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.

Last week’s piece brought some highs and some lows, but this week brings even more waiver love as one of the game’s best point guards will miss the next three months after knee surgery.  Could Don Nelson finally be settling on a shooting guard?  Do we have a new point man in Minnesota?  Who the heck is Jamario Moon?  All these answers and more in this week’s edition. 

Shallow Leagues (less than 12 teams)

Antonio Daniels, PG, Washington Wizards
27 MPG; 7.1 PPG; 3.6 RPG; 4.7 APG; 0.4 3PM; 39.3 FG%; 82.9 FT%; 1.1 SPG; 0.0 BPG; 1.1 TO

As a Cavaliers fan, it kills me to know that so many teams have back-up point guards that are better than Cleveland’s starter.  Well, such is the case in Washington as Antonio Daniels has stepped in to replace Gilbert Arenas – out three months after knee surgery.  Daniels has now rattled off six straight games of double-digit scoring while averaging nearly eight assists and two steals per contest.  Daniels is money from the charity stripe and doesn’t necessarily kill field goal shooting.  He won’t offer as much from downtown as Arenas would, but Daniels will be one of the top-twenty point guards over the next three months.

Jeff Foster, PF/C, Indiana Pacers
27 MPG; 6.9 PPG; 9.0 RPG; 1.2 APG; 0.0 3PM; 50.7 FG%; 64.3 FT%; 0.7 SPG; 0.4 BPG; 0.6 TO

Jermaine O’Neal was a big name that frequented the trade rumors this past summer, but one big catch that kept him from changing teams was his inability to stay healthy for extended periods of time.  It looks like other teams had some incredible foresight (or just the innate ability to point out the obvious) because O’Neal is currently being hobbled by swelling in his left leg.  This has opened up some considerable time for Jeff Foster to rack up some huge rebounding totals, pulling down at least nine boards in the last seven games.  JON could return this week, but Foster is at least worth owning in all formats until the All-Star is back to full speed.

Monta Ellis, PG/SG, Golden State Warriors
32 MPG; 15.8 PPG; 2.9 RPG; 2.9 APG; 0.4 3PM; 46.7 FG%; 67.7 FT%; 1.4 SPG; 0.4 BPG; 1.5 TO

Don Nelson rarely does fantasy owners a favor, but if you were one to draft Monta Ellis in the middle rounds this season, you have finally been rewarded.  After starting off the season in a log jam at the off guard position, Ellis has recently caught fire by scoring 31 points on back-to-back evenings and even entered the starting line-up for the fourth time of the season.  If the past is any indication of the future, Ellis will undoubtedly put up nights of single-digit scoring in the near term, but at least he’s been getting increased burn over the past week.  Your window to buy low looks to have closed.

(Last Week: Stephen Jackson, Troy Murphy, Darko Milicic, Beno Udrih)

Standard Leagues (12-14 teams)

Marko Jaric, SG/SF, Minnesota Timberwolves
26 MPG; 9.3 PPG; 2.6 RPG; 3.8 APG; 0.5 3PM; 47.8 FG%; 71.4 FT%; 1.4 SPG; 0.8 BPG; 1.6 TO

Talk about falling from grace.  The T-Wolves once felt that Jaric would be the answer after acquiring his services from the Clippers back in 2005.  Fast forward to 2007, Jaric is only getting some playing time because Randy Foye is hurt and Sebastian Telfair couldn’t get the job done.  He’s responded well with recent games of 14, 20 and 21 points with six assists per game in the same stretch.  Jaric has averaged 1.4 steals per game through his entire career, and this number should increase with a boost in minutes.  If he keeps this play up, he may just push Foye to a reserve role.  The best part about Jaric?  How about the point guard stats from a small-forward eligible player.  That’s fantasy friendly if I’ve ever seen it.

Jamario Moon, SF, Toronto Raptors
28 MPG; 8.7 PPG; 6.6 RPG; 1.0 APG; 0.5 3PM; 45.0 FG%; 62.5 FT%; 1.3 SPG; 1.6 BPG; 1.0 TO

We’ve mentioned Moon before in this piece, but I felt that it would be best to revisit the starting small forward for the Raptors now that he has logged over 32 minutes per game over the past five straight.  He isn’t one of those players that excels in a specific area, but while putting up decent scoring and rebounding nights, Moon’s work on the steals and blocked shots has been stellar.  Over the past five games, the former CBA mainstay has tallied six steals and 12 blocks – including six in the game against the Bulls.  Again, there is no guarantee that he’s the starting forward a month from now, but you can’t ignore this play any longer.

