Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire: Middleton Surging, Nuggets Gain Value

I have another round of fantasy basketball waiver wire adds to consider this week.

Here are the stories we did on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. We won't cover anyone we discussed in those articles.

Also be sure to check out Friday's streaming article.

Check out fantasy basketball waiver wire adds all season on FantasySP!

Khris Middleton: Veteran Quietly Delivering

Middleton is up 11.34% today, bringing his overall mark to 30.75%.

The veteran has kicked things up a notch of late - maybe he's trying to prove to contenders that he can still be a useful rotation piece.

Middleton has scored 32 points over his past two games, while also tacking on 12 rebounds, nine assists, three steals and one block. He has scored in double figures in five of the past six games.

He still misses a decent amount of games, so keep that in mind if you are interested in adding him. Middleton is a good streaming option at the very least.

Middleton is just a deep-league fantasy option right now, but if he sticks on the court and keeps delivering, he could work into standard leagues eventually too.

Nuggets Seeing Expanded Roles

Several Nuggets are on the rise after the injury to Aaron Gordon. He's set to miss 4-6 weeks. 

Bruce Brown has been added in 9.92% of leagues and he's up to 23.01% overall. Tim Hardaway Jr. is up 6.19% and is now owned in 35.76% of leagues overall.

Jonas Valanciunas is rostered in 59.91% of leagues after a 5.16% increase today. Spencer Jones is the last Nugget on the rise - he's owned in 11.16% of leagues after a 3.49% increase today.

Brown came off the bench, but played nearly 33 minutes in the team's game on Thursday. He delivered 12 points and three rebounds and assists.

Brown could see a bump in playing time with Gordon out for several weeks, and that could help the veteran deliver for fantasy owners. He's another deep-league asset only right now, but consistent production could eventually help him sneak into standard leagues.

Brown has scored in double figures in three straight, so he was trending up already.

Hardaway has also been in double figures in three straight contests, tallying between 14-25 points. He's averaging 5.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 0.3 steals over 28.7 minutes in that short span.

He's another veteran who could take on more with Gordon out of the picture. Hardaway has already flashed what he can do, and a 25-point outing in his last game is a glimpse of his upside.

Hardaway is another deep-league option, but I think he is a standard league option too. He can deliver big just on points alone, and he's been adding in rebounds and other stats of late, so definitely look into adding him.

Valanciunas has scored 12 or 16 points in his last three games played. He has nine or more rebounds in all those games, along with six assists and one steal and block combined.

Valanciunas will directly handle more with Gordon out. He's also taking advantage of Nikola Jokic still being out. 

I like streaming Valanciunas in all league types until Jokic returns, and he's worth holding in a lot of leagues until then too. Don't immediately drop Valanciunas once Jokic returns, as now both big men could deliver since Gordon is out of the picture.

Jones has been starting of late for Denver. He doesn't have the big scoring outputs of some of his teammates, but extra playing time could eventually help him deliver for fantasy owners.

He needs to deliver consistently for me to really want to add him in a bunch of leagues, but seeing his own percentage, he's just an option in the deepest of leagues right now. If he starts delivering, he can be added in more and more deeper leagues.

Keep an eye on the Nuggets' box scores to determine the best players to add/drop.

Kyle Kuzma: Trending Up Without Giannis Around

Kuzma is up 6.86% and he now sits at 60.36% overall.

Kuzma is taking advantage of Giannis Antetokounmpo being out for the Bucks. He's started five straight games, and more importantly, has played 30-plus minutes in three straight.

Kuzma has 11, 17 and 19 points in those three contests. He's combined for 27 rebounds, 20 assists and two steals over those games as well, so there's some legit fantasy value here.

He's worth adding and holding in all deeper leagues at this point. Kuzma is worth streaming in standard leagues right now, and could become a keeper in those leagues if his production sticks.

He's been in trade talks, so we'll re-assess things if/when he gets dealt. For now, take advantage of Kuzma's uptick in production.