Fantasy Basketball Adds and Drops for Wednesday, December 17: Kevin Huerter, Jaylen Wells, Anfernee Simons and More

It's time for our second fantasy basketball waiver wire and drop candidate story of the week!

Here was the story from Monday.

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Waiver Wire Adds

The biggest risers today so far are Chicago's Kevin Huerter, Memphis' Jaylen Wells and Cleveland's Dean Wade.

Huerter is rostered in 24.7% of leagues at the time of publication.

Huerter returned to the court on Sunday after a four-game absence. He provided 16 points, four steals and three rebounds over 24 minutes off the bench.

For the season, Huerter is averaging 12.2 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1 steal and 0.7 blocks over 24.1 minutes a night. He's played in 20 games, making eight starts. Huerter is shooting 47.4% overall and he's 31.6% from 3-point land.

There's some solid stats in his averages, but after missing several games, his own percentage is a bit down. You can take advantage of that and scoop him up for free today in a lot of leagues.

I like Huerter best in deeper leagues, and think that's where he'd top out this season, unless Chicago was dealing with a number of injuries. He's got pretty well-rounded numbers to utilize in those leagues.

If he gets in a good groove, there's a chance he becomes a standard league streaming option, but unless he starts playing more, I don't think he will stick in those leagues. Huerter is worth tracking, but he's probably best utilized as a deep-league asset this season.

Wells sits at 60.24% owned.

He has started all 26 games this season, but has picked things up of late. Over 26.8 minutes a game this year, Wells has averaged 12.6 points, 3.6 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 0.7 steals. He's shooting 44.6% overall and he's 36.4% from deep.

Since November 20, he's averaged 28.8 minutes over 11 games. Wells is also averaging 16.8 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2 assists, 0.8 steals and 0.1 blocks per contest. He's shooting 54.7% overall and is 49% from 3-point land.

You can see that improved shooting percentages has his points per game way up of late. In that 11-game stretch, he's scored in double figures in all but one contest.

Wells might not be the most well-rounded fantasy asset, but he chips in enough else to make himself a very solid deep-league option. If he's not owned in all those leagues, he at least needs to be streamed in deeper leagues.

I think he's a standard league streaming option right now, so feel free to add and utilize him if you have a roster spot to play with right now. 

There's a chance he sticks at this level of production the rest of the season, so I'd be willing to add and hold him in some standard leagues. Definitely look into possibly adding Wells.

Wade is rostered in 12.05% of leagues right now.

Wade made his fourth start of the season in the team's last game. He had 14 points, eight rebounds, two assists and a steal over 31 minutes in that contest.

For the season, he's played in 25 games. He is averaging 5.5 points, 4 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 0.8 steals and 0.5 blocks over 22.6 minutes. Wade is shooting just 38% overall and is 30.3% from deep.

With Evan Mobley out for a couple weeks, Wade has the chance to start, or at least take on a larger role, for the Cavs for a bit. That bumps his fantasy value up.

Wade showed what he's capable of last game, and those numbers are deep-league ones if he can keep them up. I'd be happy to add Wade in some deeper leagues today, just in case he keeps rolling.

His own percentage will keep rising if he keeps delivering, but he's going to only be a deep-league option in this expanded role he's taking on. 

Brooklyn's Noah Clowney, Chicago's Tre Jones, New Orleans' Dejounte Murray, Washington's Marvin Bagley III, Charlotte's Ryan Kalkbrenner, Cleveland's Jaylon Tyson and De'Andre Hunter and Phoenix's Grayson Allen are also on the rise today.

Check back to the FantasySP waiver wire page to see whose own percentages keep rising as the day moves along.

Drop Candidates

Golden State's Pat Spencer is the biggest drop candidate, just like he was on Monday. He's down to 13% owned now.

Indiana's T.J. McConnell is down to 31%, while Dallas' Max Christie is now owned in 25% of leagues. Sacramento's Maxime Raynaud's own percentage freefall continues, as he's down to 32% rostered overall now.

Boston's Anfernee Simons is rostered in 54% of leagues now, and he continues a downward trend of late.

Simons' first season in Boston has not gone according to plan. He has played in all 26 games, but has come off the bench for each contest.

He's averaging 13 points, 2.5 assists, 2.1 rebounds, 0.5 steals and 0.2 blocks over 23.7 minutes per contest. He is shooting 43% overall and 38% from 3-point land.

Simons has only been in double figures as a scorer once over the past four games, so he's trending down now too. He just isn't doing enough on a nightly basis to justify rostering him in standard leagues anymore.

I'd drop Simons in all standard leagues today. Keep an eye on him in case he ever turns his production back up, but for now, he's just a deep-league asset.

Simons doesn't even need to be rostered in all deeper leagues at this point either. Again, he's just not doing enough to justify that. The deeper a league gets, the more willing I'd be to hold on to him, but he's not a must-start fantasy player right now, so it's more of a stash-and-hope situation with him.

Toronto's Jakob Poeltl is owned in 84% of leagues - he too is trending down of late.

He has seen most of his numbers fall off this season. Playing over three minutes less per night definitely contributes to that, because his shooting percentage is actually up.

Poeltl is averaging 10.1 points, 8 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 0.8 steals and 0.6 blocks over 26.2 minutes a night. He's started all 20 games he's appeared in.

Between the points and rebounds, he's still a decent fantasy asset, but again, he's just not doing enough to roster in all standard leagues. That makes him a pretty big draft bust, at least to this point of the season.

I'm not sure if better days are ahead, and for that reason, I'm OK dropping him today in standard leagues. Some desperate fantasy owners should keep rostering the big man, especially if they are lacking at that position.

Keep rostering him in all deeper leagues, even if his averages stay the same, or dip slightly. A double-double threat is still a good fantasy asset.

You could also look into trading Poeltl, but just know the return isn't going to be anything special.

Detroit's Caris LeVert is also on the most dropped list - he sits at just 5% owned now. Dallas' D'Angelo Russell is rostered in only 25% of leagues now, while Detroit's Duncan Robinson is down to 36%.

New Orleans' Bryce McGowens is another player on the drop list, and he sits at only 6% rostered right now. Indiana's Jarace Walker is owned in only 8% of leagues, while Chris Paul is down to 6%.

Milwaukee's AJ Green is rostered in 20% of leagues now as he works his way through an injury. Los Angeles Lakers' Marcus Smart is down to 23% rostered, as is Dallas' Klay Thompson.