Antoine Walker, SF/PF, Minnesota Timberwolves
23 MPG; 11.2 PPG; 4.2 RPG; 1.5 APG; 1.7 3PM; 43.4 FG%; 57.1 FT% 1.0 SPG; 0.1 BPG; 1.3 TO

Another member of the Timberwolves?  Who would’ve thought?  Theo Ratliff is experiencing swelling in his knee and is on the shelf until further notice.  This has allowed Antoine Walker to shine, putting up double-digit points in several straight games.  The main downside to the veteran is the fact that he is what he is: Antoine Walker.  He’ll give you points and threes, but he’s made a career out of slaughtering fantasy percentages and not helping in many other areas.  If you’re hurting for points, Walker could be your man, but just be prepared to roll with the punches – and the prayers.

Kenyon Martin, PF, Denver Nuggets
22 MPG; 8.6 PPG; 4.9 RPG; 0.5 APG; 0.0 3PM; 48.5 FG%; 66.7 FT%; 1.7 SPG; 0.9 BPG; 1.1 TO

In what was one of the feel-good stories of the season, Martin experienced a scare when he injured his surgically repaired knee.  Good news though: It is only a bone bruise, and the veteran should be day-to-day come the end of this week.  I’m not saying that he’s a must add by any means, but if Martin is available come next week, he could be worth the add if for his hustle-stats alone.  Nene is still scheduled to miss the next few weeks, and it is obvious that Eduardo Najera isn’t the answer at the four.  Monitor this situation in the near-term.

(Last Week: Sean Williams, Rashad McCants, J.R. Smith, Luis Scola.  Ouch.)


Deep Leagues (14+ teams)

Dan Dickau, PG/SG, Los Angeles Clippers
15 MPG; 5.1 PPG; 0.9 RPG; 1.7 APG; 0.4 3PM; 35.3 FG%; 75.0 FT%; 0.6 SPG; 0.1 BPG; 1.1 TO

If you’re looking for a player that has yet to break out, but may have the best chance to do just that, look no further.  Los Angeles has been a rough place to be a point guard.  Brevin Knight hasn’t had a healthy season since the Clinton Administration, Sam Cassell is nearing 50 and Shaun Livingston will be lucky to ever play again.  This leaves Dickau with the chance to run the point for an injury-riddled Clippers squad, and by looking at last season’s numbers when given time, he could be a solid source of points, assists and steals.  Check his playing time this week, but don’t be shocked if you log in one day and someone else added him.

Sasha Pavlovic, SG/SF, Cleveland Browns
25 MPG; 7.8 PPG; 2.4 RPG; 2.1 APG; 0.6 3PM; 34.0 FG%; 71.4 FT%; 0.7 SPG; 0.1 BPG; 1.5 TO

Though it took the Serbian guard a bit to get rolling, it looks like he may have finally found his shot.  Pavolvic was one of those cases where a player is late to camp, is a bit out of shape, and simply needs to shake off the rust.  There’s no doubting his ability to score and hit the three, and with Larry Hughes registering for a residency in the trainer’s room, Pavlovic will be the one to gain the most value.  He’s coming off of a 20-plus point evening, and while he will be up and down all season, you could do a lot worse for a reserve guard in deeper formats.

Kurt Thomas, PF/C, Seattle Supersonics
18 MPG; 5.0 PPG; 7.2 RPG; 1.8 APG; 0.0 3PM; 55.0 FG%; 75.0 FT%; 0.0 SPG; 0.2 BPG; 0.6 TO

Not only does this guy have an expiring contract that teams just love, he still happens to have some game left in the tank as well.  He only has one game in the double-figure scoring, but with limited time over five games, Thomas has shown some flashes of brilliance on the boards – including nine in 13 minutes against the Heat a couple weeks back.  This one will take some monitoring as there are plenty of guys vying for time in Seattle, but if he were to be traded or see consistent playing time, Thomas would be worth a solid reserve center in deep fantasy formats.

Nick Young, SG/SF, Washington Wizards
13 MPG; 6.7 PPG; 1.3 RPG; 0.6 APG; 0.6 3PM; 40.6 FG%; 84.0 FT%; 0.3 SPG; 0.2 BPG; 1.0 TO

This one is my flier of the week.  Young is a high-upside, high-impact player that doubles as a high-flier and highlight reel waiting to happen.  With all of this “high,” you have the low of his playing time – which may all change with the injury to Gilbert Arenas coupled with the ineffectiveness of DeShawn Stevenson.  There’s already a movement to get this kid in the dunk contest, so one to have Eddie Jordan give him consistent minutes shouldn’t be far behind.  Expect spurts of scoring going forward, bud he’s only worth the add if he can get over 25 minutes of PT per game.

(Last Week: Juan Carlos Navarro, Jordan Farmar, Andray Blatche, Vladamir Radmanovic)

Good luck this week.  Go get ‘em!