Something to quench the thirst of people looking forward to the new NBA fantasy season.
Charlotte Bobcats
Michael-Kidd Gilchrist-We only got to see 1 game of this kid in the summer league. But that was enough for me to say he will be just fine in the NBA. The kid looked like a man amongst boys in his 1 summer league game against the Kings and the stats agree- 18pts(58%FG), 8reb, 5ast, 4steals in 22 minutes. His defensive ability will allow him to get big minutes at the 3 right off the bat, and the hustle stats he is known for will translate streight into the NBA. He could struggle FG% wise as he has a poor outside shot, but he should be something like a mix of Gerald Wallace and James Johnson.
- I project something in the lines of 11pts(45%FG) 73%FT, 6reb, 2-2.5 steals, 0.5-1 block 1.75 to's
Kemba Walker-
Kemba had some impressive games but overall he still looked like a guy who will struggle FG% wise because he has a poor outside shot and is too short to get to the rim. He will help you out steal and FT% wise, but overall this is still a year too early for him to be a fantasy stud.
Byron Mullens-
Mully looked good in stretches, also dominating some games scoring wise. He will get plenty of minutes this season unless the Bobcats manage to sign another big body(not too many left). He could frustrate at times as he don't block too many shots or get too many rebounds and big's like him who score from jumpers have many up and down games.
Bismack Biyombo-
Performed really poorly for a second year player, not showing much improvement in his problem areas(offense, tos), will lose minutes to Brendan Haywood this year.
Dallas Maverics
Jae Crowder, Jared Cunningham, Dominique Jones-Sadly Cunningham missed the summer league, but both Jones and Crowder played well. Any one of these 3 could crack the rotation but wont have any fantasy appeal barring injuries. The player I would keep an eye on is Crowder, if given the opportunity than he could deliver nice 3s steals and even a few blocks.
Golden State Warriors
Barnes Harrison-He is a good player for the Warriors franchise, but fantasy wise I am not impressed. He looks an all round player with no particular skills that translate into fantasy. He will more than likely be sharing minutes with Richard Jefferson as well as Warriors look like a team that wont be tanking this season. Draft day decision: #160-#170, likely average draft position #130-#150
Klay Thompson-
Just look at the stats, he showed he belongs in the NBA and in our fantasy team with his summer league play. I mean 71% from threee??? But dont get carried away when drafting he still does not give you much more than 3s with an average FG% and there are plenty of players who can steal minutes from him(Rush, Barnes, Jack) Draft day decision: suggested draft position #80-#90, likely average draft position #60-#70
Memphis Grizzles
Josh Selby-What can I say co-MVP of the summer league, I see him also doing well in the regular season. Grizzles were one of the worst 3pt shooting team last season, so he fits in well with them. Best case scenario is he starts for Tony Allen, which would make him a huge sleeper this season. But besides Allen there is also Tony Wroten and Bayless competing for minutes with him. Most likely case is that he will share minutes with Allen and get some minutes behind Gay also. It is hard to project stats for him as hes minutes will likely chance throughout the season.
- But 9pts, 1.7 threes with 1.2 steals, 1,5 ast with 45% FG% and 80% FT% is something that is achievable for him.
Draft day decision: suggested draft position- #160-180, likely average draft position #100- #120
Tony Wroten-
Kid played well, but is even further behind on the depht chart than Selby, so not your attention in fantasy.
Miami Heat
Dexter Pittman,Norris Cole-Played ok in the summer league, but not worth any attention in fantasy.
Phoenix Suns
Kendall Marshall-He struggled with turnovers, but should be just fine as the backup PG on the suns roster. Not worth attention unless you are a Dragic owner in a very deep league.
Markieff Morris-
Markieff is a good player, and would be a very nice pick for fantasy if he were to get minutes. But the Phoenix front court is very crowded so he will likely have to do with just backing up the PF position behind Scola and even there he could be looking to compete with Beasley. Draft day decision: suggested draft position- #220-#250
Portland Trail Blazers
Luke Babbitt-Babbitt can shoot 3s and rebound, but best case scenario is that he will be backing up Batum. Draft day decision: suggested draft position- #250-#300
Damian Lillard-
Co-MVP of the summer league along with Josh Selby, with a very impressive stat line. I like him a lot, and wont advise anyone against reaching for him on draft day. But there are some aspects of his game that may dampen his fantasy appeal. He is a score first guard so anything over 5 assists will be a bonus, and he does not get too many steals(only 1.5 in college). To compare his fantasy game with current NBA players, than DJ Augustine, Aaron Brooks, Mo Williams, Brandon Knight come to mind.
