Here is the first part of this article incase you missed it.
Cleveland Cavaliers
Bust: Kyrie Irving- Wrote about my disdain for Irving in my “Do Not Draft List” article.
Value: Mo Williams- Over 33 games as starter last season, Williams averaged 17.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, and a whopping 7.6 assists while also sinking 77 three-pointers. Can we expect those numbers from him this season? Not really, but Williams will get plenty of playing time at the start of the season while Kyrie Irving is out. He is a solid, and more importantly, a cheap source for points, assists and three-pointers made, which makes him a quality pick near the end of most fantasy drafts.
Dallas Mavericks
Bust: Wesley Matthews- He tore his left Achilles tendon in March, so it is unlikely that he will be ready at the start of the season. Players rarely come back from this injury and perform like they once did, which is one of the main reasons for his bust status. In addition to the health issue, he only contributes in two categories – points and three-pointers. Spending a mid-round pick on a limited player who is still recovering from a serious injury is not the way to build a winning fantasy squad.
Value: Deron Williams- People will pass over D-Willy because he shot a career worst 38.7 percent from the field and scored just 13 points per game last season, but he is going to start this season completely healthy and on a team that is expected to be a fast-paced, high-scoring team. He is a superb talent when he isn’t battling injuries. While the Mavericks do have two other point guards in J.J. Barea and Devin Harris, Williams should still see well over 30 minutes per game. His points per game average is definitely going to increase, while his six-to-seven assists per game will be huge in the fantasy realm. Free D-Willy by stealing him in the second half of your draft.
Denver Nuggets
Bust: Kenneth Faried- The Manimal has limited upside because of his height 6’8 (which is small for a power forward in today’s NBA) and lack of offensive skills. He has averaged about 12-13 points and eight-to-nine rebounds per game in each of the past three seasons while also collecting roughly a block and a steal per game. The numbers are good, but nothing to gush over. He has never averaged 30 minutes per game because of his inability to shoot the ball and his size disadvantage. Plus, The Nuggets have a solid rebounder in J.J. Hickson and think very highly about their sophomore from Bosnia, Jusuf Nurkic. Faried isn’t going to magically start scoring more or pulling in more rebounds, so selecting him early in the draft and expecting him to suddenly “break out” is a terrible idea with zero proof to back it up.
Value: Danilo Gallinari- The smooth shooter flourished last season once he fully recovered from an ACL injury. In the 24 games he started, post All-Star break, he averaged 18.6 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 2.8 three-pointers, 1.3 steals and 0.5 blocks over just 31 minutes per game. Those are really great numbers, especially from a player who is going to be drafted as late as he is. Also, the Nuggets believe in him so much that they gave him a two-year, $34 million extension this summer. Gallinari will end up being one of the best draft day values as long as he can stay healthy.
Detroit Pistons
Bust: Brandon Jennings- This is a player I want nothing to do with in fantasy because of his poor field goal percentage (career average is 39 percent) and the fact that he won’t even be ready to play in games until December. Even when he is ready to play, his minutes are going to be greatly reduced as the team eases him back from injury, but also because Reggie Jackson is going to be the primary point guard for the team. This is going to be a frustrating season for Mr. Jennings and will be just as frustrating for his fantasy owners as well.
Value: Reggie Jackson- He averaged 17.6 points, 4.7 rebounds, 9.2 assists, 0.7 steals, and one three-pointer per game over 27 games with the Pistons last year. Those are incredible numbers considering first-round pick John Wall averaged 17.6 points and 10 assists per game last season. Jackson could see his scoring numbers rise this year as he will be the Pistons primary scorer with Greg Monroe gone. R-Jax is a superb fourth or fifth round pick who could end up producing first round type numbers.
Golden State
Bust: Klay Thompson- There is no way I’d ever take the Klay fighter in the first or second round of a draft. Why? Because he ranked 99th in assists (2.9 per game), 220th in rebounds (3.2 per game) and 63rd in steals (1.1 per game, 101 players averaged one-plus steals per game). He did average 0.8 blocks per game last year, but expect that to regress to 0.5 per game like he averaged in each of the two seasons prior. He shot 46 percent from the field, which is good, but not great. He did excel in points per game (21.7), three-pointers made (3.1) and free-throw percentage (88). However, just because a player excels in three out of the eight main categories, doesn’t mean he should be selected as highly as he tends to go, especially in total points leagues, which don’t value three-pointers made or free throw percentage as much as roto leagues do.
Value: None- The Warriors don’t really have any value plays in fantasy. Thompson and Draymond Green are getting drafted way to high, Harrison Barnes is, pretty much, going to do what he did last year, Andrew Bogut gets drafted at the tail of ends of drafts, which is where he should go, and Andre Iguodala is way past his prime. Stephen Curry is easily the second best player in fantasy because he is elite in points, three-pointers made, free throw percentage, steals, assists, and has a career 47 field goal percentage. He is a tremendous value if you can get him at any point in your draft after the second overall pick.