RADIO
After a long, long 2019-2020 NBA season, we're moving ahead to a fresh NBA campaign.
Rookie years are tough. Some players do well. Some don't. What can be crucial for the futures of many of those players, though, is what they do the next season. Do they start to show in their second season why they were highly drafted? Do they wind up struggling again, setting them on the road towards irrelevance?
Today, I'll be highlighting five second-year NBA players who are poised for a breakout this season.
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De'Andre Hunter - F, Atlanta Hawks
Hunter had an uneven rookie year, but over the final 15 games of the season, Hunter averaged 35 minutes per contest, posting averages of 12.5 points, 7.1 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and 0.9 steals on 40.8 percent shooting. He shot 42.1 percent from three.
It's hard to know how sustainable that it is on a team that just brought in a pair of solid offensive players in Danilo Gallinari and Bogdan Bogdanovic who'll take up some of Hunter's available possessions, but the second-year forward will likely be the favorite to start at the three over Cam Reddish, and some improved efficiency in his second NBA season should lead to decent success for the former Virginia Cavalier. Scoring in the low double figures while improving his rookie shooting performance seems like a realistic goal for Hunter.
Coby White - G, Chicago Bulls
White's shot was off last year, as he finished the year shooting 39.4 percent from the field. He scored in the 16th percentile per possession around the basket, which was a big part of those struggles.
But White's path to minutes feels more open this season. He played 25.8 minutes per game mostly off the bench as a rookie, but Kris Dunn -- who started 32 games -- is in Atlanta now, and Chicago grabbed a forward with their first round pick, taking Florida State forward Patrick Williams.
White should enter the 20-21 season as the starting point guard for Chicago, which will likely result in a minutes per game mark that's boosted into the low 30s. Per 36 minutes, White averaged 18.5 points, 4.9 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 1.1 steals per contest. Given more minutes and with the expected positive development in his game in his second season, White's going to be a viable fantasy player who can provide managers with mid-round performance at a cheap price, as he's currently 104th in our rankings.
PJ Washington - F, Charlotte Hornets
One spot behind White in our rankings is PJ Washington. Washington was fantasy relevant as a rookie, but should be in line for even more work this season.
The Hornets added small forward Gordon Hayward, who instantly steps in as the team's go-to scoring option. But the battle for who'll be the No. 2 guy here is wide open. Rookie LaMelo Ball is probably a year away from being consistent enough. Devonte' Graham shot 38.2 percent last season, Miles Bridges looks like more of a good sixth man, and Terry Rozier...is Terry Rozier.
There's a world where Washington is the second-best player on this team this season while Ball develops. He shot 45.5 percent last year, including 37.4 percent from three and 50.7 percent from two. He averaged 12.2 points and 5.4 rebonds per game, plus almost a steal and block per contest.
I'd expect to see Washington on the floor for 30-plus minutes per night again, and Hayward's presence might open up more open looks for him as the stretch four. He can also play the three in a pinch, and I wouldn't be shocked to see more small ball where Washington is at the five with Cody Zeller on the bench.
While Graham is about 30 spots higher than Washington in our initial site rankings, I think Washington has a better chance of outperforming his ranking among the various players on this Hornets team.
Brandon Clarke - F, Memphis Grizzlies
The Memphis Grizzlies are being run like NBA Twitter is their GM, which I personally think is a very positive thing, as they're drafting analytics darlings like Clarke and then giving him the chance to succeed.
Last year, Clarke shot 61.8 percent from the floor in 22.4 minutes per game, finishing his rookie campaign with averages of 12.1 points, 5.9 rebounds, 0.6 steals, and 0.8 blocks. In eight bubble games, his minutes rose to 26.7, and while he wasn't as efficient -- 59.2 percent, which is still really good! -- he showed he can increase his rebounding (6.6) in longer minutes, and he ended the season with four consecutive games scoring in double figures.
With Jaren Jackson. Jr. out to open the season and not much competition for minutes in this frontcourt, Clarke will be on an NBA court a lot this season. He has the skill and the shooting ability to be a great plug-and-play guy for fantasy teams in need of some scoring and field goal percentage.
Grant Williams - F, Boston Celtics
With Gordon Hayward gone, there's going to be room for some minutes at the three and four in Boston. Could those go to Grant Williams?
Yes. I mean...just look at their projected depth chart:
Williams only played 15.1 minutes per game last season, averaging 3.4 points, 2.6 rebounds, 0.4 steals, and 0.5 blocks on a 41.2/25.0/72.2 shooting split. Those are not impressive numbers, but they leave plenty of room for improvement if Williams gets more minutes.
A lot of Celtics writers are high on Grant this season, and I think there are some interesting numbers for him when you dig into his efficiency stats, like that on 21 post up possessions, Williams scored in the 98th percentile with 1.286 points per possession, or that he was sixth on the team in defensive box plus/minus.
Shooting was an issue, but based on his college stats, he should be better at scoring inside than he's been, and that's an obvious place we should see improvement.
I'm not saying he'll set the world on fire or anything, but he should see 20-plus minutes per game this year and will start to show why the Celtics drafted him. He's an interesting deep league guy.
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