Wire to Wire aims to be your waiver wire resource for all of your fantasy basketball needs. It will dive into playing time trends, injury replacements, and even an occasional category specialist—all of which can be found on a typical waiver wire within your fantasy league at any given time.

While most editions of Wire to Wire have a theme, I can honestly say that this week’s is strictly based on upside potential.  We have a couple of rookies, a couple of veterans, and even a fantasy stud that could be returning from a certain neck injury of his own.  The Brandon Roy injury may shake things up in Portland a bit, but with the ‘Blazers not playing until Wednesday, the reigning Rookie of the Year will have some time for his tailbone to heal.

Shallow Leagues (Less Than 12 Teams)

Kurt Thomas, PF/C, Seattle Supersonics
Though the Seattle Supersonics have only won one game in the last six tries, one thing has remained consistent – the double-digit rebounds of Kurt Thomas.  Since being inserted into the starting line-up, Thomas has been a beast on the glass, averaging near 13 rebounds per game since December 21st.  While his blocked shots have been down a bit more recently, the final week of 2007 featured eight blocks in four games to go with surprisingly solid free throw shooting for a big man.  Thomas won’t put up Amare Stoudemire-type scoring figures, but he does have the potential for double-digits, and as long as the boards are there, you can’t let a center-eligible player with this potential sit on the waiver wire any longer.  Go nab him.

Antonio Daniels, PG, Washington Wizards
I admittedly dumped Daniels upon hearing of his injury a few weeks back, but it was in a shallow league where I knew that I would be able to find similar production, even upon his return.  Well, needless to say, I’m regretting the move for short-term production after seeing what Daniels has done since his return.  Couple this with the fact that there are rumors that Gilbert Arenas may miss the entire rest of the season, and Daniels’ value will exponentially increase.  With per game averages of 15 points, six assists and two steals over the past three games (with two wins), if Daniels is still available in your league, waste no time in picking him up.

Derek Fisher, PG, Los Angeles Lakers
This may be a stretch, but I kid you not when I tell you that Fisher was available in a shallow league which I am a part of.  He was dumped last week for a surging Nate Robinson, which makes sense in some regard – just not one of long-term nature.  As the Lakers starting point guard, Fisher is far from the number one option on offense.  However, playing next to Kobe Bryant offers its rewards as Fisher has been valuable in points, assists, threes and percentages all season long.  Coming off of a 22-point effort against the Pacers, Fisher is primed for a solid week as the Lakers role with four games – two of which are against the Memphis Grizzlies.

Joe Smith, PF, Chicago Bulls
I didn’t know what to expect from the former first overall selection upon the dismissal of Scott Skiles, but if anyone benefited from the move (aside from Ben Gordon, of course), it has been Joe Smith.  Smith turned a double-overtime game against the Trailblazers into a 31 point, 11 rebound, four block performance.  While he followed that up with a nine-point night on 3-of-13 shooting, the fact of the matter is that Smith is the starting power forward and is getting 30 minutes per night.  He’s blocking a boatload of shots (nine in the last four games) and is one of the best free throw shooting big men in the league.  You never know what will happen with the Bulls rotation, but you have to ride Smith while he’s hot.  A bonus for a four-game session next week.

(Last Week: Bonzi Wells, Michael Finley, James Jones, Nate Robinson)

Normal Leagues (12-14 Teams)

Mike Conley, PG/SG, Memphis Grizzlies
The bad part about living in Ohio is that every that I’m a part of this year has had Mike Conley on a roster even though he had not played in a game since November 17th.  At least until this past week.  If you haven’t been made aware, the Grizzlies have decided to place Damon Stoudamire on the inactive list, and have been starting their rookie point guard.  Conley has taken his opportunity and has done well with it, averaging nine points, six assists and two steals per game over the last three contests.  I wouldn’t expect much from Conley in terms of scoring (despite back-to-back double digit games), but his assists and steals deserve consideration in all standard-to-deep leagues.

