October 14, 2017

Cody Walizer talks up five undervalued NBA sleepers to take in the mid-to-late rounds of your fantasy basketball draft.

This NBA season is an especially hard one to predict. So many stars have changed teams and changed roles. We don't even know what first round fantasy superstars like Russell Westbrook and James Harden are going to do, much less second tier guys like Carmelo Anthony. In all the uncertainty in the earlier rounds, it is easy to forget about the less flashy producers around the league.

Here is a list of five solid, spooky, sleeper candidates, ranging from a reliable veteran combo guard, to a young and up-and-coming star, to a 30-year-old "rookie" who's already a household name in Europe.

The list is in no particular order.

Five Under the Radar Fantasy Sleepers

Jeremy Lin

Team: Brooklyn Nets

Projected Role: Starting Combo Guard

Why Draft Lin?: Jeremy Lin, aka "Linsanity," is the closest thing to a franchise player in Brooklyn after the departure of center Brook Lopez. Many would say that the Nets returning player in the Lopez trade, D'Angelo Russell, is the real future of the franchise. However, it remains to be seen whether Russell can even consistently produce in this league. Lin is going into his eighth year in the league, and he represents a solid veteran guard presence for a young team. He ought to get the lion's share of looks, and the ball will be in his hands most of the time that he is on the court. You can count on Lin to provide you a great value in most drafts.  Lin is no stranger to doubters, so hate at your own risk! "Overlooked" should probably be his middle name at this point.

Patrick Patterson

Team: Oklahoma City Thunder

Projected Role: 6th Man

Why Draft Patterson?: Patrick Patterson, aka "Pat Patt," is going to fit into so many funky lineups with the new-look Thunder this year. You just have to draft this guy. He has been completely forgotten about in the scope of the Thunder's offseason. That isn't a bad thing for Patterson, as opposing defenses are going to be forced to forget about him when they are being pressed by Russell Westbrook, Carmelo Anthony, and Paul George this season. Pat Patt can really shoot the three, is a solid defender, and relishes coming of the bench. Look for him to be an excellent value in any draft type and in any league.

Lou Williams

Team: Los Angeles Clippers

Projected Role: 6th Man

Why Draft Williams?: Lou Williams has a lot of sweet nicknames, but his jumper is sweeter. He's another one of those guys who changed jerseys and was forgotten about. Moving from Houston back to L.A., but this time to the Clippers, might be the best thing that has happened to Williams in his career. Well, at least since he got traded from the tanking Lakers to a playoff Rockets team last year. And since he was moved for Chris Paul, he figures to slot into a role in which he can garner a great deal of minutes at either guard spot of the bench. Williams will do well fitting into a new-look motion offensive approach from head coach Doc Rivers. Fellow backcourt acquisition Milos Teodosic also made this list, and will be fun to watch alongside Lou this year.

Milos Teodosic

Team: Los Angeles Clippers

Projected Role: Backup Point Guard

Why Draft Teodosic?: If Teodosic has nicknames, I don't know them (they're probably Serbian), but damn this guy can pass the basketball. He's basically a small version of his fellow Serbian Nikola Jokic in the way that he can operate an offense. Teodosic is going to have every opportunity to prove that a veteran guard who has played in Europe for longer than expected can adjust to the NBA. He figures to slot in behind Patrick Beverly on the depth chart, at about twenty to twenty-five minutes a game. He will be charged with running the bench units offense and controlling the tempo. He is a part of the new lob city and has demonstrated that he fits right in several times during the preseason.

Brandon Ingram

Team: Los Angeles Lakers

Projected Role: Starting Small Forward

Why Draft Ingram?: Some might say it's a stretch to call Brandon Ingram a sleeper. I say: Lonzo Ball. So much has been made of the young point guard that it has been awfully easy for Ingram - and newly acquired shooting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope for that matter - to fall by the wayside. Nonetheless, Ingram is poised for a breakout season. He will have the greenest of lights on a bottom-feeding team in the West that appears to be looking ahead to next off-season. I expect Ingram to take major steps forward in his second year, and to especially to find his stroke from deep.

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