X
Lost password?

Don't have an account?
Join the Best Live Fantasy Chat Community!

X

Receive free daily analysis

NFL
NBA
NHL
NASCAR
CFB
MLB
MMA
PGA
ESPORTS
BETTING

Already have an account? Log In

X

Forgot Password


LINEUP RESOURCES

Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Weekly Rankings
Compare Any Players
Starts and Sit
Daily Fantasy
Who To Pickup
Fantasy Updates
24x7 News and Alerts

The Grass Is Greener: NBA Player's Who'll Succeed In New Places

Free agency in the NBA is the wildest free agency in sports, which means that a ton of players have switched teams this year.

Some of those players are stars and are going to be successful in their new digs. This article isn't about those players. I don't need to write Kyrie Irving is gonna be good with the Nets or wow Kawhi Leonard will work in Los Angeles because you know these things.

Instead, let's take a look at some of the non-stars who changed teams who should find their stock rising up this season.

Featured Promo: Get any full-season NBA Premium Pass for 50% off. Win big with our exclusive DFS lineup tools, matchup rating projections, powerful Research Station, Lineup Optimizer, daily DFS lineup picks/cheat sheets and more! Sign Up Now!

 

Al Horford - F/C, Philadelphia 76ers

The Sixers essentially replaced Jimmy Butler with Al Horford, a move that pushes Tobias Harris back to the three and gives the Sixers a really intriguing front court of Horford and Joel Embiid.

There are questions about the fit as the Sixers are going to be playing really big in an age where the NBA is sizing down, but both Horford and Harris have offensive range, which should negate the normal disadvantages of playing big and allow Philly to use their size to their advantage.

Horford took three three-pointers per game last season with the Celtics, making 36 percent of them a year after he made 42.9 percent in the same role. In Philadelphia, he slides into the role that Harris occupied last year, when Harris took five threes per game. This isn't going to be a one-to-one thing where Horford suddenly is taking that many, but we should see an uptick in his offensive usage, while his stats on the other end of the floor remain relatively unchanged. He's not a huge rebounder, so playing beside Embiid shouldn't really affect him.

 

Willie Cauley-Stein - C, Golden State Warriors

Cauley-Stein has a foot injury and is missing the beginning of the season, but when he returns he should slide into the starting center role for the Warriors.

I've been a big Cauley-Stein guy since the Kings drafted him. Last year, Cauley-Stein started 81 games for Sacramento, shooting 55.6 percent from the field and averaging 11.9 points and 8.4 rebounds per game.

Cauley-Stein was sixth on the team in shot attempts per game and played 27.3 minutes. Because the Warriors are weak at center and because their offseason losses mean there's probably not going to be much of the "Draymond Green at center" lineup just because they don't really have the personnel, I can see WCS playing a larger offensive role than he did in his time with the Kings.

 

Advertising

Delon Wright - G, Dallas Mavericks

After playing in Toronto for three seasons, Wright was part of the midseason trade that sent Marc Gasol to the Raptors. After a half season in Memphis, Wright signed with the Mavericks this Summer.

In 30.8 minutes per game over 26 appearances as a Grizzly, Wright averaged 12.2 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 5.3 assists per contest. He upped his three point attempts to three per game, though his shooting percentage on them (25.6 percent) was not good.

But Wright can score when needed while also being a solid passer and a rebounding guard. I know Mavericks fans weren't hoping to wind up with Delon Wright as their starting point guard this year, but he should be able to provide solid defensive production and his shooting percentage should be better when he's playing as an off-ball guard more. Wright's going to start, but Luka Doncic will be the point guard on the offensive end more often than not. But with Wright able to hit shots off Doncic passes and also run the offense whenever Doncic sits, we should see good numbers from the fifth-year guard.

 

Danny Green - G/F, Los Angeles Lakers

The Lakers added Anthony Davis to a team that already had LeBron James, but beyond those two the offensive weapons in Staples Center are questionable. Kyle Kuzma is Kyle Kuzma, a guy who can score when he needs to but gets a major "is a Laker" popularity group.

The third-best offensive option on this team might be Danny Green, as surprising as that sounds, and the gravity that James and Davis create should allow Green to do exactly what he does best: drain threes and play perimeter defense.

Last season was just the third time in Green's career that he averaged double-digit points; I'd be shocked if 2019-2020 isn't the fourth time. Green shot 5.4 threes per game, hitting 45.5 percent of them. That first number could easily go up. That second number should probably regress a little, as his previous career high from three was 43.6 percent and he hadn't shot over 40 percent since the 2014-2015 season. But that all should even out, and Green's going to thrive as the third/fourth option on this team.

 

Nicolo Melli - F, New Orleans Pelicans

I'm cheating a little on this last one since Melli was playing in Europe last year, not the NBA. But he's a very underrated addition to the Pelicans and projects to make some noise this year.

Last year for Fenerbahce, Melli played 25.9 minutes per game, averaging 7.3 points and 4.1 rebounds per game. He shot 38.5 percent from three and has shot 38 percent or higher from three for the past five years. Melli is also a good free throw shooter.

Melli can help stretch the floor out for a Pelicans team that's light on shooters and is really the only stretch big option that this team has. That alone is going to get him on the floor, because you can't expect Zion Williamson to succeed without New Orleans giving him the space to succeed. Ben Pfeifer of The Bird Writes wrote a great breakdown of what Melli brings to the Pelicans that's worth a read if you want to see some video breakdowns of his performances in Europe since you're likely unfamiliar with him, but from a fantasy point of view, I think Melli has a chance to be a really intriguing late-round value pick.