Al Thornton, SF/PF, Los Angeles Clippers
Back in the starting mix, Thornton has rattled off two straight games of solid scoring and is averaging 14 points per game over the last six.  While he doesn’t offer much more in terms of fantasy production, the rookie forward can be a viable end-of-bench option for an added boost in points with the occasional big rebound game – as he pulled down eight boards in a recent game against the Spurs.  As with any rookie, Thornton will have his ups and downs, but with a starting gig and solid minutes, this rookie is worth a shot for fantasy owners.

Martell Webster, SG/SF, Portland Trailblazers
With four games on the slate last week, Webster was a popular addition of mine for some added scoring and three-point field goals.  I was a bit disappointed early on, but the former prep-to-pro standout made it all worth while by dropping nearly 40 points in the final two games.  The additional shots during the tail end of the week (24 points in the third quarter alone) came at the expense of Brandon Roy, who left the game early with a tailbone injury.  The Trailblazers do not play until Wednesday, so there is rehabilitation time.  But if Roy is to miss any time, fewer players will see a bigger boost in production than the long-ball threat in Martell Webster.

Earl Watson, PG, Seattle Supersonics
I was a bit skeptical about mentioning Watson’s name in this space, as he has a tendency to fall out of fantasy relevance the minute I pick him up.  However, Luke Ridnour finally returned from his quad injury and was so bad in his limited time that it just gave Watson a firmer grip on the starting point guard job for the Sonics.  I wouldn’t count out a trade of one of the guards in Seattle (with Delonte West being another option), so Watson’s value can fluctuate.  If you can endure the occasional rough shooting night, adding Watson may be worth while as he has been a solid contributor to points, assists, threes and steals over the last two weeks.  And it is worth mentioning that Seattle plays seven games in the next two weeks.

(Last Week: Francisco Garcia, Louis Williams, Nene Hilario, Luther Head)

Deep Leagues (14+ Teams)

Chris Quinn, PG/SG, Miami Heat
While many have deemed Chris Quinn the “Medicine Man” for obvious reasons, I’m going to go a different direction and call him “The Eskimo.”  With that said, “The Eskimo” has now rattled off three straight games of double-digit points, including a 17 point game against the Memphis Grizzlies this past weekend thanks to the absence of Jason Williams.  Quinn has the potential to dish the rock, as seen by his seven assists two games ago, but can also disappear as he failed to record an assist or a rebound in the aforementioned contest.  He’ll likely return back to the bench soon, but as long as he’s starting, he’s worth a spot in deeper formats.

Jamario Moon, SF, Toronto Raptors
Similar to Antonio Daniels above, when rookie sensation Jamario Moon started giving minutes back to the handful of other forwards on the Raptors roster (Carlos Delfino, Jason Kapono), I cut ties.  Leave it to Toronto to go back to giving Moon minutes as he has now strung together four solid contests, including a 16 points, seven rebound, three block game against the Cavaliers that included a highlight reel dunk in the first half.  While it’s tough to count on consistent scoring from the rookie, if you need rebounds and blocked shots, you could do a lot worse than the former D-League baller.

Jarrett Jack, PG, Portland Trailblazers
Similar to Martell Webster above, Jack had a solid ending to the past week by posting 26 points, 10 assists and a handful of steals in the past two games.  If Brandon Roy misses time, there is no doubting that the ball will be in Jack’s hands more than normal which will allow for an increase in scoring as well as assists.  While he’s a frequent name in trade talks given all of the talent that Portland has in its backcourt, Jack will provide owners in deep leagues with inconsistent-yet-solid production over the near term.

TJ Ford, PG, Toronto Raptors
This mention is strictly based on reward.  While I have seen Ford floating around in shallow leagues, the potential that he provides with a possible return is worth adding him in deeper formats.  Ford, himself, has gone on record saying that he would need one game to get back into playing shape and just needs another form of medical clearance before suiting back up.  He’s heading to the Cleveland Clinic this week to get another opinion, but I’m thinking that we have not seen the last of TJ Ford.  Jose Calderon will obviously negatively impact Ford’s minutes, but as one of the better pass-first guards in the league, nab him if he’s out there.  What do you have to lose?

(Last Week: Jeff Green, Carlos Arroyo, Chuck Hayes, Wally Szczerbiak)