Hey, remember me? I told you to draft De’Andre Hunter back in 2019, ringing any bells? There may have also been a post telling you to buy some Malik Monk stock, but let’s not talk about that. That was the past! It’s 2021, you’re playing dynasty basketball and life is great!

Oh, you want to know what brought me back to Dynasty Guru? Beyond the amazing lineage of authors who have worked here, my girlfriend just REFUSES to listen to me complain about the Hawks rotation and how they dole out minutes. Why give Kevin Huerter a $65 million extension if you’re never going to let him get extended run and put him with guys who shoot it every time the catch it? And if he’s trade bait, free him already!

You’re right, I’m coming on a bit strong and we don’t really know each other like that yet. I get it. Like my grandmother always said, you have to “earn the right to rant about Kevin Huerter to strangers on the internet.”

Let’s give you something actionable here to get this budding friendship off the ground: waiver wire pickups. Everyone has room to make a move or two on their rosters, but there are a lot of guys out there that may or may not be worth your time. Also, let me just say not every guy you add needs to have the potential to become LeBron. You need role players in the NBA and you need role players in fantasy. 

Here are two guys worth that last roster spot.

Gary Payton II

With each game the Young Glove plays, he’s becoming a hotter and hotter pickup. He’s recently broken into the crowded Golden State rotation and made his presence felt in a big way, despite only getting about 18 minutes a game. If you’re adding GP2, what are you getting? First off, defensive stats. Like his dad, Payton II has a knack for steals, swiping twelve over the last five games. And that defense is earning him a role on the Warriors. Golden State thought highly enough of him on the defensive end they let Avery Bradley, one of the better defenders in the NBA, walk. 

You may be thinking “so he’s a 3-and-D guy,” but not really. On a team known for shooting from deep, Payton II is the opposite. He rarely fires from beyond the arc and shot 30% on 3s in college. But he can cut! If you watch any of his highlights from his recent hot streak you’ll notice his knack for finding openings and dropping the hammer. With Steph Curry always drawing extra help, and with willing passers Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala out there, GP2 is getting easy buckets. Points with a high FG% will help any team. And they’re even running plays for him!

The Warriors have added a new play for Gary Payton II when bigs guard him.
-Payton comes up for fake ball screen, his defender is drawn toward Steph Curry double
-Payton spins into quick roll down the lane
-Curry passes it to the elbow
-Iguodala/Draymond lobs it over the top pic.twitter.com/orwoaW1dqE

— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) November 8, 2021

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

Bones Hyland

While Gary Payton II has been putting up highlights nightly, Bones has been a solid contributor who’s poised for a break out. His minutes have been sporadic, but things are looking up for Mr. Hyland. What is the one thing the Nuggets lack? Scoring. Denver was already without Jamal Murray and now that Michael Porter Jr. is out for the “foreseeable future,” they are going to need someone who can put the ball in the basket to take some of the burden off Nikola Jokic.

Hyland scored nearly 20 a game last year for VCU and has shown he knows what to do with the ball in the NBA. Even in his small minutes, he’s been good for 6-10 points and a couple assists with few, if any, turnovers. And most importantly Nuggets coach Mike Malone can’t stop raving about him. Skills can only get you so far in the NBA, but opportunity and a coach who loves you? That’ll get you tons of minutes. On a team lacking two of its best scorers, Hyland could quickly be giving you 15 points and 5 assist per game. So grab him now before now before the hype train, because people are going to love scooping up a guy with the nickname “bones” off of the waiver wire.