October 23 Fantasy Basketball Drop Candidates: Quentin Grimes, Bobby Portis and More

We've done a couple fantasy basketball waiver wire stories (Wednesday and Thursday) already, but are now going to discuss some drop candidates.

More drops can be found daily on the FantasySP waiver trends most dropped tab, which can be found on any fantasy basketball page on the site.

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Should You Drop Quentin Grimes?

Grimes is down a whopping 10.7% today. He's rostered in 51% of leagues overall still.

He played 32 minutes in the team's season-opening win over the Celtics. The Philly guard had 10 points, five assists and rebounds, three fouls and five turnovers. He shot 3-of-8 overall, 2-of-5 from 3-point land and 2-of-4 from the free-throw line.

It was a rather pedestrian start to the season for Grimes, but his minutes and usage were still pretty solid. In time, his numbers should improve, but it's easy to overreact after the first game of the season.

VJ Edgecombe starred, and Philly was missing a couple key pieces which could affect Grimes, so I get dropping him. He was probably a better deep-league asset to start the season anyways, and he's back to that level of ownership today.

Don't write Grimes off completely, but I think should only be rostered in deeper leagues right now. That could change in time, so keep an eye on his game logs to see if he ever hits his stride.

Should You Drop Bobby Portis?

Portis is rostered in 71% of leagues after a 10.7% dropoff today. 

Portis only logged 17 minutes in the Bucks' win over the Wizards on Wednesday. He totaled two points, six rebounds and one assist. He was 1-of-6 from the floor and didn't attempt a 3-pointer or free throw.

It was a really poor showing and down usage for Portis in the opener. I don't see his numbers continuing at his marks from the first game. It makes sense to drop him in a bunch of leagues after that outing though.

Even if his minutes are similar to Wednesday's game, Portis' production will improve in time. He's been a double-double threat over the past few seasons, and I don't see that drastically changing. Basically, I'm saying Wednesday was an outlier for Portis.

If anything, I'd be looking to buy low on Portis. He has more value the deeper a league gets, but after that first game, you might be able to flip a deep bench guy for him. I see better days ahead for Portis, so take advantage of his first poor showing and scoop him up for free, or cheap in a trade.

Should You Drop Tyus Jones?

Jones has been let go in 9.7% of leagues, bringing his overall percentage down to 30.

Jones' first game with the Magic did not go well. He played 24 minutes, but didn't score, while also tallying three assists, two rebounds and a block. He was 0-for-4 on his field goals and 0-for-3 on his triple attempts. He turned the ball over twice and didn't commit a foul.

He played enough minutes to deliver some decent fantasy numbers, but they simply didn't happen. In deeper leagues, every spot matters, so it's fair to see fantasy owners bailing after just one game.

I do think Jones will offer more fantasy value in time, so I'd try to hold him for a bit longer. If his production doesn't improve, then I'd be more inclined to drop him. He can be a solid fantasy asset on his points and assists alone, so don't write him off for good.

He's another buy-low option in really deep leagues, but otherwise could be scooped up in hopes of brighter fantasy showings ahead. It's easy to overreact after one game, but with veterans like Portis and Jones, usually you can trust them to bounce back in time, so holding them through some struggles is the best chance at fantasy success in the long run.

Should You Drop Rui Hachimura?

Hachimura is owned in 46% of leagues after being dropped in 8.9% of leagues.

Hachimura had been added a bunch in the days leading up to the season as it was announced that LeBron James was going to miss several weeks. Now Hachimura is trending down after a so-so showing in the opener.

He tallied nine points, four rebounds, three assists, two fouls and a turnover over 35 minutes on Tuesday. Hachimura was 3-of-6 on his field goals, with each being a 3-point attempt. 

Hachimura has averaged between 11.2-13.6 points per game over the past three seasons with the Lakers, so that number might not change a lot, even with LeBron out. I don't see his other stats being altered all that much either, so this might have been a case of too many fantasy owners adding him the past several days.

Hachimura was always a better deep-league asset, but was a standard league threat with LeBron out. He needed to deliver good fantasy numbers for that to become a reality, and that didn't happen on Tuesday.

So Hachimura will remain rostered in a lot of deeper leagues, but standard league owners should stay away from him until he consistently delivers good fantasy totals. I'm guessing those won't ever come.

Should You Drop D'Angelo Russell?

Russell was rostered in 91% of leagues the other day, but is down to 87% today. 

Russell was expected to play a pretty big role for the Mavericks as they await the return of Kyrie Irving. Russell only tallied six points, three assists and two rebounds across 15 minutes in the team's blowout loss to San Antonio on Wednesday. Russell had two fouls and one turnover, while shooting 1-of-6 overall and 0-1 from deep - he was 4-of-6 from the free-throw line to tally most of his points.

It was a really poor showing, and his minutes were a big surprise to fantasy owners. I'm not sure if that was a result of the game flow, or if that's how the team is going to use him this season.

Either way, fantasy owners are on high alert now. He's not worth rostering in all standard leagues, and he could be dropped in most of them if he doesn't deliver in the team's next game. I'd keep rostering Russell in deeper leagues still.

I expect more from Russell going forward, so he's another buy-low candidate right now. It won't cost much to nab him in a standard league, and he'd be a very good deep-league pickup in my eyes.

Should You Drop Sam Hauser?

Hauser sits at 42% rostered right now, after being at 46% yesterday.

Hauser was one of the Celtics who was supposed to replace Jayson Tatum this season. The first game was not Hauser's best effort.

In 22 minutes, he had eight points, two rebounds and one assist, while having three fouls and turnovers. He was 2-of-6 from the field (all 3-point shots) and he made both of his free throws.

Hauser should have a pretty steady role this season, but he needs to deliver more for him to be a good deep-league fantasy asset. Until he does, you can expect that own percentage to keep falling.

I don't see him ever becoming a standard league asset, but it's not totally out of the question. We'll see if he can improve in the team's next games.

Should You Drop Keon Ellis?

Ellis was dropped in 6.5% of leagues and is now rostered in 32% of leagues overall.

Many were interested to see Ellis' role after the team added Russell Westbrook just a few days before the season kicked off. Ellis played 13 minutes off the bench, tallying nine points and one rebound and steal. He had a foul and no turnovers, while shooting 4-of-5 overall and 1-of-2 on his 3-point attempts.

Westbrook played 19 minutes, recording six points and rebounds and one assist and block. He had two turnovers and no fouls, while shooting 2-of-8 overall and 0-for-2 from deep - he was 2-of-3 on his free throws.

So Westbrook definitely stole some minutes and production from Ellis, which is a detriment to both player's fantasy outlooks really. Ellis was probably owned in too many leagues after Westbrook was added to the team's roster late, and over the course of the team's first few games, things will be corrected.

I like Westbrook for fantasy purposes right now, but I wouldn't write off Ellis for good either. I think he will have better fantasy days ahead, but he might be stuck as a deep-league asset unless there's an injury to a guard ahead of him.