Fantasy Basketball Week 5 Waiver Wire: Tyreke Evans, Will Barton working their way back

Are Tyreke Evans and Will Barton available in your league? Chris Towers looks at waiver options from these bigger names to an obscure one.

Start & Sit: Top 150 for Week 5

In the interest of helping as many people as possible, I usually try to focus on lower-owned players when looking on the waiver wire. However, it's typically true that if a player is low owned, it's usually for a reason.

Most of the players who end up featured in this space have pretty limited utility in Fantasy. They are stepping into a larger role for a small amount of time, or are hot and have a chance to provide some short-term value at the end of your roster. Most of the time, you're just hoping to supplement your core on the wire.

Sometimes, real difference makers can be found, and it looks like there are a few of those out there right now. Specifically, Tyreke Evans (83 percent owned in CBSSports.com leagues) and Will Barton (77 percent) are sitting out there in enough leagues that we need to highlight them. Both are working their way back from injuries, but both could be back soon enough to make them worth picking up right now.

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Injuries pretty much ruined Evans' 2015-16 season, limiting him to 25 games, but it says something about how good he is that the veteran guard still managed to average 15.2 points, 5.2 rebounds and 6.6 assists per game. He has been working his way back slowly from knee surgery, and was reported to be pain free in recent days.

Evans will likely be on a minutes limit whenever he is available to return, but that could be as soon as two weeks at this point. He has started working out on the court and is reported to be in great shape, and is one of those rare players who truly can be a difference maker off the wire. He isn't available everywhere, but his upside is high enough that, if he is out there, you can't afford to let him stay there.

Barton's injury isn't nearly as serious as Evans, but it didn't end up costing him more time than expected when he first went down with an ankle injury. Barton is on the verge of returning now, and has a huge opportunity to make an impact whenever he is able to get back, with veteran Jameer Nelson starting and rookie Jamal Murray not quite looking ready for prime time.

Those two have stepped into a larger role in Gary Harris' absence, and represent obviously imperfect options until Barton's return. Barton averaged 18.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game in the first three games of the season, and should be nearly universally owned now that he is back.

Of course, chances are, Barton and Evans aren't available in your league, so let's look a bit deeper, starting with Trey Lyles. Derrick Favors has been dealing with a knee injury that is likely to continue to cost him time moving forward, and Lyles has a big opportunity as a result. The second-year forward hasn't been quite as effective as hoped so far, with his production on a per-minute basis down nearly across the board, but he still has some interesting skills.

He can do a bit of playmaking from the power forward spot, and was a 38.3 percent 3-point shooter a year ago. He fits nicely next to Rudy Gobert, and has averaged 16.7 points and 5.3 rebounds per game over his past three. With Favors out, he should continue to see opportunities to contribute.

We'll talk a bit more about another member of the Bucks' frontcourt shortly, but it's Henson's turn to shine. Consistency has always been an issue for this talented, athletic big, but there has always been potential for big production if he ever got minutes. He has stepped into the starting lineup over the past four games, and is averaging 8.5 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game in 20.9 minutes.

That is pretty pedestrian production, but if he can just play 20 minutes most nights, Henson might just be able to get to 2.0 blocks per game before long, which would be enough to make him startable. He isn't there yet, but it's worth betting on.

All right, here's an extremely deep sleeper. Gibson is a 29-year-old rookie who I admittedly had never heard of until a few days ago. However, with J.J. Barea and Deron Williams sidelined with calf injuries, he has been in the rotation for the Mavericks' past two games, totaling 37 points and six assists in his first two NBA games.

It's hard to say what Gibson might be capable of, but if you're in a deep enough league and have the roster spot, it might be worth taking a look.

Cut 'Em Loose

In all honesty, I'm not sure what should be done with Greg Monroe.

Jason Kidd's greatest asset as a coach might be his flexibility; he isn't one of those coaches who will stubbornly stick with a set rotation if it isn't working. That's a good trait for everything but Fantasy sports, where predictability is all-powerful. Kidd recognized that his three-center rotation simply wasn't working, and he made the decision last week to focus on getting two of his bigs going, and Monroe has been the loser so far. He has played just nine minutes over the last three games, and hasn't topped 25 since Nov. 6 at this point.

Kidd's unpredictability could mean Monroe returns to the rotation and plays a big role at any point, so you're not dropping him across the board. However, it's not crazy to consider cutting Monroe in, say, a 10-team league. Really.

When he first joined the Bulls, it was easy to get excited about Nikola Mirotic's game. He had power forward size, but a small forward's handle, stroke and quickness, so he projected as a potential future star for the Bulls, like Danilo Gallinari with a beard. Things haven't quite taken the path we hoped for, unfortunately, because his game has pretty much stagnated over the last season-plus.

He struggled with consistency a year ago, and hasn't gotten much better in Year 3. Lately, Mirotic has not topped 25 minutes since Nov. 2, and has continued losing playing time to Taj Gibson as the season has gone on. There will probably come a time when Mirotic gets hot, or Gibson gets hurt, and he is Fantasy relevant yet again, but it's hard to keep waiting on someone averaging just 6.5 points per game over his last eight.