It’s that time of the year folks, perhaps the best time of the year with the NBA season nearing its return. We know fantasy basketball fans are excited for their upcoming drafts and without a doubt, there’s good reason to be excited. There are plenty of questions heading into the season such as how productive will LeBron be in a Lakers uniform, can Victor Oladipo repeat what he did last season and keep up his scoring pace, and can Joel Embiid stay healthy for a full season? All these are great questions and if we’re basing it on consensus rankings, the answer would be yes, yes, and no (Embiid’s injury risk pushes him out of the top 10).

During this time of the year, we’re also sure that you’re likely wondering about sleepers and who to avoid. Here to answer those questions are our featured experts below. See who they identified ahead of your draft.

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Q1. What one player outside the top 120 is your favorite sleeper target and why?

Reggie Jackson (PG/SG – DET)
“With a current ADP over 160 currently, my favorite sleeper is Reggie Jackson. Yes, he has had his issues with injuries throughout his career and is somebody I’ve avoided in years past due to the risk. Now his ADP makes the risk worth taking. When on the court, he can average 15 points with 5-6 assists and he can hit the three ball as well. There are not a lot of guys at that point in the draft who will be able to give you that kind of production.”
– Joe Bond (Fantasy Six Pack)

Miles Bridges (SF – CHA)
“With my two favorite targets, Dejounte Murray and Luka Doncic not quite qualifying, I’ll turn my focus to Miles Bridges. It isn’t often that a rookie drafted outside the top 10 picks makes a major impact, but look back at Donovan Mitchell and Malcolm Brogdon to see that it does happen. With the way Bridges is taking the preseason by storm, they will have a difficult time keeping him out of the starting lineup for long. Bridges is practically free in fantasy drafts, but you can bet I’ll be reaching on him just to make sure no one else gets the same idea.”
– Bobby Sylvester (FantasyPros)

Jeremy Lin (PG/SG – ATL)
“If healthy, Jeremy Lin is going to be instrumental to the Hawks’ season. He’s had a rough go with injuries the past two years, but his 2016-17 stats with the Nets (14.5 points, 5.1 assists, 3.8 rebounds, 1.2 steals in just 24.5 minutes per game) hint at what he’s capable of producing on a rebuilding team. Even if Lin starts the year as Trae Young’s backup, I expect the Hawks to give the veteran a starter’s workload to help mitigate the rookie’s turnover-prone style of play.”
– Andrew Joe Potter (theScore)

Markelle Fultz (PG/SG – PHI) | (Jakob Poeltl (PF/C – SAS)
“I’ll give you two. Markelle Fultz. Reason? Drew Hanlen. The shot looks much improved and he’s got his swagger back. Let’s not forget that he was the #1 pick for a reason. He should soak up plenty of minutes at both PG and SG, so the opportunities should be plentiful. Then there’s the 22-year-old, 7′0″248-pound center goes from a deep Toronto Raptors team to a San Antonio Spurs team with only the 38-year-old Pau Gasol ahead of him on the depth chart. Minutes equal opportunities which usually make fantasy goodies rain down from the heavens. This is not strictly an opportunity play, as Poeltl has bonafide talent on both ends of the court. Per-36, 66% field goal percentage, 13.4 points, 9.3 rebounds, 0.9 steals, and 2.4 blocks. The free throw shooting stinks at 59%, though.”
– Stan Son (Razzball)

Q2. What one player inside the top 40 are you avoiding and why?

Klay Thompson (SG/SF – GSW)
“I have a tough time drafting Thompson this season. We all know he can shoot the ball very well averaging 20 points and 3-plus three-pointers per game the last four seasons. I have two issues with him. One is he does not help you much in the other counting categories. Two is I expect his scoring to drop this season with a fully healthy Steph Curry and Kevin Durant. Oh and don’t forget DeMarcus Cousins will be healthy at some point which is just one more weapon to affect Klay’s stat line.”
– Joe Bond (Fantasy Six Pack)

Gary Harris (SG/SF – DEN)
“While Harris’ steady improvement as a 3-point shooter has bolstered several of his scoring categories, the Nuggets’ packed rotation has capped his overall fantasy potential. There’s little sign that Harris is developing into an above-average contributor in assists or rebounds, and he doesn’t get to the charity stripe frequently enough to take advantage of his solid free-throw shooting. He’s also quietly missed 40 games over the past two seasons. If you’re going to take on moderate injury risk with a top-40 pick, the player should at least have the potential of a breakout season.”
– Andrew Joe Potter (theScore)

DeMar DeRozan (SG/SF – SAS)
“DeRozan is a bonafide scorer, no ifs, ands, or buts about that. And while he expanded his range to the three-point line last season, it’s not something I bank on continuing. The Raptors asked him to make a more concerted effort to shoot from downtown. Now that he’s with the Spurs? Well, they were 27th in attempts from behind the arc. In addition, while Toronto was 13th in offensive pace, San Antonio was 29th. I don’t see either of those two things changing much. Finally, LaMarcus Aldridge is a usage hog at close to 30%.”
– Stan Son (Razzball)

Joel Embiid (PF/C – PHI)
“I won’t be drafting any shares of Embiid. Yes, it will be sad for me because I love the guy and he is a spectacular basketball player, but winning is more fun than having fun guys on my fantasy team. The name of the game in fantasy basketball is avoiding risk. Embiid is as risky as they come near the top of drafts because of his extensive injury history with two foot surgeries, a torn meniscus, a stress fracture in his back and the serious orbital fracture late last season. You can be optimistic about injuries if you choose, but I’ll always fade the fantasy basketball player with a legitimate injury-prone tag.”
– Bobby Sylvester (FantasyPros)

Thank you to the experts for naming their sleepers and players to avoid. Be sure to give them a follow on Twitter for more advice all season long.