Hot Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire Targets: Cameron Payne Leads the Way

Let's run through our third round of fantasy basketball waiver wire options of the week.

Here are the stories from Monday and Tuesday, plus Wednesday's streaming article. Also be sure to check out the Tyrese Maxey injury fantasy fallout story.

Waiver wire options can be found all season on FantasySP!

Cameron Payne: Rising After Maxey Injury

Payne is up 16.44% today, which brings his overall mark to 26.12%.

Payne is on the rise after the injury to Maxey. He's expected to miss three weeks, which is almost the rest of the regular season. Payne is expected to start in Maxey's place in the meantime, and with Joel Embiid and Paul George also out, Payne could deliver big.

Payne erupted on Tuesday, producing 32 points, 10 assists, three rebounds and steals and two blocks over 30 minutes. That was all off the bench, so even if Payne isn't starting, he could be a big-time fantasy asset down the stretch.

He's averaging 6.9 points, 3.1 assists, 1.6 rebounds, 1.3 steals and 0.3 blocks over 16.4 minutes a game in his 11 appearances this season. Payne hasn't really been a fantasy asset all year, but one game (and the Maxey injury) have changed everything for him.

Payne is worth adding in a lot of deeper leagues today. For one, you have to see if he's at the start of a hot streak. If he delivers big without Maxey around, Payne could eventually work into standard leagues too.

Keep an eye on Payne if you aren't adding him today. Another big game or two will be all it takes for his own percentage to shoot way up.

The return of Embiid, and George in a couple weeks, will change things too, so you'll really need to be keeping a close eye on Payne and his production for the rest of the season, even if he's starting or logging heavy minutes.

Derrick Jones Jr. Trending Up

Jones has been added in 6.68% of leagues today and now sits at 42.16% overall.

He's scored in double figures in four straight games now. Jones has 12 points twice and 16 points in the other two contests. He's combined for 16 rebounds, five assists and four steals and rebounds over that stretch as well.

Jones is starting and playing enough every night for good fantasy upside. He's delivering enough of late to see his own percentage rise as well.

On the season, Jones is averaging 11.3 points, 3 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.1 blocks and 0.9 steals over 26.8 minutes a night. He's improved those marks of late, so it's easy to see why he's trending up.

There's no notable short-term injuries that the Clippers are dealing with. Jones is simply doing more on a team that traded away some key pieces at the trade deadline.

Jones is worth adding in most deeper leagues, and he could be a streaming option for standard leaguers right now. Definitely look into him and see if he's maybe outperforming some players near the end of your bench.

Aaron Gordon: Producing After Return

Gordon is rostered in 92.54% of leagues after a 4.01% increase today. He's rostered in most leagues, so I'll keep this relatively short. 

He recently returned from a multi-week absence, and is coming off a contest in which he produced 23 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and a steal over 28 minutes.

Gordon can be a good fantasy asset when on the court, but injuries have derailed his season. He'd be owned in all leagues if he had played all year, so take advantage of things if he's available in your league.

If you just lost Maxey, swapping Gordon for him might be your best option on the waiver wire. Get it done before Gordon is scooped up.

Tristan da Silva: Taking on More for Orlando

Da Silva is owned in 41.42% of leagues after being picked up in 3.79% of leagues today.

He started the last Orlando game with several teammates out with injuries. Franz Wagner is still out, which helps Da Silva play more. Jonathan Isaac is another big man on the injury report, and Anthony Black, Colin Castleton and Jase Richardson are others.

Da Silva only had five points in that start, but he added six rebounds, five assists and a steal to finish with a decent fantasy performance. He's scored 30 points in the two games before that combined, plus added 10 rebounds, seven assists and five steals.

He's a pretty solid fantasy asset until Wagner is back, and with several teammates out. Da Silva is not a must-add fantasy asset in any fantasy setups, but he's a good deep-league option and could be a standard league streaming option in a pinch.

Watch the team's injury report and fire up Da Silva when things are working in his favor. He'll need to keep delivering in order to stick as a possible fantasy asset, so be watching his numbers closely.