- Projected stats: 16 pts, 2 reb, 1 steal, 1.75 threes, 5 assists 43% FG%, 87% FT%, 2.5 to's
Mayers Leonard-
A kid I really enjoyed watching as I am always looking for the next dominant big man. And this one has potential, sure his offensive game is raw and his rebounding is something to be worked on. But he is very long, very athletic and looks very coachable. There are talks of Portland looking for another big man, but there are not many good ones available, and even if they get a veteran big I dont see Leonard getting less than 10 minutes with that number increasing as the season progresses. Portland probably wont make the playoffs this season, that will make Leonard a nice player to keep an eye on in the deep leagues.
Draft day decision: suggested draft position- #220-#250
San Antoni Spurs
Kawhi Leonard-
Kawhi played well in the summer league and will probably keep a hold on his starting position. This guy produces some 3s, steals, rebounds, and wont hurt you in any category. And could be a nice value pick later in your draft. I would not reach for any Spurs player dough as Pop is always unpredictable and Leonard does have a guy named Stephen Jackson behind him.
Draft day decision: suggested draft position- #120-#140
Atlanta Hawks
John Jenkins-Jenkins the best shooter in this years draft, shot 44% from the three in college and in the summer league. He needs screens or open looks to create opportunities for himself as he is not great at getting his own looks or getting to the rim. Fantasy wise he will not be worth much attention unless Lou Williams gets hurt, and Jenkins does not contribute much besides 3s. I look for him to get about 10minutes per game and produce 1-1.5 threes with not much else a la James Jones. Draft day decision: suggested draft position- #220-#230
Houston Rockets
All the Rockets young talent could be a bigger or a smaller part of the rotation, especially the forwards or centers.Jeremy Lamb-
Looked great in summer league but is stuck behind Kevin Martin. But as we know Martin is very injury prone, so Lamb is worth a late round pick in deeper leagues.Draft day decision: suggested draft position- #220-#240
Terrence Jones-
This kid one of my favorite late round sleeper picks, as his ability to produce blocks, steals, 3s, rebounds look very tasty. He is likely to get minutes in both forward spots and could even start if he manages to impress. Draft day decision: suggested draft position- #150-#170
Donatas Motiejunas-
This kid is talented and has nice range for a big man. But he does not get many blocks, steals and is a bad rebounder for a 7 footer. Rockets also payed Asik enough money to make his nose bleed, so it is likely that Asik will get the majority of minutes at the 5. Draft day decision: suggested draft position- #250-#2700
Royce White-
After an impressive summer league display White might even be starting at the 4 for the Rockets. But given his lack of fantasy gold I am not very exited. Draft day decision: suggested draft position- #170-#190
Sacramento Kings
Thomas Robinson-All this guy does is score and rebound, and Sacramento have a very crowded front court. Jason Thompson just got payed 30 mil for 5 years, James Johnson who can also play the 4 was traded for and there are Cousins ans Hayes at the 5. His summer league play suggested that he may struggle to get going in the NBA, at least that is what I think. I would avoid him until the very end of deep league drafts, but as he is a lottery pick he is likely to be gone before that. Draft day decision: suggested draft position- #200-#230
Jimmer Fredette-
Played ok in the summer leagues, but needs to be avoided on draft day as some fan will probably nab him way before he is worth.
Washington Wizards
Bradley Beal-The nr. 3 pick in the 2012 draft looked good, but not great in the summer league. His long range shooting was off, so he started passing up open looks and only looked comfortable driving to the basket. He is a great fantasy prospect who can score, shoot 3s, steal, pass and even block shots well for a guard. But is competing with Jordan Crawford for minutes and could be eased into action as the Wizards might still be a year away from being a playoff team. Despite his ability to become a great fantasy player I suggest to avoid him on draft day since he should go pretty high for his lottery pick status, as he will probably struggle in the beginning of the season and should be a nice player to target few months into the season once his owner gets tired of his inconsistencies. Draft day decision: suggested draft position- #120-#150, likely average draft position #60- #100
Jan Vesley-
He played ok, but is not a player I would draft as he produces very little fantasy gold.
Chicago Bulls
Malcolm Thomas-Was the best rebounder in the summer league with 12.6 rpg and also shot the ball well 54FG%, 79FT% and protected the rim with 1.4 bpg. He could find some minutes off the bench as Nazr wont play as many minutes as Asik would have. But wont be worth attention in fantasy as Bulls will probably still make the playoffs, and they wont give him too many minutes to learn.
