RADIO
As much as the NBA Draft is a time to get excited about certain players, it's also a time to be skeptical from a fantasy perspective. Before a player can even get to the stage to shake Adam Silver's hand, the impacts of that player are already thought about by fantasy enthusiasts. Lets be honest; as much excitement that is derived from a player, that player is more likely to be a "bust" than an NBA lifer.
The following guards should be avoided in your draft. These guards don't lack talent, but for multiple reasons, the situations in which they find themselves aren't exactly ideal for immediate fantasy production.
Editor's Note: RotoBaller has the best Premium NBA Subscription, only $29.99 for the full season. We have all the preseason tools to help win your drafts, and in-season tools to win your seasonal and daily leagues: Draft Kit, Premium Rankings, Sleepers List, Late-Round Fliers, Early-Round Avoids, DFS Cheat Sheets, Lineup Picks, Expert Lineups, Stacks and Avoids.
Leave Them Alone on Draft Day
Kris Dunn, Minnesota Timberwolves
Kris Dunn was selected fifth by the Timberwolves and is a popular pick by many to be a dark horse for Rookie of the Year. As talented and as explosive as Dunn is, people need to pump the brakes a bit. While Dunn has the talent and three years of college experience to be able to contribute right away, he finds himself in a situation that might not lend itself to producing numbers.
The Timberwolves fully believe they’re poised to make a run, and they feel they have the personnel and the coach to do it. Many believed Dunn would supplant Ricky Rubio as the team’s point guard, and would contribute towards that playoff goal immediately. The problem with all that is that Rubio appears firmly entrenched in his role, and Dunn looks like he will be backing up for the foreseeable future.
When you add Zach LaVine’s ability to run the point, plus the overall talent on the Minnesota roster, Dunn won’t find a whole lot of opportunities to contribute right away. While he may eventually turn into a key contributor this season, it’s going to take a lot more than initially thought for him to be able to do that out of the gates. Stay away for now.
Caris LeVert, Brooklyn Nets
Like Dunn, Caris LeVert doesn’t find himself on this list because of a lack of talent. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. The Michigan product has one of the best overall skill sets of anyone to come out of this draft, and has a chance to be a very solid pro player for a Nets team desperate for young talent. He can do a variety of things on the basketball court; all of which will help him stick around and contribute to an NBA team. That is if he can stay healthy. LeVert missed extended periods of time at Michigan, playing in only 33 of 68 games in his last two years.
LeVert should be able to work his way into that talentless Brooklyn rotation this season, but he hasn’t stepped on the court yet. Expect the Nets to ease him in when he is ready to play, and that alone will cost the rookie a lot of opportunities for production. When he does play, he can be a do-it-all type of player who will defend, score, and put up numbers in a lot of categories. It’s just likely that won’t happen this season.
Monitor his workload to see how he looks, but don't buy into him hoping he'll be an instant fantasy producer just because the Nets don't have much other talent their rotation.
Denzel Valentine, Chicago Bulls
Denzel Valentine had himself quite the career at Michigan State University. Valentine improved every year, and he turned what was once a limited game into being arguably the best player in college basketball and a first-round draft pick. The Bulls think the Tom Izzo favorite has a chance to become a solid rotation player and they probably won’t be wrong... in the long term.
Despite all the positives, Valentine is still rather limited for the pro game. He’s not the most athletic guy, and a lot of his value will come from the intangibles he brings. Intangibles unfortunately are not a fantasy basketball stat, so he likely won’t help your fantasy team as much as he’ll help the Bulls in real life.
Valentine could eventually develop into a good performer, but with the likes of Rajon Rondo, Dwyane Wade and Jimmy Butler in the mix, Valentine will have a very difficult time finding the minutes and touches he needs to make a real fantasy impact this season.
By popular demand, RotoBaller has aggregated all of our fantasy basketball NBA waiver wire pickups into a running list of NBA waiver options, so bookmark the page and check back often for updates.
