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Hope everyone had an enjoyable summer. This NBA off-season has been one of the most entertaining and everyone has to be itching for some NBA action. The long wait is coming to a close and preseason is just around the corner!
As a reminder this season, it’s recommended you choose to join leagues that will end a bit early this season (and possibly moving forward). It’s recommended that your playoffs will begin on Week 20, and conclude on Week 22, opposed to ending on Week 23, which is April 5th. The reason being that key players will be at risk of sitting out games during that period in anticipating for playoffs. You hate to lose in a championship round because of DNP – Load Management, right?
It’s never too early to do your homework, and we’re here to bless you all with everything you guys need to stay ahead of your opponents in all your fantasy leagues. Below are some of the undervalued picks of the fantasy basketball season, and you’re going to want to target some of these players! Especially if you’re looking to get the most value. Please note I based this article off of Yahoo! leagues in a H2H 9-cat standard formats.
Editor's Note: Our incredible team of writers received five total writing awards and 13 award nominations by the Fantasy Sports Writers Association, tops in the industry! Congrats to all the award winners and nominees including NBA Writer of the Year, Best NFL Series, MLB Series, PGA Writer and Player Notes writer of the year. Be sure to follow their analysis, rankings and advice all year long, and win more with RotoBaller! Read More!
2019-2020 Fantasy Basketball Undervalued Guards
Jrue Holiday, PG/SG – New Orleans Pelicans (ADP: 18)
Holiday will be in for a monster season, and he’s going to be put up borderline first-round numbers. With Anthony Davis in Los Angeles, Holiday will become the primarily option on the Pelicans. He’s a lock to boost his scoring and assist numbers this season, and he’s going to be rock solid with his steals and blocks, which is huge for out-of-position stats from a point guard. Over the last two months of the 2018-2019 season, Holiday was putting up first-round value with 22.6 PPG 4.3 RPG 6.2 APG, connecting on 2.4 three-pointers per game. He also chipped in an elite 2.0 steals and 0.6 blocks per game. Zion Williamson is not likely going to be hitting on all cylinders his rookie year, so Jrue will have plenty of opportunities to be the leading scorer for this young Pelicans squad.
Trae Young, PG – Atlanta Hawks (ADP: 20)
There’s a lot of hype for Trae Young this season, and with good reason. Over the last month of the season, he was averaging close to 24 points and nine assists per game. He’s going to get a bump in minutes, and there’s lots of room for improvement in some of his shooting percentages. There’s massive upside for working his way into being a top-20 player in fantasy this season, so taking him in the second round is worth the price tag. The reason Young’s on this list is because he’s a wild card who could work himself into putting up borderline first-round numbers. Young had seven 30-point and 10-assist games last season, the most in a season by a rookie.
As of 9/27, both Trae Young and Jrue Holiday are no longer "undervalued", however they still remain on this list because of pure upside that not many may realize unless you're familiar with value and positional stats scarcity
D'Angelo Russell, PG/SG – Golden State Warriors (ADP: 39)
Dloading finds himself in the Bay Area as the newest Splash Brother, where he will begin the season with a lot to prove. As a member of the Brooklyn Nets last season, Russell only averaged 30 minutes per game, which is shocking considering he’s only 23 years old. He’ll get all the opportunities to boost his averages up across the board, especially with Klay Thompson (ACL) out at least until 2020. Klay's outlook this season may be a complete mystery, and it's anyone guess if he'll actually return this season. Russell will be the second option on this team behind Stephen Curry, where playing with an improved roster on the Warriors will likely increase his efficiency, something that will really boost his fantasy value. Dloading will be in for another breakout season.
Fred Vanvleet - PG/SG - Toronto Raptors (ADP: 97)
The departure of Kawhi Leonard opens a huge gap for the entire Raptors team, offering a lot of usage to spread across the entire team. Kyle Lowry will still obviously be the starting point guard, but there's also a chance that VanVleet could start at shooting guard, if not definitely close out games along side Kyle Lowry just like he did in the 2019 NBA Finals. VanVleet enters the season with an impressive performance to remember by, as he was key in eliminating the Golden State Warriors in Game 6 with 22 points and five 3-pointers in the close out win. Look for VanVleet to average close to 15 points per game, with close five assists per game and the sprinkle of steals and 3-pointers. That's good enough for top-75 in 9-category leagues.
Kyle Lowry, PG - Toronto Raptors (ADP: 52)
Lowry is just being disrespected right now just because Kawhi Leonard has left the team. He's surely going to be a better player this season in fantasy and there's plenty of value grabbing him within the 45-50 pick range. Lowry has top-20 upside and there's very little reason to believe he'll suddenly be on a sharp decline. Yes, he's an aging star but there's not much on the Raptors to convince me that Lowry will be shy of taking shots on this team. Lowry might be one of my favorite value picks this season because players will look to target big men in rounds 4 and 5.
