Every year, players we don’t expect anything from step up into fantasy relevance and make an impact on our fantasy teams. Today – with fantasy basketball season upon us – we’re going to highlight eight players who may fly under the radar and provide fantasy owners solid value in drafts for the 2019-20 season.
All of the players listed here have an ADP of 100 or greater, based on FantasyPros’ Consensus ADP.
For a list of my top-150 players with notes, click here.
Dwight Howard (C – LAL): ADP 104
Howard is coming off a down year that caused him to miss 73 games due to a lower back/glute injury. The nine games played were the fewest of his career, as were his 9.2 rebounds. The three-time Defensive Player of the Year, four-time rebounding leader, and three-time blocks leader has a chance to start at center for the Lakers this season after DeMarcus Cousins tore his ACL in offseason workouts. JaVale McGee will compete for the starting job, but Howard’s resume of dominance and a strong camp thus far may give him the edge. He’s just a season removed from a 16.6-point, 12.5-rebound season with the Charlotte Hornets in 2017-18, in which he played 81 games. If he can stay healthy, Howard has a great chance to exceed his 104 ADP.
Fred VanVleet (G – TOR): ADP 115
The Wichita State product went down in Raptors lore after a 22-point performance in the series-clinching Game 6 win in the NBA Finals last season. Though he didn’t start any of the Finals games, VanVleet saw his minutes rise substantially to 32.3 per game and he averaged 14.0 points, 2.7 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.2 steals, and 2.7 threes. Heading into his fourth season, VanVleet may be asked to take on his largest role yet now that he’s proven himself and Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green have departed. It’s possible VanVleet doesn’t soar above his ADP, but it’s highly unlikely he doesn’t at least exceed it. This is a safe pick with built-in upside.
Gary Harris (G/F – DEN): ADP 119
Harris is coming off a down year in which he was plagued by injuries and appeared in only 57 contests. He appeared hampered by the injuries when on the court, averaging just 12.9 points and shooting 42.4 percent from the field and 33.9 percent from three – his lowest shooting marks since his rookie season. Harris is just one year removed from a 17.5-point, 2.3-three, and 1.8-steal campaign and a return to full health could mean a return to form. He can be had in the 10th round and the upside is big on a Nuggets team that is a legitimate title contender.
Zach Collins (F/C – POR): ADP 126
It’s a crazy low ADP for a guy who had some deeper league value as a backup last season and now finds himself in a starting role. Portland lost a lot of quality pieces in the offseason (Al-Farouq Aminu and Moe Harkless among others), and Collins will figure to be heavily involved in the frontcourt opposite Hassan Whiteside. He averaged 13.6 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 2.5 combined blocks/steals per-36 minutes with the Blazers last season, and a huge increase from his 17.6 minutes in 2018-19 should be expected.
Delon Wright (G – DAL): ADP 131
Wright spent the first three years of his career with Toronto, playing primarily as a reserve. He got his chance to shine in 26 games with Memphis last season after being traded in the Marc Gasol deal. In those games, Wright was given 30.8 minutes per contest, where he averaged 12.2 points, 5.4 rebounds, 5.3 assists, and 2.2 combined blocks/steals. That performance earned him a three-year/$29 million deal with the Mavericks, and he’ll get the start at one of the guard spots this season, where he should provide fantasy owners a very nice return on value.
Rui Hachimura (F – WAS): ADP 145
He’s a 13th rounder based on ADP, but this guy has some serious upside based on his skill set and the opportunities he’ll have in the nation’s capital. The No. 9 pick in this year’s draft averaged 19.7 points and 6.5 rebounds on 59.1 percent shooting from the floor and 41.7 percent from three in his final season at Gonzaga, where he was named WCC player of the year. He’s projected to be the Wizards’ starting power forward on a team that will need help scoring outside of Bradley Beal. If you’re looking for a late-round rookie with upside, look no further.
Tomas Satoransky (G – CHI): ADP 147
Satoransky took on the biggest workload of his short career in his third season with the Wizards thanks to John Wall’s extended absence. The third-year guard averaged career highs across the board with 8.9 points, 5.0 assists, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.0 steals across 27.1 minutes per contest. His production in 54 starts was even better, seeing those averages jump to 10.7 points, 6.2 assists, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.1 steals. Satoransky compiled at least 10 assists in 10 of those starts. He’ll likely be Chicago’s starting point guard this season, setting him as a major value pick.
Alex Len (C – ATL): ADP 157
Len doesn’t get much love, but he’ll be the starting center for one of the NBA’s youngest and most up-tempo offenses. Len competed with Dewayne Dedmon for minutes at center last season, but Dedmon is in Sacramento now, and the only players challenging Len for minutes this season will be Damian Jones and rookie second-rounder Bruno Fernando. Over the final six games of the season, with Dedmon out, Len played 26.0 minutes a night and averaged 19.5 points, 6.0 boards, and 1.2 blocks. The big man also drained a ridiculous 3.2 threes on 47.5 percent shooting from beyond the arc. In his first year with the Hawks, Len averaged a career-high 1.3 threes per game on 36.3 percent shooting. His ability to score from three, combined with a steady floor of blocks and scoring upside make him well worth his lofty ADP.
Zachary Hanshew is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Zachary, check out his archive and follow him @zakthemonster.
