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Every year there are a few players that outperform their draft day value in fantasy basketball leagues.
In this article, we will look at a five very deep sleepers at the guard position for fantasy basketball managers to keep their eye on.
These are players that are not likely to be on your draft radar in standard 10-12 team leagues, but are worth monitoring in deep leagues with 14 or more teams or in leagues with deep roster spots.
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Hamidou Diallo, Oklahoma City
There will be a theme with the first two players on this list, Oklahoma City is in full rebuild mode and their young guys should see a huge boost in minutes this season. With the loss of Chris Paul, Danilo Gallinari and Dennis Schroder, Diallo should be in line for big minutes, especially later in the season.
In 19.5 minutes per game last year, he posted just 6.9 points, 3.6 rebounds and 0.8 steals on average. However, he did that on just an 18.4% usage rate. With usage monsters in Paul and Schroder gone, look for Diallo to get a nice bump. His 28.1 percent three-point percentage is worrisome, but consider that it went up from 16.7 percent his first year and you can see an upward trend in Diallo’s game.
Luguentz Dort, Oklahoma City
Entering his second season, it is clear that the Thunder covet Dort’s skill set as he played over 34 minutes in three of six playoff games he made an appearance in. That was highlighted by his monster 30 point outing against the Rockets in which he made a career high six three’s.
His role was already improving last year, and that was prior to the teams losses. His per 36 numbers are not eye-popping, but he seems likely to be a 1.5 three and 1.5 steals player eventually in his career, which provides a ton of value late in drafts.
Delon Wright, Detroit Pistons
Wright has always been a solid rotational guard in the league and a player you were happy to pick up when injuries happened to players in front of him. Now in Detroit, the vet guard could find a nice role with Derrick Rose and rookie Killian Hayes in the rotation to get minutes.
Last year his 26 games with Memphis feel like a nice base for what we could expect from Wright as he averaged 30.8 minutes, 12.2 points, 5.4 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 1.6 steals a game. Coach Dwane Casey has always liked versatile guards which included Kyle Lowry and Reggie Jackson, who both were good fantasy players in their time with Casey at the helm.
Shake Milton, Philadelphia 76ers
Milton’s season was a story of two halves as he filled in for an injured Ben Simmons much of the year. As a starter he posted a more than respectable 12.5 points and 3.8 assists a game, while that dropped to a meager 4.9 points and 0.9 assists in game in which he did not start.
Simmons returns, but also the team traded swingman Josh Richardson and brought in Doc Rivers to coach. Rivers has already made the statement that Milton should see an increased role on the team and that will be with Simmons. Furthermore, Simmons has never been a picture of health and Milton would be the obvious candidate to fill his role. If Milton can carve out a Patrick Beverly type role, he could certainly be a nice value return late in drafts.
Eric Gordon, Houston Rockets
Certainly the biggest name on this list, Gordon’s fantasy value hinges on the status of stars John Wall and James Harden. Gordon has minimal when both are on the floor, but due to Harden's pending trade request and Wall's injury history, Gordon could have a ton of value.
Last year, Gordon’s usage was a respectable 22.5%. That jumped to a massive 36.4% when Westbrook and Harden were both off the floor. If both Wall and Harden are healthy and in Houston all year, expect that 22% usage rate to stick, however with Wall playing just 73 games over the past three years, that seems unlikely. Gordon offers very little in terms of peripheral stats, but he remains elite in scoring, three-pointers made and free-throw shooting regardless of the status of Houston's other stars.
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