More Fantasy Basketball Analysis




Advertising

LINEUP RESOURCES

Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Weekly Rankings
Compare Any Players
Starts and Sit
Daily Fantasy
Who To Pickup
Fantasy Updates
24x7 News and Alerts

WIN MORE IN 2024

Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Weekly Rankings
Compare Any Players
Starts and Sit
Daily Fantasy
Who To Pickup
Fantasy Updates
24x7 News and Alerts

ROTOBALLER PLAYER NEWS

RANKINGS
C
1B
2B
3B
SS
OF
SP
RP

MORE RECENT ARTICLES

 
Alexis Diaz fantasy baseball closers rankings draft sleepers waiver wire pickups

MLB Closers and Saves: Fantasy Baseball Depth Charts

Saves are an important component for many fantasy baseball leagues. Closers are one of the most volatile positions in fantasy baseball, and one of the highest turnover positions in MLB. Each year, closers drop like flies and many MLB teams make in-season changes due to injuries or poor performance. In addition to closers and saves, relief... Read More


Do These Prospects Matter for Fantasy Baseball?

The 2023 fantasy baseball season has been highlighted by the promotion of nearly two-dozen top prospects to the major leagues to impact fantasy rosters. This week's edition features one player who was called up as the piece was being written. Will these strong performers join the ranks of those who have moved to the majors... Read More


clayton kershaw fantasy baseball rankings draft sleepers MLB injury news

articles report test

this is a test


Starting Pitcher Waiver Wire Pickups for Fantasy Baseball - Week 24

Welcome back! It's Week 24 of our fantasy baseball Starting Pitcher Waiver Wire Pickups series! There are just two precious weeks left, and every start is becoming more and more important as most of the fantasy baseball world is in playoff matchups. If you've made it this far, there's a good chance you don't really... Read More


Aaron Nola - Fantasy Baseball Rankings, MLB Injury News, DFS Lineup Picks

Starts & Sits for MLB Week 23 - All Starting Pitcher Matchups for Fantasy Baseball

Welcome back RotoBallers! Big week in fantasy leagues as we approach the end of the season and playoffs! As always, we are here with our starting pitcher starts and sits series to help you set those winning lineups for the week ahead! For those who are not familiar, RotoBaller puts out a weekly grid of... Read More


Gunnar Henderson - Fantasy Baseball Rankings, MLB Prospects, Draft Sleepers

Points League Hitters: Waiver Wire Pickups for Fantasy Baseball - Week 24

Welcome to Week 24 and our fantasy baseball waiver wire hitters. We'll be doing this roundup of points leagues every week here at RotoBaller, with waiver wire targets and streaming pitchers being evaluated in terms of the different scoring systems of ESPN, Yahoo!, CBS, and Fantrax. Player values can vary wildly from platform to platform,... Read More


Brayan Bello - Fantasy Baseball Rankings, Draft Sleepers, Waiver Wire Pickups

Two-Start Pitcher Streamers for Fantasy Baseball - Week 24

Yo, it's Jon Anderson, continuing to run the show here in terms of late-summer fantasy baseball writing. There are just two weeks left of streaming pitchers, so let's make it count! This weekly fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups column aims to identify starting pitchers expected to make two starts in the upcoming fantasy baseball week,... Read More


Fantasy Baseball Week 24 Injury News and Updates: Tyler Glasnow, Ozzie Albies, Starling Marte, Anthony Rizzo, Zack Wheeler

September is now more than half over. The baseball season is slowly coming to a close. At this point, fantasy players are pushing for their league titles or just playing for pride. Major League Baseball teams continue to do the same and injuries continue to happen, now with the dreaded term "done for the season"... Read More


Joe Musgrove - Fantasy Baseball Rankings, Draft Sleepers, MLB Injury News

Free MLB Betting Picks - Today's Best Bets, Expert Predictions, Odds (9/17/22)

Happy Saturday, RotoBallers, we're back for another weekend of MLB betting picks! Make sure you're following my Twitter, as I can't guarantee that I'll always be able to get the added plays written here in the article, but I will typically add whatever else I'm playing throughout the day. The entire RotoBaller team has been... Read More


DraftKings, FanDuel Daily Fantasy Baseball Picks (9/17/22): Today's Top MLB DFS Lineups

Today's MLB slates are split up as is the norm for September baseball. Half the guys I think will play will not, so you have to be as flexible as Gumby to play MLB DFS in September, but that also means that there is a lot of money out there should you dare to dive... Read More


Max Fried - Fantasy Baseball Rankings, Draft Sleepers, MLB Injury News

Free MLB Betting Picks - Today's Best Bets, Expert Predictions, Odds (9/15/22)

Happy Friday, RotoBallers, we're back for another weekend of MLB betting picks! Make sure you're following my Twitter, as I can't guarantee that I'll always be able to get the added plays written here in the article, but I will typically add whatever else I'm playing throughout the day. The entire RotoBaller team has been... Read More


Robbie Ray - Fantasy Baseball Rankings, MLB Injury News, Draft Sleepers

DraftKings, FanDuel Daily Fantasy Baseball Picks (9/16/22): Today's Top MLB DFS Lineups

Fridays are big MLB DFS days and offer a nice respite from the NFL, who command our attention on Thursdays, Sundays, and Mondays. This slate, like most Friday slates, is a big one as all MLB teams are in action today and 28 of those teams are on tonight's 14-game DFS slate. This was a... Read More


kyle farmer fantasy baseball rankings draft sleepers MLB injury news

Top Hitter Streamers and Starts for Fantasy Baseball - Week 24

There are only two weeks left of fantasy baseball! It's going to be very sad when the season comes to an end, but the impending end of the season means that these are the most important, and therefore most fun weeks of the year – for those of you still competing, at least. I have... Read More


TODAY’S MOST VIEWED PLAYERS

rotating JS ad test

RANKINGS

QB
RB
WR
TE
K
DEF