Fantasy Basketball Adds and Drops Before Opening Night: Risacher, Simmons, and More
Opening night is almost here! Let's look at three players worth stashing and two who might not belong on your fantasy basketball roster.
On the eve of the 2026-27 NBA regular season opening, let's discuss some fantasy basketball adds and drops!
We will cover waiver wire pickups and drop candidates, and more, all fantasy basketball season, so keep checking back to FantasySP!
Fantasy basketball waiver wire options can be found all season on FantasySP! 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.
Adds
Zaccharie Risacher - Dallas Mavericks
Risacher is currently rostered in just 10% of fantasy leagues. That's a really disappointing mark for the 1st overall pick from just two years ago.
Connect your league to uncover strengths & weaknesses, waiver assistance, trade scenarios, and get instant start/sit clarity.
He was solid in his rookie year with Atlanta, but regressed in his sophomore year. Risacher averaged 9.6 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 0.9 steals and 0.5 blocks over 22.4 minutes a contest, then was traded to Dallas over the offseason.
Risacher is projected to start for the Mavericks at the shooting guard spot. He's likely to be the No. 3 option, at the very best, with Cooper Flagg and Kyrie Irving around. P.J. Washington and Dereck Lively II are the other projected starters and could come before Risacher too.
I still think there's upside there with Risacher, but he's going to have to prove it before fantasy owners pick him up in too many leagues. Right now, he's just a deep-league fantasy option, but that could change in a hurry with a good start to the year, so keep tabs on him.
Kristaps Porzingis - Golden State Warriors
Porzingis is sitting at 84% rostered right now. He's out indefinitely to open the season though, because of a private health-related issue.
He played just 23 games last season, and 42 in the season before that. Porzingis averaged 16.7 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.2 blocks and 0.6 steals over 24 minutes last season.
Porzingis can be a solid fantasy asset when healthy, but he's also frustrating to roster because he misses so many games. He's not off to a great start this season, but some fantasy owners are still adding and stashing him.
If you have no other injured players, he is worth adding and stashing in an IR spot. Porzingis could have some decent fantasy upside later in the season, but right now, he's just a player to stash and hope for.
Jusuf Nurkic - Utah Jazz
Nurkic is rostered in about 37% of fantasy leagues right now. He is dealing with a partial plantar plate tear of the second toe in his right foot. Nurkic was given a four-week timeline on October 4, so he's going to miss the first couple of weeks of play, at least.
He dealt with injuries the past couple of seasons as well, playing 41 contests last year and 51 in the season before that. Nurkic averaged 10.9 points, 10.4 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 1.3 steals and 0.5 blocks per contest, while playing 26.4 minutes.
Nurkic can be a sneaky-good fantasy asset when healthy, so I also like the idea of adding and stashing him for a bit. He hopefully will only miss a couple of weeks, then be healthier after that.
Nurkic is one to stash in an IR spot if you have one available, and he's still available in your league.
Drops
Ben Simmons - Sacramento Kings
Simmons was close to 45% rostered before sustaining a torn Achilles that will likely cost him the season. He got injured during a live drill in the team's Sunday practice.
He was performing well in training camp and was expected to fill a decent role for the Kings in 2026-27. Now, Simmons is likely not going to be playing at all.
He was looking to return to the NBA after last playing in 2024-25. Simmons' career has never taken off as many expected, but he was a stat stuffer when active, so it's a bummer he's unavailable for the coming season.
Simmons can be dropped in all redraft leagues - if he were to return somehow at the end of the regular season, he could be added at that point. He could be stashed in dynasty leagues, especially if there were IR spots to put him in.
Shaedon Sharpe - Portland Trail Blazers
Sharpe is owned in just 18% of leagues right now. He has a lateral meniscus tear, and it was expected to keep him out about six months - Sharpe's estimated return date was sometime in late February or early March of 2027.
That's a big-time bummer, as he was starting to settle in as a notable player in the NBA, and for fantasy basketball owners. Sharpe averaged 20.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.4 steals and 0.1 blocks over 29.4 minutes and 50 games last season.
His progression will be put on hold, and hopefully he can return near that estimated date and stay healthy after that. That doesn't leave much regular season time for him to produce for fantasy owners, but he'll be a must-own player, most likely, when he's active again.
I'd love stashing Sharpe, but you might not be able to all season if one of your top-end players also gets injured and you only have so many IR spots available. At least try stashing Sharpe for a bit, because he could be a big-time fantasy asset down the stretch.
