Fantasy Basketball Waiver Wire Week 4: Jose Alvarado should be viewed as a must-start with Dejounte Murray out

Hello! Welcome back. I hope you like the Pelicans . Three of this week's top four adds come from the Bayou.

It's a good week to bolster your defensive stats, and there is no shortage of short-term injury fill-ins. If you're looking for long-term value, however, this week's crop requires more patience — unless you are fortunate enough to be in a league where our top add is available.

As always, the players in this must be rostered in less than two-thirds of CBS leagues. Players are listed in the order that I recommend adding them, assuming they are equally good fits for your team.

Adds for all leagues

Trey Murphy III , Pelicans (62% rostered)

Murphy is one of my most rostered players this season, as I think he could easily improve upon his top 70 finish from last season. The sharpshooter can also pitch in on defense and as a passer, while providing starter-level rebounding and scoring – and that's without factoring in any potential improvement or increased responsibilities for the 24-year-old entering his fourth season. He appears on track to make his season debut in the coming days. If you're lucky enough to be in a league where he's available, fix that while you still can.

Jose Alvarado , Pelicans (40% rostered)

C.J. McCollum (thigh) is out at least another week, and likely more, while Dejounte Murray (hand) appears done for the month. That should leave Alvarado safely ensconced as the starting point guard for a while, and he's a must-start as long as that's the case. Through his first five starts, he's up to 16-3-6 with 1.4 steals and 3.4 3s per game. That's quite good.

Carlton Carrington , Wizards (56% rostered)

Carrington was borderline addable before Kyle Kuzma (groin) got hurt, and he's jumped up another level since. In three games without Kuzma, the rookie is up to 12-6-7 with 1.3 steals in 34.3 minutes. As it is about to become a theme this week, we don't know if Kuzma will miss another game or another month. That uncertainty, and the possibility of a quick return, is a big part of why Carrington drops below Alvarado, as their Fantasy appeal and current situations are otherwise pretty similar. If you miss out on Carrington, teammate Kyshawn George , a fellow rookie, is also benefitting from Kuzma's absence. George is listed in the other recommendations below, as well as in the deep league special.

Yves Missi , Pelicans (38% rostered)

Missi was promoted into the starting spot, moving ahead of a healthy Daniel Theis . After averaging 19.8 minutes through five games off the bench, he's up to 24.5 as a starter. While the extra run hasn't translated to increased production yet – in fact, his numbers have dipped slightly – that is probably just due to the small sample size. Missi has already shown that he can be a reliable shot-blocker, and the increasing role should portend increasing value.

Shaedon Sharpe , Trail Blazers (53% rostered)

Sharpe made his season debut Thursday after missing the first three weeks with a shoulder injury. He only played 20 minutes off the bench, though his contribution was a solid 13-2-1 with one block and one three. Last season, Sharpe contributed everywhere (though excelling nowhere), and I remain high on the 21-year-old as a long-term prospect. It may take a few games for him to work his way back into a full workload, but eventually, I expect him to be a standard league Fantasy mainstay.

Jaylen Wells , Grizzlies (10% rostered)

Once again, Memphis has been hit hard by the injury bug. With Desmond Bane (oblique) and Marcus Smart (finger) both week-to-week, we don't really know how much more runway Wells has as a viable Fantasy option – it could just be a few more games, but it could be a few more weeks, too. He's played a ton in his four starts, averaging 33.3 minutes and compiling 14-5-2 with 2.5 3s. He's been surprisingly efficient for a second-round rookie, shooting 50-45-83 and turning it over just once per game. If Bane and Smart remain out more than another week, Wells should justify being ranked so highly in this column.

Goga Bitadze , Magic (8% rostered)

Bitadze is easily my favorite streamer for Friday's games, for which Wendell Carter (foot) has already been ruled out. Bitadze has always been a per-minute monster, yet every coach he's had has been reluctant to keep him in a large role. As soon as Carter returns, Bitadze is likely to become instantly droppable, and that could be as soon as Sunday (though we don't know for sure). Bitadze has been great so far, however, averaging 11-11-3 with two blocks and one steal in 28.5 minutes in his two starts for the injured Carter.

Peyton Watson , Nuggets (14% rostered)

Aaron Gordon (calf) got hurt early in Monday's game, so we've effectively seen two games without him. In those two games, Watson has stepped in, averaging 13-3-2 in 32.5 minutes. Most importantly, the extra court time has allowed Watson's defense to shine through – he's put up five blocks and three steals across the two contests. The scoring surge is more surprising than the defense, which has always been Watson's calling card, though perhaps part of that is benefiting from more time sharing the court with Nikola Jokic . Gordon is likely to miss several weeks.

