Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire Pickups for the Weekend

Story posted April 3, 2021 in CommRadio, Sports by Logan Bourandas

There’s only a few weeks left in the fantasy basketball regular season. With the trade deadline gone, we’ve gotten a glance at some players whose roles have expanded and have become worthy of a pickup.

Here’s a few players to keep an eye on.

Jakob Poeltl, San Antonio Spurs

Poeltl has seen his role on a meddling Spurs roster improve with the release of LaMarcus Aldridge. The big man depth in San Antonio has become limited, meaning Poeltl has received much more touches recently.

Poeltl has scored double-digit points in the past five games, with three of those games being double-digit rebound performances as well. The most impressive performance during this stretch came recently against the Hawks where Poeltl played 44 minutes and picked up 14 points and 10 rebounds in a double overtime loss.

Poeltl is only rostered in 44.8% of ESPN leagues and can be a guy who will either get or come close to a double-double each night.

Jaden McDaniels, Minnesota Timberwolves

It’s been no secret how bad the Timberwolves have been all season long. The poor play has led to some of the team's younger players seeing more playing time as of late.

McDaniels is one of those rookies, as he has received 30 or more minutes in his last four games and hasn’t disappointed.

In those four games, McDaniels has scored in double figures each time with the best of the bunch being an 18 point performance in a comeback win over the Knicks. With playing time going up, McDaniels could be a sneaky addition to any fantasy roster, especially when he’s only rostered in 13.8% of ESPN leagues.

Hamidou Diallo, Detroit Pistons

Diallo is another player benefitting from heavy minutes on a bad team as he was traded at the deadline to the Detroit Pistons, the worst team in the Eastern Conference. Diallo has only played three games in a Piston uniform thus far and already has two games scoring 19 points. One of those performances even included a double-double as Diallo corralled 10 rebounds to go along with those point totals in a game against the Raptors. Diallo was held out of the teams second game in a back to back due to a groin issue but he should still be a player to keep on your radar. Diallo has only been snatched up in 23.4% of ESPN leagues thus far and he could be a hot commodity as he continues to adjust to the Pistons roster.

Logan Bourandas is a sophomore majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email lxb5412@psu.edu.