Delon Wright, PG/SG – Dallas Mavericks (ADP: 99)
Wright is finally freed from the log jam in Memphis and Toronto, and he’ll get a chance for the first time in his career to prove to the league that he’s a NBA starter. Wright’s game is extremely fantasy friendly, and the number of minutes he’ll get to log in Dallas is going be key. If he’s going to play close to 30 minutes per game, there’s a strong chance he’ll finish the season as a top-60 player. The ability to rack up steals and assists is rare, and playing with talented players like Kristaps Porzingis and Luka Doncic will open up opportunities on offense. Wright is surely going to be one of the break-out candidates this season.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, PG/SG - Oklahoma City Thunder (ADP: 79)
SGA ended the last month of the 2018-2019 season as a top-50 player in 9-category leagues. He averaged close to 15 points per game, along with 1.6 steals and close to five assists per game. The impressive part was that he shot 51 percent from the field during that 14-game span. The opportunities for SGA will be massive with the Thunder, playing alongside future Hall of Famer in Chris Paul. He's rumored to be starting alongside with Chris Paul and will get plenty of open opportunities to score on a team that desperately needs scoring. Shai has been getting picked up in the mid-rounds of most mocks, and you can find real value for him since he has the upside to finish the season with top-40 potential. And don't forget there's also a reason to believe that Chris Paul, at some point of the season, will miss some games. When that happens, look out.
Terry Rozier, PG/SG - Charlotte Hornets (ADP: 64)
Rozier finds himself an unreasonable contract for a three-year, $58 million deal with the Hornets. With that said, it'll be the 'Scary-Terry' show as there will be very little competition for him to jack up shots. I would be shocked if Rozier does not average close to 20 points per game, but he'll get an opportunity to chip in plenty of three-pointers and counting stats. Yes, the field-goal percentage will take a hit, but he's still worth drafting for the popcorn numbers with the minutes upside. The Hornets are going to give him all the opportunity in the world to entertain and celebrate that 58-million dollar contract.
Ricky Rubio, PG - Phoenix Suns (ADP: 80)
Ricky Rubio will be the point guard the Suns been searching for, for a long long time. He'll start alongside Devin Booker and Deandre Ayton, who will be the beneficiary of his assist totals. Assists are harder to find after the early-rounds of drafts, so Rubio could become valuable to secure your assist category. Rubio may be past his prime and his best days of being a top-30 player may be behind him, but chances are he'll be playing closer towards 30-32 minutes per night this season opposed to just under 28 last season. The steals and assists should come back up, which will make him a valuable player to have on your squad. Rubio's a good target in the middle rounds.
Mikal Bridges, SG/SF - Phoenix Suns (ADP: 101)
Bridges is not a sexy name by all means, and while the departure of Josh Jackson and TJ Warren is a positive for Bridge's minutes, the arrival of Ricky Rubio means Devin Booker will be strictly playing his natural position at shooting guard. Kelly Oubre Jr. is still around and I'm not convinced he'll be playing much power forward, meaning Bridges's path to minutes is not likely to exceed 30. However, he only needs about 24+ minutes to exceed value, where he'll be a healthy source of 3-pointers and steals. Getting Bridges in the later rounds could mean some value for your squad, especially when you're looking to boost your steals and 3-pointers.
Gary Harris, SG/SF - Denver Nuggets (ADP: 99)
Harris fell off a cliff last season due to a number of nagging injuries that hampered him all season. His steals and field-goal percentage also took a dip, which deflated his value overall. Harris does however enter this season healthy and refreshed, and there's a good chance he can play himself into a top-75 player by seasons end. Shooting guards and small forwards tend to dry out late in the draft, so Harris is definitely worth a spot in your queue.
Kevin Huerter, SG/SF - Atlanta Hawks (ADP: 114)
Huerter struggled early in his rookie season, but started to pick it up towards the last two months of the season. In the last two months of the season, Huerter averaged 10.5 points per game, 3.3 rebounds per game, and 3.4 assists per game. He also chipped in 1.9 3-pointers and 0.9 steals in that span as well. A shooting guard who can hit 3-pointers, provide a trickle of assists, and average at least a steal per game can definitely be useful in standard leagues, and he's worth a roster spot come draft day.
Ish Smith, PG - Washington Wizards (ADP: 144)
With John Wall (Achilles) out for the year and Isaiah Thomas (thumb) looking to miss the next 4-6 weeks, Smith can have a head start to showcase and solidify himself a starter role. The percentages aren't going to be pretty, but Smith's ability to rack up assist numbers will warrant a spot in standard leagues. Just don't reach for him as you should view him as a rental until we hear more about Thomas.
More Fantasy Basketball Analysis
By popular demand, RotoBaller has aggregated all of our fantasy basketball NBA waiver wire pickups into a running list of NBA waiver options, so bookmark the page and check back often for updates.
