In the third to last week of Jumping the Waiver Wire I wish there were more people I could add to the list but there simply isn’t enough room, so what I’m going to try to do is put an honorable mention list at the bottom with a little blurb about why each missed the cut.

Daequan Cook (11% Yahoo! Ownership)

Making what is probably his fourth and final appearance on Jumping, Cook gets the nod one last time because of an injury to Luther Head that will sideline the Houston castaway for the rest of the regular season. Since Head joined the Heat on March 14, Cook’s minutes have plummeted. In his past seven games they’ve gone from somewhere in the mid 20s to just over 13 per contest. In those seven he’s averaged merely 3.1 PPG on 30 percent shooting. Cook is on here largely because of the opportunity for more minutes and because of his track record over the entire season for being a proven fantasy asset, certainly not for his recent slew of bad games.

With Indiana 4.5 games out of the eighth seed in the East and needing to leapfrog three teams with only eight games to go, the likeliness of Troy Murphy returning this season from a sprained knee is getting slimmer by the day, despite his coach feeling “optimistic” about the prospect. In the three games since Murphy (who Rotoworld refers to as “the double-double machine”) went down, Foster has filled his place in the starting lineup and on the glass, averaging a whopping 14.3 rebounds, to go along with 1.7 blocks in 39 energy-packed minutes. The ten-year vet has also chipped in with 7 PPG in 26 games he’s started this year.

Wright averaged a solid 9.7 PPG, 7 RPG, 1 BPG and 1 SPG over his last three and barely missed the Jumping cut last week due to reports suggesting Peja Stojakovic’s return from back spasms was imminent. Well, he has yet to come back and I forgot that back spasms elicit one of the most unpredictable return timetables of any sports injury, so why not roll the dice on Wright this week. With Peja’s return date unknown, Tyson Chandler’s ongoing absence with a tweaked ankle and James Posey set to miss the next three games with an elbow injury, I don’t see why Wright can’t put up the same numbers he did last week, in which he was a legitimate play in 12 team formats.

Anderson Varejao (40% Yahoo! Ownership)

The man most fantasy guys jokingly refer to as Sideshow Bob hasn’t done anything particularly special to spurn owners to Jump on him, but he is a solid across the board center who can contribute points, rebounds, steals and blocks. In March, he started every game and posted 10.3 PPG, 8.2 RPG, 1 SPG and 0.8 BPG. With Ben Wallace questionable to return this season, it’s possible Varejao’s value takes a hit in the near future, but until then, ride the Andy train!

Beno Udrih (43% Yahoo! Ownership)

Since his return from a sprained ankle two weeks ago, Udrih has averaged a healthy 36 minutes of action per night, along with 11.4 PPG, 6.3 APG, 4 RPG and 1 SPG. Look for Bobby Jackson’s return to have little impact on Udrih’s numbers and hopefully Udrih can provide the owners who stuck with him through his disappointing season a small sample of what they were hoping to get when they targeted him as a number two point guard in drafts this year.

Ryan Anderson (3% Yahoo! Ownership)

With Yi Jianlian stumbling since his return from a broken finger a month-and-a-half ago, Coach Frank has swapped him out of the starting lineup for Anderson, who had played only five games in the month of March before the transaction. The rookie out of Cal can contribute in points, rebounds and triples, but is by no means lightning in a bottle. In 21 games started this year, he’s averaged 7.9 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 1.1 3PG and 0.8 SPG. The Nets’ days in contention appear to be numbered, so like any developing young player on a team playing for nothing but draft position, look for an increase in minutes.

Rodney Carney (5% Yahoo! Ownership)

Inconsistent and unreliable, he simply shouldn’t be on this list. But if you’re in a competitive deep league and there are few options left, you might have to take the plunge and drink the Rodney Carney Kool-Aid. Simply looking at his averages over the last month doesn’t tell the whole story. For Carney, you need to analyze his performances on a night-to-night basis to understand what you’re dealing with. Over his last nine games, in which he’s seen his floor time fluctuate between 14 and 32 minutes, the “Inconsistent One” put up the following points totals: 21, 3, 12, 0, 15, 13, 21, 5 and 19. Now putting all the blame on Carney isn’t fair because, just like any player, the amount of court time he sees plays a large role in determining his production, and in general when Carney has seen minutes he’s put up solid numbers. But it’s nights like March 20^th against Houston, when he put up a goose egg in 25 minutes, that make me wonder. Yes, Kevin McHale’s lineup fluctuations makes Larry Brown’s routine look boring, but with a talent like Carney who can go out, like he did last Wednesday, and nail seven 3s and only miss one, you’ve got to believe with Minnesota’s season well beyond repair, the first-year coach will find a way to get the “Inconsistent One” on the floor and maybe boost his confidence heading into the off-season.

Honorable Mention

Gilbert Arenas and Spencer Hawes are both deserving but they are already owned in over 60 percent of Yahoo! leagues, so they’re off. J.J. Barea and Mike Taylor were tweeners—they had great week’s last week, but their time in the spotlight is about to fade. Brandon Rush was a great pick last week. He saw heavy minutes and posted back-to-back 29-point performances. Look for more great play out of him as he could be this season’s Ramon Sessions, from a playoff value perspective. Kyle Korver, who is in the midst of a five game week, could see more burn in the absence of Andrei Kirilenko, but in Utah’s structured rotation the impact shouldn’t be great. The replacements centers for Samuel Dalembert and Tyson Chandler are hit or miss while those two deal with their ailments this week. Finally, I’ll end with a note on my Warriors. The squad is dressing only nine guys right now and both of our Anthony’s are getting a lot of burn. Anthony Randolph, who was on here a few weeks ago, has been getting nothing but better and now the squad will be without the services of Brandan Wright along with Biedrins. With Stephen Jackson out Anthony Morrow has been hovering around 35 minutes per night and has scored 29, 18 and 10 in those three contests respectively.

Wait, I forgot to add my weekly Warrior to the list and he’s actually deserving. Oh well, too late for a do over.