Priority Pickups: Into the smoldering ruins of New York's roster...

On Monday, the Knicks, Thunder and Cavs managed to complete a three-team trade in which no player involved gained fantasy value. In a way, that's really a remarkable achievement. So kudos to those franchises. If you're still having trouble wrapping your head around the fact that J.R. Smith and Dion Waiters were both flipped in the same deal ... well, yeah. It all seems wonderfully insane.

In New York, a whole pile of (regrettable) minutes and (probably bad) field goal attempts are suddenly up for grabs, so let's review a few widely available options...

SG Tim Hardaway Jr., NYK (28 percent owned)

Yeah, this add might feel awful. It's not for everyone. Hardaway has been shooting poorly in recent weeks, and shooting frequently. That's generally a terrible combination. But I can't believe this sub-40-percent terror will continue indefinitely; he was better than this as a rookie (42.8 percent). He won't lack for opportunities in the near-term, with Smith and Shump shipped and Carmelo Anthony headed for a seemingly inevitable shutdown...

Hardaway offers threes and points, with the occasional defensive goodie. And that's about it. He clearly can't be ignored in fantasy right now, but he's much safer in a points-league (a format no one should play). In deep-ish leagues, rookie wing Cleanthony Early could get interesting as well. He's played 51 total minutes over New York's last two games, shooting poorly but delivering four steals.

C Cole Aldrich, NYK (20 percent owned)

New York just waived Samuel Dalembert, and both Amare Stoudemire (knee) and Andrea Bargnani (calf) are dinged, shockingly. So Aldrich is gonna play. This is a large dude who's delivered a few useful games lately, and his per-36 numbers are encouraging: 13.2 PTS, 10.8 REB, 2.1 BLK, 52.4 FG%. Thus, he's on the radar if you're looking for a big. He offers low-level double-double potential, plus blocks. Jettison at the first sign of trouble.

OK, we're done with Knicks here, for at least the next month. Look elsewhere for Quincy Acy propaganda. Moving on...

PG/SG Mo Williams, Min (21 percent owned)

You've no doubt seen a few promising notes on Ricky Rubio's player page lately, so there's no need to get too excited about Mo. Also, this isn't 2006. Williams is hardly a golden ticket. But for however long Rubio remains on the shelf, Mo can help the fantasy community. He's scored 37 points over his last two games, with six threes and 10 assists. He has some fantasy relevance. Mo is also a fragile player on the wrong side of 30, with trade risk attached. Don't get too comfortable.

C Jusuf Nurkic, Den (25 percent owned)

So this might be nothing more than a big man on a hot streak...

...but still, it's pretty great. That's 14 blocks over four games, with points and boards and non-terrible shooting. And some of these blocks are high-quality denials. I'm in. Let's see where the rookie's story goes from here. If the long-rumored Timofey Mozgov-to-Cleveland deal ever materializes, minutes shouldn't be an issue for Nurkic. He's a terrific speculative pickup.