Week 11 Fantasy Basketball Droppables: Should You Drop Cam Thomas, Patrick Williams and Nick Richards?

After breaking down some potential fantasy basketball waiver wire players, it’s time to dive into some players that are drop candidates in the 11th week of the season.

This week, we will discuss Brooklyn Nets’ Cam Thomas, Chicago Bulls’ Patrick Williams and Charlotte Hornets’ Nick Richards.

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Cam Thomas Fantasy Outlook

Thomas has played in 25 games this season, starting 20 and averaging 29.5 minutes per game. He’s been under 30 minutes in six straight games, and didn’t top 25 minutes in four of those contests.

For the season, Thomas is averaging 21.5 points, 2.6 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 0.6 steals and 0.4 blocks. Over the past six games, Thomas has averages of 21.7 minutes, 15 points, 1 rebound, 1.8 assists and 0.5 steals.

Thomas is definitely a prolific scorer when on the court, but he simply doesn’t help out in many other areas consistently, so he’s losing playing time. 

He’s scored in double figures in all but three games this season. He’s topped 20 points 15 times, including six games over 30 points and two over 40 points. He’s only reached five rebounds in five games and five assists twice. He’s got a steal in 13 games and a block in nine.

Thomas sits 166th on the FantasySP trade value charts right now.

Verdict: It’s tough to drop a great scorer like Thomas, but if he isn’t playing even half of the game, he’s not going to provide much as a fantasy player. I’d be fine moving on from Thomas at this point, but I'd keep a close eye on him and add him again if he starts consistently playing around 30 minutes a game. 

Patrick Williams Fantasy Outlook

Williams has been dealing with an ankle injury for some time, and just reaggravated it again on Tuesday.

He’s played in 35 games this season, making 25 starts. He’s averaging 27.5 minutes, 10.2 points, 4 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 0.9 steals and 0.8 blocks, while committing 1.8 fouls and 1.1 fouls. Williams’ numbers are eerily similar to the ones he produced a season ago.

As his numbers would indicate, Williams has reached double figures as a scorer in 18 games, including four games over 20 points. He’s had at least five rebounds in just 11 contests, while not reaching five assists in a game yet. He’s got a steal in 23 games and a block in 20 contests.

Williams is 148th on the trade value charts.

Verdict: Williams plays plenty of minutes, but doesn’t really stuff the stat sheet. He has scored in double figures in seven of the past nine games, so I’d hold off on dropping him unless there’s a more well-rounded and consistent player sitting as a free agent in your league. Williams’ numbers will probably dip with the return of Zach Lavine, and that’s when I’d drop Williams.

Nick Richards Fantasy Outlook

Richards has started half of the 26 games he’s appeared in this season. He’s averaging 23.3 minutes, 8.9 points, 7.2 rebounds, 1.3 blocks, 0.7 assists and 0.5 steals, while committing 2.6 fouls and 1 turnover.

He averages about five field goal attempts per game, but is shooting 70.3%. Adding in his pretty consistent rebounding and some blocks and Richards is a decent fantasy asset.

Richards has topped 10 points in half of his games, and gone for 10 or more rebounds in nine games. He’s got nine double-doubles this season. Richards has not gone over four assists yet. He’s had a steal in 11 games and blocks in 17 contests, including four games with three or four blocks.

Richards has started all but two games since the start of December. Over that stretch, he’s averaging 27.6 minutes, 9.3 points, 8.1 rebounds, 1.3 blocks, 1 assists and 0.5 steals. 

Richards is 140th on the trade value charts.

Verdict: Richards isn’t the scorer the other two players in this discussion are, but he fills out the stat sheet in other ways. As long as he’s starting, or playing around half the game, he’s going to be a double-double threat. I’d try to hang on to him for now, again unless there’s a clearly better option out there. His numbers could fall a bit when LaMelo Ball returns, and then it might make some more sense to move on from Richards.