Welcome to "Role Revolution," where we explore fantasy basketball sleepers who are poised to break out due to recent roster changes and expanded opportunities.
As the NBA season enters its final stretch, trade deadline moves and injury developments are creating unique opportunities for emerging players. With teams pushing for playoff positioning and/or evaluating young talent, this week's edition highlights eight week-19 waiver wire adds who are seizing their moments and proving they can yield meaningful fantasy value when given the chance. (Statistics as of March 4, 2025)
1. Davion Mitchell
(PG, Miami Heat)
2024-25 stats: 7.0 PPG, 1.9 RPG
4.5 APG, 0.8 SPG, 0.2 BPG
45.6 FG%, 38.3 3P%, 67.4 FT%
Since arriving in Miami from Toronto through a five-team trade in early February, Davion Mitchell has supplanted Terry Rozier as the go-to point guard in head coach Erik Spoelstra’s lineup, starting every game and even leading the team in minutes over his past three appearances.
The 2021 NCAA champion and Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year was known as a defensive irritant coming out of Baylor and showed flashes of offensive promise as a rookie, averaging 11.5 PPG and 4.5 APG for the Kings, before fading from relevance somewhat over the past three seasons (5.8 PPG, 2.7 APG).
Mitchell looks reinvigorated in a Heat uniform and has been especially lethal in recent weeks. He’s shot 60.5 FG% and 54.5 3P% over his last six games, including a scalding 7-8 FG, 5-5 3PT showing in a dominant win over the Hawks last Wednesday.
That was the first of three straight double-digit scoring performances, during which time Mitchell also averaged 6.3 APG and notched his eighth straight game with at least one steal. Despite a minor quadriceps injury causing him to miss Miami’s last game, count on Mitchell to continue holding down the point guard slot in a down year for Rozier.
2. Quentin Grimes
(SG, Philadelphia 76ers)
2024-25 stats: 11.3 PPG, 4.1 RPG
2.4 APG, 0.7 SPG, 0.3 BPG
47.3 FG%, 39.3 3P%, 72.9 FT%
Prior to being traded by the Mavericks for Caleb Martin last month, Quentin Grimes had reached 30 points in a game just twice in four NBA seasons. In 11 games for Philadelphia, he has already done so three times, including twice in his past three games: an eye-popping 44-point showing in a win over the Warriors on Saturday, shooting 18-24 FG and 6-9 3PT and an efficient 30 points on 12-18 FG against Minnesota on Tuesday.
Overall, Grimes is shooting 52.4 FG% as a 76er, demonstrating high-level scoring touch from deep and around the rim we had yet to see over his four-season career. With their top-6 protected first-round pick likely conveying to the Thunder this year, Philadelphia and Grimes (rostered in just 17.7% of ESPN leagues) may choose to keep their foot on the gas and push for a Play-In spot over this final stretch of games.
3. Day’Ron Sharpe
(C, Brooklyn Nets)
2024-25 stats: 8.5 PPG, 6.6 RPG
1.8 APG, 0.8 SPG, 0.8 BPG
52.8 FG%, 25.0 3P%, 77.3 FT%
Day’Ron Sharpe, Brooklyn’s backup center, has excelled as an offensive rebounder over his four professional seasons (currently ranking 99th percentile in Offensive Rebounding Quality), but has not shown much versatility in the non-rebounding areas of his game. That changed last Wednesday and led to the lottery-bound Nets taking a 15-point lead into halftime against the league’s top team in the Thunder.
Despite Brooklyn ultimately losing that matchup, Sharpe, in his first start of the season, posted a career-high 25 points and likely had his best overall game as a professional, grabbing 15 rebounds while dishing out five assists. Sharpe, who has yet to reach double-digit three-pointers made in a season, even knocked down 2-3 from deep in a breakthrough performance.
Starter Nic Claxton returned to the lineup the last three games; consequently, Sharpe came back down to Earth scoring-wise, but still posted six assists and four steals against Detroit on Saturday. Keep an eye on Claxton’s status as the season winds down. Even if he stays healthy, head coach Jordi Fernandez may choose to experiment with the lineup and see what the Nets have with Sharpe as they face a rebuilding offseason.
4. Andre Drummond
(C, Philadelphia 76ers)
2024-25 stats: 7.5 PPG, 7.9 RPG
0.8 APG, 1.1 SPG, 0.4 BPG
52.2 FG%, 13.3 3P%, 60.5 FT%
We discussed the impact of Joel Embiid’s frequent absences in our Week 16 section on Guerschon Yabusele, and this past week, Philadelphia announced the star center would miss the remainder of the season. With Yabusele continuing to show considerable range from three-point land (40.5%), head coach Nick Nurse has recently opted for a lineup featuring both him and Drummond in the frontcourt, allowing the latter to post the huge rebounding numbers we have come to expect over his 13-year career.
