst teams. The 2014-15 Knicks were a great example, using short-term contracts very liberally. In addition to Galloway, the Knicks signed veteran forwards Lance Thomas and Lou Amundson to 10-day deals, and by the end of the season all three were logging significant minutes. (Technically, both were acquired in the Iman Shumpert/J.R. Smith trade, waived, and then signed.) The Nets could be candidates to do something similar this season, especially if they start to buy out veterans like Joe Johnson, as has recently been rumored. The Pelicans could be in a similar position if they move Ryan Anderson as expected.

Picks for the Week

(All the usual caveats apply. Percent owned stats are from Yahoo.)

Kyrie Irving (99 percent) - The first fantasy league I ever played had three teams in it. (This was long enough ago that we were pulling our stats out of a newspaper every day and them up using pencils and paper and actual math.) That's about the only sort of league where you might get Uncle Drew on a waiver claim. That said, he's been ice cold from the field (less than 33 percent from the floor in his first three games of the season), so that's where you start when attempting to sucker his owner in a trade.

Khris Middleton (90 percent) - Starting to play to the level Milwaukee expected when they signed him to that fat contract extension last summer. And if he keeps playing the way he has in his last five games, he'll go a long way toward solving the Bucks' spacing problems on offense.

Robert Covington (68 percent) - Has played 30-plus minutes in each of Philly's last two games, partly because Jerami Grant (calf) has been hurt and partly because he's one of a few Sixers who can hit threes (11 made threes in his last four games on 47.8 percent shooting from outside the arc).

Joakim Noah (66 percent) - I was going to lead this column with Noah's dwindling minutes and unhappiness at being asked to come off the bench. Then Pau Gasol's shoulder and Achilles' injuries forced Noah back into the spotlight, and the veteran center responded with a very strong stretch. Noah averaged nearly 11 boards in his last three games, and may be back ahead of Taj Gibson and Bobby Portis in the Bulls' rotation at the four and five.

Mario Chalmers (31 percent) - Playing well with Mike Conley sidelined by a sore Achilles'. Might be logical as a speculative add; the Grizzlies have been scuffling for much of this season, seem ripe for a roster revamp, and Conley will be a free agent in June -- maybe a trade hands Chalmers the job before the season is out?

Aaron Brooks (7 percent) - "Persistent tendinitis" is not a word pairing you want to hear associated with someone who's had as much knee trouble as Derrick Rose. Of his two potential replacements, I'd much rather invest in Brooks as opposed to Kirk Hinrich. (At least Brooks is good on occasion.)

Trey Lyles (3 percent) - The rookie has been playing well in Derrick Favors' absence, is coming off back-to-back double-digit scoring performances.

Kelly Oubre (1 percent) - Purely speculative recommendation based on Oubre's potential, combined with the fact that neither Bradley Beal nor Otto Porter are particularly good at staying healthy. Beal in particular is expected to be on a minutes restriction for the remainder of this season -- and possibly for the rest of his career.