NBA DFS DraftKings Picks for October 29, 2026

Overall slate thoughts

Start with Domantas Sabonis at $9,200 and Evan Mobley at $7,900, then protect the remaining roster spots. Thursday’s three-game DraftKings NBA slate begins at 8 p.m. ET. James Harden at $7,400 is our salary-first Cleveland guard, while Jaylen Wells at $4,700 and Jrue Holiday at $5,100 help keep the build out of the speculative minimum-salary tier. Ty Jerome at $8,300 is the guard-ceiling alternative. Cleveland, Atlanta and New Orleans have yet to submit their morning reports, so leave room for genuine rotation news. One premium center and a balanced middle is our preferred construction.

Atlanta allowed 70 points in the paint to Miami on Wednesday. That is a reason to investigate Cleveland’s bigs, especially with both teams on the second night of a back-to-back. It is also one game against a particular frontcourt, not an established defensive ranking.

Memphis-Portland offers a useful two-hour decision window after the early games. A competitive game can support minutes on both sides, but six players from that matchup still have to share shots, assists and rebounds. Most role samples here cover three to five games, so treat them as early evidence rather than season-long baselines.

Core plays

These are our first construction priorities if available without a new restriction. Use them as alternatives within the cap.

Domantas Sabonis, Sacramento, C, $9,200

Sabonis is our preferred expensive anchor. Tuesday brought 37 minutes, 16 shots, 14 rebounds and eight assists. The passing and rebounding are the attraction: he has routes to a strong result when teammates finish possessions instead of him. Sacramento’s missing frontcourt bodies add workload support.

The direct alternative is Jarrett Allen at $6,000. Pay the extra $3,200 for Sabonis when the value positions retain credible playing time. Take the savings when they replace a fragile punt with a player you would actually want. The failure case is paying for a premium all-around role and getting ordinary scoring or a shortened competitive window. New Orleans’ final center availability still matters to the matchup.

Evan Mobley, Cleveland, PF/C, $7,900

Mobley’s three regulation games produced 32 to 35 minutes; Monday’s 38 came in overtime. His PF/C eligibility also lets us keep Sabonis at center without giving up the frontcourt investment.

There is a scoring caution: Mobley made five of six threes Wednesday. We are buying his role and positional flexibility, not another shooting outlier. He saves $1,600 versus Jalen Johnson. Johnson remains the stronger choice for a build centered on forward playmaking; Mobley fits the balanced version. Reassess the combination if Cleveland’s report changes the rotation.

James Harden, Cleveland, PG, $7,400

Choose Harden over Donovan Mitchell when the $1,200 savings repairs another position. Harden took 18 shots and supplied six assists Wednesday, playing 34 rounded minutes despite a 5-for-18 shooting night. The useful signal is that the opportunities survived the misses.

Pairing him with Mobley gives a lineup a passer-and-finisher path. Harden also competes with Mitchell for creation. If both remain fully available, we would rather choose a guard than automatically pay for both alongside a Cleveland big.

GPP plays

Ty Jerome, Memphis, PG/SG, $8,300

Jerome is the strongest argument for moving money back to the guards. His first four games produced 15 to 25 shot attempts and 30 to 32 minutes apiece. That is a substantial offensive role at a price below the slate’s most expensive players.

The tournament case is that Memphis’ scoring concentrates in Jerome while Portland keeps the game competitive. The failure case is an ordinary shooting night at a salary that now requires a strong total. A Jerome-Avdija pairing costs $16,100 and gives us primary involvement on opposite sides. Use that pair as the alternative to an early-game premium build.

Deni Avdija, Portland, PF, $7,800

Avdija’s appeal is the combination of scoring chances and creation. He attempted 15 shots and delivered nine assists in 33 rounded minutes Tuesday. His passing helps separate him from Portland’s other creators.

He is our preferred upgrade from a secondary forward when we save at center. Compared with Mobley, Avdija gives up center eligibility but offers a different route through assists. The risk is paying for too many Portland creators at once. A lineup with Avdija, Morant, Lillard and Holiday needs an exceptional collective result; selecting one primary creator plus a complementary piece is easier to defend.

Zach LaVine, Sacramento, SG/SF, $6,600

LaVine gives the balanced build a scoring ceiling without another premium salary. He scored 22 on ten attempts in 31 rounded minutes Tuesday. That result also explains the risk: efficient scoring can conceal modest shot volume. We need the attempts or the secondary categories to cooperate if the shooting cools.

His SG/SF eligibility makes him easier to fit than a single-position scorer. The Sabonis pairing offers some assisted-scoring upside. LaVine is a more affordable way to retain Sacramento scoring exposure when Sabonis is the only premium.

Jalen Johnson, Atlanta, PF, $9,500

Johnson is the premium-forward alternative. He played 36 to 38 minutes in his last three games, October 24 through 28. That workload gives the all-around ceiling room to develop, but it also makes Atlanta’s back-to-back report important.

We prefer him in a deliberate pivot away from the Sabonis-centered build, rather than adding him as a third expensive piece. Johnson and Jerome cost $17,800, leaving $32,200 for six spots. That is workable if the cheaper center and wings stand on their own. The wrong version uses Johnson, Jerome and Sabonis together, then mistakes the resulting $4,600 average for proof that enough value exists.

Value plays

Jaylen Wells, Memphis, SF, $4,700

Wells has logged 25 to 33 minutes and seven to ten attempts in four games. That makes him a useful salary bridge, with a clearer workload case than a player who needs a new absence to reach the rotation. The limited shot count also keeps the ceiling in perspective.

We prefer Wells when the savings preserve a real difference-maker elsewhere. Do not build the entire value case around steals, because defensive events are volatile. Competition with Memphis’ other wings remains the minutes risk.