In four games as a starter since the Embiid announcement, Drummond has averaged 12.0 RPG, including 14 boards against Golden State on Saturday and a monster 25-point, 18-rebound showing versus Portland on Monday. Drummond struggled in the second game of a back-to-back Tuesday in Minnesota, but if he stays healthy, he should remain a nightly double-double threat for the rest of the season.
5. Moses Brown
(C, Dallas Mavericks)
2024-25 stats: 5.8 PPG, 3.4 RPG
0.2 APG, 0.5 SPG, 0.3 BPG
69.4 FG%, 0.0 3P%, 72.7 FT%
Still just 25 years old, Moses Brown is on his seventh team in six NBA seasons after signing a 10-day contract with the Mavericks on February 20th. The 7’2 center has played just 163 career games but is now being relied upon down low due to Dallas’ severe lack of frontcourt options with big men Anthony Davis,
Daniel Gafford, and Dereck Lively II all out for long stretches. We mentioned Dallas’ injury woes as pertained to P.J. Washington last week, and with Washington now managing an ongoing ankle issue, the situation has reached crisis level.
Enter Brown, who posted 20 points and 11 rebounds against Charlotte last Thursday and followed that up with an 18-point, nine-rebound showing versus Milwaukee on Saturday. A career 54.4% free throw shooter, Brown has even shown improvement in that area, knocking down 5-6 as a Mav so far, using a unique shot form.
While the Mavericks’ core rotation pieces remain out for at least the next few weeks, Brown has a great opportunity to continue posting high rebound totals and converting efficiently inside.
6. Zach Collins
(PF, Chicago Bulls)
2024-25 stats: 11.2 PPG, 3.7 RPG
1.7 APG, 0.5 SPG, 0.4 BPG
48.4 FG%, 29.0 3P%, 87.9 FT%
Despite being 14 games below .500, the Bulls are still somehow holding on to the final Play-In spot in the Eastern Conference. Zach Collins, who arrived through the three-team Zach LaVine trade in early February, was not expected to shoulder a heavy load, but has stepped up with Nikola Vucevic nursing a calf injury.
In five games as a starter, Collins has averaged 18.2 PPG and 10.4 RPG. These included a boxscore-stuffing 21 points, 17 rebounds, seven assists performance against the Clippers last Wednesday, and 20 points on 10/16 FG against the East-leading Cavaliers on Tuesday. Vucevic is expected to return soon, but confidently slot Collins into your lineup for immediate production in the meantime.
7. Aaron Wiggins
(SG, Oklahoma City Thunder)
2024-25 stats: 11.4 PPG, 3.8 RPG
1.6 APG, 0.8 SPG, 0.3 BPG
49.9 FG%, 39.7 3P%, 83.3 FT%
In a stacked Thunder rotation featuring standout guard/wing contributors in Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, Lu Dort, Cason Wallace, Isaiah Joe, and Alex Caruso, it can be easy to overlook Aaron Wiggins who is having his best NBA season and has only gotten better as the year has unfolded.
After failing to reach 30 points in a game over his first four seasons, Wiggins kicked off February with a 41-point, 14-rebound outing in a win over Sacramento. That jump-started a sharp uptick in play from the shooting guard; after averaging 9.3 PPG and 3.4 RPG from October to January, Wiggins has averaged 17.9 PPG and 5.1 RPG on 52.8 FG% and 46.7 3P% since the start of February.
Still rostered in less than 15% of ESPN leagues while showcasing both growth and consistency, Wiggins is worth adding now before he takes another leap forward.
8. Alec Burks
(SG, Miami Heat)
2024-25 stats: 6.4 PPG, 2.6 RPG
1.1 APG, 0.6 SPG, 0.2 BPG
41.4 FG%, 42.7 3P%, 77.5 FT%
Alec Burks is another Heat player who has shined in the post-Jimmy Butler era, grabbing the final spot among our week-19 waiver wire adds. With Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Andrew Wiggins both dealing with ankle injuries, Burks is shooting 10-17 from beyond the arc over his last three outings and featured as a starter for the latter two.
Despite quietly posting the best season-long efficiency from deep in his 14-year career, Burks is unlikely to post huge fantasy production anytime soon. That said, for those in deep leagues needing a couple of extra three-pointers per night, the veteran shooting guard is worth considering.