Who's Got Next: Turning to Hughes

Who's Got Next is a weekly look at some of the top players widely available on the waiver wires.

Larry Hughes owners let out a sigh of relief on Friday when news dropped that the Knicks were no longer interested in signing Allen Iverson. It seemed to me that we would have seen his name on a majority of waiver wires come Saturday morning if the Knicks did happen to pull the trigger on Iverson. And given that fact that Hughes has been stellar of late, providing 14.2 points, 4.4 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 2.3 steals and 1.3 treys over his last ten, losing his production would have been disappointing. Now, though, with Nate Robinson on the Mike D'Antoni's s-list, Hughes should start getting a serious look and his ownership percentage should see an increase into the upper-80s, possibly the 90s.

What I'm getting at is, go pick up Larry Hughes. The Knicks play four times this week, and I suspect Hughes to get the bulk of the minutes at the 'two' going forward.

Looking at the schedule for Week Five, here are a few guys available on most waiver wires who are worth giving a look.

Kenyon Martin, PF, Nuggets -- K-Mart is owned in just 55% of Yahoo! leagues and 31% of FleaFlicker leagues. Over his last three he's posted 13 points, 6.0 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 0.7 steals and 1.3 blocks. This week the Nuggets have arguably the easiest schedule in the league -- NJN, @MIN, NYK, and MIN. Minnesota and New York are currently 29th and 30th in the league, respectively, in rebounds allowed per game. The Nets aren't too far ahead at 25th in the league giving up 44.6 rebounds per game. Martin could prove to be quite useful this week.

Rasual Butler, SG, Clippers -- Ricky Davis started at the two-guard position on Friday night, but it was Butler who cleaned up -- 27 points on 8-of-15 shooting, four three-pointers, three rebounds and two assists. Davis looked awful, which is why he logged a mere 10 minutes and was pulled for good early on in the third quarter. While the Clips wait for Eric Gordon to return, I think they'll look to Butler to take the bulk of the minutes at the 'two'. The Clips get four this week -- MIN, @IND, @DET, MEM -- giving Butler a chance to put up some nice lines.

Ersan Ilyasova, F, Bucks -- Everyone has Ilyasova fever! As they should. In his last five he's given his owners 13.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, 0.8 blocks and 2.0 threes. He also shot 92.8-percent from the free-throw line making 2.6 attempts per game during that span. The Bucks have four this week, they're shorthanded right now and Ilyasova remains in the starting lineup. There you have it in 140 characters or less.

Rudy Fernandez, SG, Blazers -- The extra minutes in Portland seem to belong to Rudy Fernandez. Done deal. In his last three he's played 32.7 minutes per, posting 14.7 points, 3.0 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 3.3 steals and 2.3 three-pointers. Those steals and threes are worth the add alone. Portland has Chicago, New Jersey, Memphis and Utah. The Bulls, Jazz, and Grizzlies are all allowing 7-plus threes per game, while the Nets are giving up 8.8 steals per game on the season. But if I can't sway you, maybe Rudy can make the case for himself -- vote for me! That never gets old, does it?

Anthony Morrow, SG/SF, Warriors -- I'm still rockin' Morrow in most of my leagues. After Don Nelson let him run on Friday night for 48 minutes I'm starting to feel more comfortable about my choice to hang onto him -- 23 points on 8-of-13 shooting, four threes, six rebounds and two steals on Friday night. He's shooting 52.9-percent from the floor, 52.5-percent from beyond the three-point line, and 87.5-percent from the free-throw line on the season. It's a beautiful thing. The Warriors have three games this week and I expect to see Nelson stick with Morrow until his magic 8-ball tells him otherwise.

Marco Belinelli, SG, Raptors -- Prior to Friday night, Belinelli had posted four straight double-figure scoring lines, averaging 2.7 threes over that span. He had been terrific coming off the bench, and with four games this week -- IND, @CHA, @BOS, PHO -- he's certainly worth a flier. Those Phoenix and Indy games might return nice lines, at the very least.

Derek Fisher, PG, Lakers -- This one is strictly based on the Lakers schedule -- NYK, @GSW, NJN -- three teams that yield a rather favorable number of three-pointers, steals, rebounds, and a high number of free-throw attempts. Fisher is no sure thing, but with a schedule like that and a number of ailing point guards he could be a deep league flier this week.

Jared Dudley, F, Suns -- He's having quite the month -- 10.4 points, 1.3 steals, 2.0 three-pointers, and a 48.7 field-goal percentage in just 22 minutes. Only one game all season has Dudley not posted at least one steal and in just three games was he unable to his a three-pointer. Phoenix has MEM, @MIN, and @TOR this week. Toronto has allowed 115.7 points per game over their last three and Minny and Memphis sit in the bottom three in steals allowed per game. Based on the matchups, I would give Dudley a look this week if you're in need of steals and threes.