Fantasy Basketball Week 4 Waiver Wire: Jared McCain, Nolan Traore and Day'Ron Sharpe Lead the Adds, Plus the Four-Game Schedules to Target

Jared McCain has scored 21 and 19 points on consecutive nights for an Oklahoma City team missing three starters, and he leads the Week 4 waiver wire for fantasy basketball managers. Brooklyn's Nolan Traore and Day'Ron Sharpe, Oklahoma City rookie Bennett Stirtz and Orlando's Jamal Cain round out the adds, with one big caveat: the schedule for Nov. 9-15 is lopsided, and it should drive how you use every pickup.

Jared McCain: real minutes on a four-game week

McCain went 9 of 14 with four steals for 21 points in Friday's win at Memphis, then shot 8 of 10 for 19 points in Saturday's 114-75 rout of Washington, a game in which he had 17 by halftime. Those are his two best scoring nights since his 20-point opener in San Antonio. The early season was rough: he scored 10 or fewer in six of his first eight games, and even after this weekend he is shooting 41.8 percent from the field and 29.8 percent from three.

The opportunity is what changed. Oklahoma City (8-2) is without Jalen Williams, Cason Wallace and Chet Holmgren to long-term injuries, plus Jaylin Williams (back), and McCain has played between 23 and 30 minutes in seven straight games. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander still dominates the ball, but McCain is the clearest secondary scorer on a team that wins nightly. The Thunder play four times in Week 4, including a back-to-back in Portland on Tuesday and Wednesday, then visit the Clippers and Kings.

Verdict: Add in 12-team leagues for points and threes. Expect some cold shooting nights; the volume is the reason to roster him.

Nolan Traore and Day'Ron Sharpe: Brooklyn's productive pair

Traore scored a season-high 19 on 8-of-10 shooting with four steals in Saturday's 124-121 loss in Atlanta. He has scored 16, 17, 16 and 19 in his last four games, and he has piled up seven steals over his last two. Across nine games, he is shooting 53.8 percent from the field and 48.5 percent from three, averaging 12.8 points and 1.6 steals in 22.2 minutes. He is also an immediate Sunday stream, because coach Jordi Fernandez ruled rookie Mikel Brown Jr. out for rest against Dallas.

Sharpe started at center on Saturday and is turning into a source of rebounds and passing. He posted 12 points, 10 rebounds and 13 assists on Saturday, after an eight-assist game against Charlotte and 15 points and 13 rebounds at Indiana. On the season, he is averaging 7.4 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.1 blocks in 24.1 minutes, a useful profile for category leagues.

Verdict: Both are worth rostering in 12-team leagues, but timing matters. Brooklyn plays only twice in Week 4 (Wednesday at New Orleans and Saturday at Memphis). In weekly head-to-head leagues with roster locks, pick them up for Sunday and consider dropping them before Monday. In roto and daily leagues, Traore is a hold.

Deeper adds: Bennett Stirtz and Jamal Cain

Stirtz, an Oklahoma City rookie, has scored 16, 12 and 11 in his last three games and is shooting 44.4 percent from three on 3.6 attempts per game. He played 29 minutes on Saturday. He offers few rebounds or assists, so he is a threes-and-points stream for 14-team and deeper leagues, helped by the Thunder's four games.

Cain played 36 minutes off the bench in Saturday's overtime loss at Golden State and finished with 18 points and 12 rebounds. Orlando is down to bare bones on the wing: Paolo Banchero is out four to six weeks, Jalen Suggs and Jonathan Isaac are out with knee injuries and Desmond Bane missed Saturday with an illness. Cain's season averages (7.2 points and 3.1 rebounds) show how much his role depends on those absences, and Bane's return would cut into it quickly. Orlando plays three games in Week 4.

Verdict: Stirtz is a deep-league add. Cain is a short-term rebounds stream only while Bane is out.

The Week 4 adds at a glance

Schedule math for Nov. 9-15

Fourteen teams play four games in Week 4, and two play only twice, which makes streaming decisions easier than usual. If two waiver candidates are close, take the one on a four-game team.

The Wizards stand out among the four-game teams. Kyshawn George, a Verdexed add on Friday, posted 14 points, seven rebounds, six assists and three blocks in Saturday's loss at Oklahoma City, and Washington has four games with Anthony Davis still out with a sprained ankle. Hold George. On the other end, Minnesota's two-game week makes Timberwolves role players such as Ayo Dosunmu and Jaden McDaniels weaker weekly starts than their recent production suggests.

What to do in your league

Make the priority order McCain, Traore (with the two-game caveat in weekly leagues), Sharpe, Stirtz and Cain. If your league uses a free-agent budget, McCain deserves the biggest bid of the group because his role, team quality and schedule all line up.

One stash is worth considering in deeper leagues: the Clippers' Brandon Ingram, who has not played this season after Achilles surgery, will sit Sunday but has been described as ramping up, with Tuesday at Phoenix his next chance to debut. For game-by-game views from the Verdexed model, visit the NBA predictions page and the NBA picks for November 8.

What's next

Watch Oklahoma City's back-to-back in Portland on Tuesday and Wednesday for any minutes management that affects McCain and Stirtz, and check Bane's status before Orlando's Tuesday game in Sacramento. Brown's return for Brooklyn on Wednesday will show whether Traore keeps his recent usage, and Ingram's debut could reshape the Clippers' rotation later in the week.