Fantasy Basketball Drop Candidates: CJ McCollum, Derik Queen, and More

Let's cap the work week by discussing some fantasy basketball drop candidates.

Here are waiver wire or drop articles that we wrote up on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of this week. We won't cover any players who were listed in those articles.

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Derik Queen - New Orleans Pelicans

Queen is rostered in 95.76% of fantasy basketball leagues right now, but he's ever so slightly trending down from the past couple of days. 

He has come off the bench for all five of his games played so far. Queen has been between 18-29 minutes and is averaging 23.8 minutes a night. He is also averaging 11.8 points, 7.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1 steal and 0.6 blocks per game.

The points and rebounds are solid, but without much else on a nightly basis, Queen is trending toward being a better deep-league asset. That could change if he gets starts, or more playing time, moving forward, but it will be hard for him to remain consistent in the role he's had so far.

So Queen is droppable today in some standard leagues, but only if you have other big men to turn to, or pick up. He's one to keep tabs on in case he ever takes off, but right now, Queen looks like a better deep-league option.

CJ McCollum - Atlanta Hawks

McCollum sits at 98.75% rostered at this time. He too is starting to be let go in a few leagues though.

He's started all six games for the Hawks, playing between 19-31 minutes. McCollum had scored in double figures in the first five games, but then tallied just five points last night.

Over 26.2 minutes a night, McCollum is averaging 14.5 points, 3 assists, 1.8 rebounds, 0.8 steals and 0.2 blocks. The scoring is solid, but he's not providing much else, so when he has low-scoring outputs, we'll see his own percentage drop.

McCollum should be owned in most standard leagues, and that's likely to be the case all season. Unless he's really in a good scoring groove though, I don't think he should be rostered in all leagues. Add and drop him as you see fit in standard leagues based on his on-court production.

Brook Lopez - Los Angeles Clippers

Lopez is owned in 61.85% of leagues right now. He was as high as 67.76% this season.

He's played in all four of the team's games so far, logging between 19-27 minutes off the bench. Across 22.8 minutes a game on average, he's posted 14 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.3 blocks and 0.3 steals.

Lopez tallied 54 points across the first three games, then scored just two in his last appearance. He was near going to average 18 points a game, and after a dud outing, it makes sense to see his own percentage falling.

Lopez is still a pretty good deep-league asset, and there will be times where he's a standard league streaming option too. Be paying close attention to his fantasy production levels and add/drop him as the numbers dictate this season.

Jaylen Wells - Memphis Grizzlies

Wells is rostered in 62.84% of leagues, which is down from 65% yesterday.

He's started all five games for the undefeated Grizzlies, playing between 24-32 minutes. Wells has scored in double figures in each contest and is averaging 13.8 points to go along with 3.6 rebounds and 1.2 assists and steals over 28.2 minutes.

So again, this player's main fantasy intrigue is his scoring. Wells has a big enough role to be a consistent fantasy asset, but until he's producing more, he's a better deep-league asset.

So like in the case with Lopez, you need to be watching Wells' production. In times where he's doing more, he can be rostered and streamed in standard leagues, but he could be droppable in times where the production dips a bit.

Peyton Watson - Cleveland Cavaliers

Watson is currently owned in 84.79% of leagues. He was over 85% yesterday, so he's starting to fall a bit.

He's started the first five games for Cleveland, playing between 22-37 minutes. In 29.8 minutes on average, Watson is averaging 12 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.8 blocks and 1.2 steals a night.

He's been a solid fantasy asset so far, but he's being let go after tallying just four points across 22 minutes last night. I understand why you'd drop him after that performance, but the night before that, he had 22 points across 28 minutes, showing some higher potential.

I think Watson is another player who deserves fantasy roster spots in all deeper leagues, along with most standard leagues. I like his role and average game stats so far, so I'd hold him today. If his numbers continue to struggle, that's when I'd contemplate moving on from him.