Toumani Camara , Trail Blazers (35% rostered)

The first test for Camara was what would happen when Shaedon Sharpe returned to action. Through one game, Camara held onto a starting spot and played 35 minutes. We still need to watch carefully, but that is a good sign for those of us rooting for Camara to hold onto his rotation role (and accompanying Fantasy value). He's best for teams punting points, but his 9.1 per game are enough that he can appeal to non-point-punters, too. His strength is in steals, where he has at least one in every game and is averaging 1.7.

Cason Wallace , Thunder (10% rostered)

Want steals? Add Cason Wallace. Don't want steals? Don't add Cason Wallace. He is very good at steals. He is much less good at everything else.

Davion Mitchell , Raptors (21% rostered)

With Immanuel Quickley (pelvis) apparently nearing his return, it's possible we're already too late on Mitchell. But we don't know exactly when Quickley will come back, and Mitchell has been quietly excellent in his absence. Over the last six games, Mitchell is up to 12-3-7 with 1.5 3s and 1.2 steals while shooting 50% from the field. Even if we only get another game or two, seven assists per game don't grow on trees. If we get more than another couple games, then Mitchell will have been listed too low here.

Tari Eason , Rockets (42% rostered)

Why did Eason play 35 minutes on Saturday? Eason is a per-minute machine who is stuck on a crowded depth chart averaging low minutes, so this question is pivotal. Unfortunately, the answer is a combination of factors that probably make Saturday a one-off: Eason was part of the lineup that got extra run as it was bringing Houston back from down 18 points, and then the game went to OT. He's probably going to stay close to his 20-22-ish minutes per game moving forward. But he's good enough that it's worth taking this opportunity to talk about him. If the Rockets shed depth in a trade or if someone gets hurt, rush to the wire to snag Eason. Until then, however, he's probably only addable if you have a deep bench that you don't need to rely on (i.e., due to weekly lineups or a strict games max).

Other recommendations: Ochai Agbaji , Raptors (44% rostered); Caris LeVert , Cavaliers (44% rostered); Tim Hardaway Jr. , Pistons (18% rostered); Kyshawn George, Wizards (13% rostered); Dorian Finney-Smith , Nets (28% rostered); Royce O'Neale , Suns (27% rostered); Ayo Dosunmu , Bulls (33% rostered); Miles McBride , Knicks (24% rostered)

Not giving up

Anthony Black , Magic (18% rostered)

My excitement about Black has cooled considerably after last week when he was listed second in this column. But I'm still holding him in some of the competitive leagues I added him, despite the availability of some players listed above. Unfortunately, the massive shot-blocking appears to have been a small-sample-size mirage – he blocked seven in four games, but then blocked none in the following four games. Based on his per-minute numbers from college and as a rookie, I do expect some blocks to return, but I'm no longer hoping for one per game. He appears to have a stable minutes floor with some upside, and he has six assists in three of his past five games. If the assists can stick and the blocks can return to roughly 0.7-0.8 per game, Black will have been worth the wait.

OK to give up

Kyle Filipowski , Jazz (16% rostered)

Last week's top recommendation had a disappointing seven days. His minutes dropped in consecutive starts. He was ineffective in both games. His defensive slump continued – seven games into the season, his lone contribution there is a solitary steal. Worst of all, on Thursday, he remained on the bench until garbage time. I still believe in Filipowski's upside as a high per-minute producer if he can earn a stable role, so it's OK to hold on for one more game to see if Thursday's benching was permanent. But he needs 22-ish minutes (and the defensive slump to end) to be rosterable, preferably more like 25-plus, and he's just not getting that right now.

Deep league special

Kyshawn George, Wizards (13% rostered)

As mentioned above, Kyle Kuzma (groin) is out, and we don't know for how long. We do know, however, that George is filling in admirably. He's started all three games, averaging 12-5-3 with 1.7 steals, one block, and 2.3 3s through that stretch. Those are shallow-league-adds numbers. Of course, he's likely to cool off a bit, and Kuzma could return at any time, which is why many have been slow to add George. But if you're in a deep league, take what you can get, especially if "what you can get" is this good.

If you don't know much about George, he's 20 years old and was drafted late in the first round of June's draft. The Miami prospect has hit a late growth spurt, and he's already out-performed his "raw" reputation coming in. Notably, he shot 41% from three in school but started the season in a horrendous 2-for-22 (9%) slump. Presumably, he should see some positive regression there soon. Even before Kuzma's injury, he was averaging 23 minutes per game, more than most outsiders anticipated. It's possible George could maintain some deep league value even after Kuzma returns, though I wouldn't count on that yet.