Marquis Teague-
I dont have much to say, just avoid.
Jimmy Butler-
Played great and could be in line for some backup SF minutes with Korver and Brewer out of town. This makes him a nice sleeper IMO. Nothing too impressive but points, 3s, steals rebs could be expected. Draft day decision: suggested draft position- #190-#200, but he could fall to you even later.
Los Angeles Clippers
Eric Bledsoe-Racked up his normal huge amounts of steals 3.0 and TO's 4,7. Other than that he is not worth much attention in fantasy unless Jamal Crawford, or CP3 get hurt, could see a bump with an injury to Billups as well. I would not draft him in any leagues.
Adam Morrison-
Again we are talking about this guy :), but he just looks too cool not to. At least this time he was lighting it up, and could end up in some teams roster. Very likely that he wont demand any attention in fantasy barring many injuries.
Milwaukee Bucks
John Henson-
played very well, but unlikely to be worth drafting as Bucks have about 4 players ahead of him on the depth chart.
Tobias Harris-
Harris was one of the best players in the summer league and should fit into the rotation right away. It is very likely that he will end up splitting time with Mbah Moute, and could even overtake him on the depth chart. But given the lack of 3s, steals, blocks in his stat output I am not looking to draft him at all.
played very well, but unlikely to be worth drafting as Bucks have about 4 players ahead of him on the depth chart.
Tobias Harris-
Harris was one of the best players in the summer league and should fit into the rotation right away. It is very likely that he will end up splitting time with Mbah Moute, and could even overtake him on the depth chart. But given the lack of 3s, steals, blocks in his stat output I am not looking to draft him at all.
Draft day decision: suggested draft position- #180-#200
Cleavland Cavilers
Tyler Zeller-I really liked what I saw from this kid, he really knows how to play, if he could put on some weight he could be a serious player in the NBA. He has a great touch around the rim, runs the floor well and is athletic. He also has a very good jump shot and shoots free throws well 90% in the summer league. He also gets some blocks and some steals. He is very likely to get some decent minutes right away backing up the center position and some time at the 4. Draft day decision: suggested draft position- #160-#180
Dion Waiters-
Mr Waiters could be a nice fantasy sleeper, as he steals the ball well , gets good assist numbers and shoots 3s. He also has no one taking minutes away from him at the SG position. But he failed to impress in the summer league and coach Scott is always hard on rookies, so there is reason to be cautious here on draft day. I personally will still like to get him earlier rather than later as the Cavs probably wont make the playoffs this season as well, and he could get the minutes even if he plays average. Draft day decision: suggested draft position- #100-#120
Tristan Thompson-
This guy is looking at more minutes this season, but I am still not looking to draft him, because he probably wont be very good at anything even with very good minutes. I just dont see him producing too much fantasy gold and there will be better options around when he will go in the draft.
- Projected stats: 26 minutes, 10 ppg 45%FG%, 57%FT%, 8rpg, 1.2 bpg, 0.6 spg,
Draft day decision: suggested draft position- #120-#140, likely average draft position #90- #110
New Orleans Hornets
Austin Rivers-I thought this guy would be better, sure he was learning how to be a PG but still. Just avoid, he will likely go too early because of his name anyway, unless he falls past the #220th pick.
Denver Nuggets
Jordan Hamilton, Evan Fournier-both of these players did well, but there are just too many players on the Nuggets roster ahead of them, so currently they belong on deep league watchlists.
Kenneth Faried-
I just love Faried, great energy guy and blocking shots well for his smaller size averaging 3 in the summerleague . He will be working with Hakeem this summer so it is possible that he may come in with at least 1 offensive move this season. But I wont get too bullish here, as there are Al Harrington, Ant- Rand and also Wilson Chandler who play his position as well. So I dont see a big increase in minutes from last season
- Projected stats: 23 min, 12 pts, 60% FG%, 67%FT% 8 reb, 1,2 blocks 0,5 steals.
Draft day decision: suggested draft position- #120-#140, likely average draft position #100- #120
New York Knicks
Chris Copeland-
Played well, and shot the ball well for a big man 42% from three point land, could be worth a punt at the end of deep league drafts.
Played well, and shot the ball well for a big man 42% from three point land, could be worth a punt at the end of deep league drafts.
Draft day decision: suggested draft position- #270-#290
Toronto Raptors
Terrence Ross, Ed Davis-both are great kids but too far down the depth chart to be worth any fantasy attention. I will leave them sitting on waivers without any concerns.
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