Fantasy Basketball Drop Candidates for Tuesday, December 9: Malik Monk, T.J. McConnell, Donovan Clingan and More

We just went over some fantasy basketball waiver wire adds, and now will turn around and go over some drop candidates.

Here's the story on adds and drops from Monday.

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. 

Explore the best in-season tool to manage lineup/start decisions including waiver pickups, projections, trade suggestions, trade value charts, rest of season rankings, power rankings, and tons more with Fantasy Assistant. Use our fantasy basketball trade analyzer and the Trade Value Chart to break down trade scenarios.

Should You Drop Malik Monk?

Monk has been let go in 4.2% of fantasy leagues so far today. His overall percentage is down to 55%.

He's come off the bench for the Kings in all 21 games this season, but his last game was ultra-concerning. Monk only played nine minutes, and provided no points, four rebounds and one assist.

He played 17 minutes in the game before that. Monk is averaging 23.5 minutes a game on the season, so those minute marks in the past two games are very concerning. Monk is averaging 12.6 points, 2.3 assists, 2 rebounds, 0.9 steals and 0.5 blocks on the season, while shooting 43.8% overall and 39.6% from 3-point land.

Monk's numbers are down from past seasons, but it should come as no surprise, as he's coming off the bench and not playing nearly as many minutes. Sacramento is a mess right now, and with Domantas Sabonis out with an injury, things could get even worse before they get better.

Monk is not worth owning in any standard leagues at this point. I'm not writing him off for the season, but there's absolutely no way a healthy standard leaguer should have 26 minutes played over the past two games. 

Monk will become droppable in deeper leagues in a hurry if things don't improve. Be ready to move off him if his minutes don't go back up. 

Should You Drop T.J. McConnell?

McConnell is rostered in 48% of fantasy leagues after a 1.7% dropoff.

He seems to have settled into a role, and it's not a good one for his fantasy outlook. McConnell has played between 13-16 minutes off the bench over the past three games. He had 14 points in the first game of that stretch, but has 10 points, four rebounds, seven assists and a steal in the two games since combined.

Coming off the bench and playing that few minutes is not a good recipe for fantasy success. If he sticks in that role, he's going to be dropped in a lot more leagues.

He's already not worth a roster spot in standard leagues, and a game or two more of his recent marks will see him get dropped in a bunch of the deeper leagues he's currently rostered in.

McConnell is capable of more, especially with the mess that the Pacers' roster is this season. I'm not going to write him off for the season, but until his situation and production improves, he's not worth the fantasy headache. Look elsewhere for fantasy help.

Should You Drop Matas Buzelis?

Buzelis is rostered in 89% of leagues and is down 2.6% today.

He continues to start for the Bulls, but he only played 25 minutes in the team's last game. Buzelis had 16 points, three rebounds and steals and one block and assist in that game, so his production was still solid.

Buzelis is averaging 14 points, 5.7 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.4 blocks and 0.9 steals over 28.6 minutes a night in his 23 games (all starts) this season. He is shooting 46.4% overall and he's 33% from 3-point land.

Chicago has dealt with some injuries this season, and still are, so at full health, Buzelis' role could be different. Instead of immediately dropping him after one concerning game, I'd suggest that fantasy owners give him another game or two.

If his minutes stay around that 25 mark, then he can be let go in some standard leagues. If he jumps back above 30 minutes, which he'd been at in the four previous games, then his fantasy outlook is back up.

The Bulls got rocked in their last game, which contributed to Buzelis playing less. I think fantasy owners reacted too much to one game here and that Buzelis needs to be scooped up in the leagues he's dropped in.

Should You Drop Devin Vassell?

Vassell has been dropped in 1.6% of fantasy leagues, which brings his overall mark down to 95%.

Vassell had a concerning showing in his last outing, but he still started and played 27 minutes, so those are still good things. He only had five points, three assists and three rebounds though.

He is averaging 15.7 points, 3.7 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1 steal and 0.4 blocks over 32.4 minutes a night for the season. Vassell has started all 23 games and is shooting 43.7% overall and 39.8% from deep.

Again, I think this is a case of fantasy owners overreacting to one game. He has scored in double figures in all but three contests this season. Vassell doesn't stuff the stat sheet most nights, but he does enough to be a pretty solid fantasy asset all-around.

This is another case where I'd scoop Vassell up if he became available in my league. His role and usage could change with the return of Victor Wembanyama, but Vassell was a good fantasy asset with Wemby around early in the season, so I'm not that worried about him.

Should You Drop Donovan Clingan?

Clingan is owned in 91% of leagues after being let go in 1.6% of leagues. He is dealing with a leg injury and has missed the past two contests.

Over 21 games (all starts), the second-year big man is averaging 10 points, 10.2 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 1.4 blocks and 0.6 steals over 25.2 minutes a night. He's shooting 48.2% overall and is a 24.1% 3-point shooter.

The nightly double-double threat has six of those on the season, which makes him a good fantasy asset, especially at a position where top-end talent isn't the best. I wish he could provide some other stats outside points and rebounds, but on those two stats alone, he's a decent fantasy asset.

He's mostly being dropped because of the injury though, so this is mostly just a matter of him getting healthy again. When he's back on the court, Clingan will be added back in almost every standard league.

The reason he is being dropped is because he's not a must-hold fantasy asset.

I get having to drop him if you need that roster spot to be producing, but in a week with so few games, I'd just stash Clingan on my bench. He'll be a nice fantasy asset the rest of the season, so do your best to hold on to him.

Other Drop Candidates

There's several other fantasy basketball players being let go today.

Golden State's Jonathan Kuminga is down 3.3%, while New York's Miles McBride is down 3.1%.

New Orleans' Bryce McGowens, Memphis' Cam Spencer, Golden State's Buddy Hield and Moses Moody, Dallas' Ryan Nembhard, Utah's Jusuf Nurkic, Indiana's Jay Huff, Philadelphia's Dominick Barlow, Washington's Marvin Bagley III, Sacramento's Precious Achiuwa and Utah's Isaiah Collier are all being let go in 2% of leagues or more.