Jrue Holiday, Portland, SG/SF, $5,100

Holiday is the useful reminder that a bench label and a short workload are different things. Tuesday’s line included 30 rounded minutes, 12 attempts, four rebounds and three assists. At this salary, that level of involvement deserves a place ahead of unproven injury replacements.

The crowded guard group is the downside. Portland’s closing combination can swing that workload. His two-position eligibility makes him attractive in a balanced build, while the late tip leaves room to react if the contest supports late swap.

Jerami Grant, Memphis, SF/PF, $4,400

Grant has played 22 to 26 rounded minutes in four games, taking six to nine shots each time. That is enough evidence to use him as a salary-saving forward without inventing a larger role. His eligibility also covers both wing and forward construction needs.

We prefer him to forcing a $3,000 player into a premium-heavy lineup. The trade-off is a narrow margin: a quiet shooting night and few peripheral stats can leave this roster spot behind. If another confirmed value opens a larger workload, Grant is one of the first positions to reconsider.

Injury-related thoughts

The NBA’s October 29 report at 7 a.m. ET still listed Cleveland, Atlanta and New Orleans as not yet submitted. Availability-dependent recommendations for those teams remain provisional.

• Sacramento: Dylan Cardwell, Keegan Murray, Maxime Raynaud, Ben Simmons and Sean Pedulla were out. The missing frontcourt options support investigating Sabonis’ workload, but do not make Precious Achiuwa at $5,800 an automatic value. Salary still has to match his actual role.
• Portland: Shaedon Sharpe was out. Jayson Kent, John Tonje, Yang Hansen and Chris Youngblood carried questionable assignment or two-way designations. These are administrative availability tags, not four new injuries.
• Cleveland and Atlanta: Reassess the expensive creators when the teams file. If a primary ball-handler is ruled out, review both who gains creation and who takes the replacement minutes. A starting-lineup change alone does not answer both questions.

New Orleans needs a separate decision tree

Jordan Poole exited Wednesday with an ankle injury after seven minutes. His earlier illness designation does not describe the whole situation anymore. If he sits, Jeremiah Fears at $5,000 is the first inexpensive guard we would reassess, rather than automatically elevating every bench scorer. Fears played 24 rounded minutes and attempted 14 shots Wednesday. That is an existing opportunity base; a further increase still needs a reason.

Bennedict Mathurin at $4,200 needs stronger role evidence. He played 14 rounded minutes Wednesday, so Poole’s exit did not immediately create a full workload for him. We would upgrade Mathurin only with a clearer rotation change.

Yves Missi missed Wednesday with a left-knee contusion/bone bruise. If he remains out, Derik Queen at $6,300 is a frontcourt option, but his salary already requires meaningful production. Queen collected 12 rebounds in 25 rounded minutes Wednesday. Do not assume a missing center automatically produces 35 minutes for Queen or makes DeAndre Jordan at $3,800 a free square. The Pelicans’ report and rotation determine which version is playable.

High risk and high reward

Robert Williams, Portland, PF/C, $4,200

Williams’ first three games brought 15, 18 and 21 rounded minutes; Tuesday included ten rebounds, two steals and a block. That is genuine per-minute upside, but the narrow workload is the risk we are accepting. Donovan Clingan at $6,100 remains part of the center equation.

Use Williams when his salary unlocks a meaningful upgrade, and resist projecting Tuesday’s defensive events into every appearance. A new limitation or smaller rotation role removes the case quickly. Pairing him with Clingan would require an unusually productive combined center allocation, so we prefer choosing one in the normal build.

Kingston Flemings, Atlanta, PG, $3,800

Flemings reached 28 minutes Wednesday after 15 to 25 in his first four games, shooting 9-for-12 in the breakout. The breakout makes him worth monitoring.

He becomes more attractive if Atlanta identifies a larger role or an absence opens one. Without that, we would rather use the steadier midrange structure than make a repeat of his best game necessary for the lineup to work. He is the speculative route to a second premium, not our default salary saver.

Ja Morant, Portland, PG/SG, $6,400

Morant took eight, 13 and 13 shots in Portland’s first three games. His price is appealing, but he shares creation with Avdija and Lillard.

He is a tournament alternative to a more expensive guard when we want to spend at forward. The upside comes from expanded creation or an especially productive attacking game. The risk is an ordinary share of the offense without enough rebounds or defensive production to compensate.

Lineup construction and salary-validated example

Preferred path: Sabonis anchors the center position, Mobley fills PF, and Harden provides the cheaper Cleveland guard. LaVine adds scoring upside. The final four spots buy identifiable rotation work instead of relying on several new starters to emerge.

DraftKings’ published NBA format uses PG, SG, SF, PF, C, G, F and UTIL. Its Classic overview specifies a $50,000 cap and players from multiple teams. The example below uses eight distinct players, all three games and no more than two players from one team.

The weakest assumption is Williams sustaining enough production in limited minutes, followed by Grant contributing on modest shot volume.

Alternative path: Replace Sabonis with Allen at $6,000 and Grant with Avdija at $7,800. The revised lineup costs $49,700, with $300 remaining and every slot still eligible. Allen has played 27 to 30 rounded minutes in four games. This trades Sabonis’ premium role for a stronger forward investment. It also concentrates three players in Cleveland and three in Portland, with Allen and Mobley sharing rebounding opportunities.

Keep the 10 p.m. players in G, F and UTIL where possible. In the example, Holiday, Grant and Williams occupy those flexible slots, with Wells filling the remaining SF need. Late-swap availability depends on the contest. Confirm its rules, the final reports and your actual replacement options before the 8 p.m. games begin.