X
Lost password?

Don't have an account?
Gain Access Now

X

Receive free daily analysis

NFL
NBA
NHL
NASCAR
CFB
MLB
MMA
PGA
ESPORTS
BETTING

Already have an account? Log In

X

Forgot Password


POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Draft Rankings
Draft Simulator
Enter League Settings
Value Picks
Compare Any Players
News and Alerts

Magic No More: Victor Oladipo and Aaron Gordon are Killing Your Fantasy Team

By Keith Allison from Hanover, MD, USA (Aaron Gordon) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

RobWild looks at two hyped fantasy NBA busts for the 2016-17 season. Follow RotoBaller for more fantasy basketball strategy, rankings, and waiver wire adds.

Pre-season hype is real. Every year there are must draft, sky is the limit players who are supposed to take that next leap into fantasy stardom. To get your hands on one of these guys, you have to spend an early pick relative to their statistical value from last year. In the best of cases you get what you paid for them, but more often than not they fail to exceed their inflated draft prices.

Today we look at a few of those players who have produced numbers at least sixty spots in value behind where they were drafted, and what we can expect from them the rest of this season and beyond.

Editor's Note: New users that sign up on FantasyAces, make a $20 deposit, and enter any game will receive our full season NBA (or NFL) Premium Pass for free (includes DFS Cheat Sheets). Just email [email protected] with your new FantasyAces username - and boom, that's it! We will email you with your Premium Pass.

 

Victor Oladipo and Aaron Gordon are Killing their Fantasy Owners

Victor Oladipo, Oklahoma City Thunder

Going to a new team, away from the train wreck of Orlando basketball, and right into a situation as the number two guy in Oklahoma, things looked bright. But instead of being dubbed Victory Oladipo, most owners would rather call him Olidiaper for how he crapped on their season. His combined average draft position from Yahoo, ESPN, and CBS this last season was thirty! Yet his current player rater production has him at ninety-nine, a full sixty-nine spots later. That’s like paying a third round pick for a tenth round player. Ouch.

So what happened? First off, Oklahoma is Westbrook’s team and he’s ball-hogging his way to triple-double land. Maybe there was a reason Durant left after all? But more importantly, some of Oladipo's stats have unexpectedly dropped. This season he is shooting a garbage level sixty two percent on free throws, down from nearly eighty percent or higher the past few years, while also getting less assists and steals.  For a guy known as a defensive specialist, getting only .9 steals per game is especially concerning. He’s also only getting 16.1 points per game, which alone wouldn’t mean too much, but from someone who should be Robin to Westbrook's Batman, this just isn’t cutting it.

Moving forward, Oladipo is a good buy low candidate, but I think we clearly have to see him as more of a top sixty value and not top thirty. He should be able to fix his free throw percentage, and he really needs to if he’s going to be any sort of fantasy asset at all. He is young and adjusting to a new team while also playing with a ball hogging superstar, so I would give him a little bit of a break getting adjusted. That being said, I’m not buying any more hype with him and wouldn’t touch him if he keeps getting overvalued on potential.

 

Aaron Gordon, Orlando Magic

This guy is an absolutely amazing dunker who should have won last year’s contest, but has been pretty bad at actual basketball this year. He’s young and hardworking, but hey, so are a lot of fast food employees. His combined average draft position from Yahoo, ESPN and CBS this past season was eighty. While that isn’t too terrible a cost for a high upside player, his current player rater production has him at one hundred sixty! In many leagues that means this guy is not even on a roster now, or shouldn’t be.

So what happened? I’d call it a sophomore slump, except this is his third year. I’d say he got Skiled (poorly used by previous coach Skiles), except he has a new coach in Vogel. The only thing that makes much sense is he has been used in different positions and the coaching changes are going to take some adjusting to. That, or he’s just not that good. This year he is averaging 1 3PM, 4.4 REB, 1.8 AST, .8 STL, .6 BLK, and 10.4 PTS per game, shooting .431 from the field and .558 from the free throw line. The counting stats are low, but the percentages are just terrible. For him to turn this around at all he really needs steals and blocks above one per game and to improve those percentages.

Moving forward Gordon is a wait and see. He had one really good game recently against the Clippers, but the player that would have been normally defending him was out with an injury, so I’m not too sold something is happening with him yet. He does have tons of potential because he is a freakish athlete and still only twenty one years old. I have my eyes on him and would buy if I can get him cheaply. The problem for his owners is that his value is so low right they are forced to hold or sell for pennies.




POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Draft Rankings
Draft Simulator
Enter League Settings
Value Picks
Compare Any Players
News and Alerts

REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

Malik Nabers

Expected to be Full-Go for Week 1
Freddie Freeman

Out Wednesday With Neck Stinger
Alejandro Kirk

Avoids Major Injury, Remains Out on Wednesday
Travis Hunter

Back at Practice, Will be Ready for Week 1
Luis Robert Jr.

Could Miss the Rest of the Season
De'Von Achane

Not Practicing on Wednesday
Trevor Megill

Brewers Place Trevor Megill on Injured List With Flexor Strain
Luis Robert Jr.

Placed on Injured List With Hamstring Strain
Rashee Rice

Accepting Six-Game Suspension to Begin the Year
Kyle Hamilton

Ravens, Kyle Hamilton Finalizing Four-Year Extension
Rashee Rice

NFL Aiming to Place Six-Game Suspension on Rashee Rice
De'Von Achane

Dolphins GM Says De'Von Achane Will be Ready for Week 1
Joe Mixon

Texans GM: "We'll See" if Joe Mixon Plays in 2025
Adam Thielen

Traded to the Vikings
Nick Lodolo

Expected to Return Wednesday Against the Dodgers
Terance Mann

Confident About Having a Big Year in Brooklyn
Zaccharie Risacher

Aims to Improve Ball-Handling Skills
NBA

Pistons And Timberwolves Join Race for Malik Beasley
John Tonje

Signs Two-Way Deal With Jazz
Max Strus

to Miss 3-4 Months After Surgery
Blake Snell

Activated From Paternity List Tuesday
Dallas Cowboys

Cowboys Still Expect Micah Parsons to Play in Week 1
Luis Robert Jr.

Exits Early With Hamstring Soreness
Chris Godwin

Passes Physical, Will be Activated From PUP List
Willson Contreras

Issued Six-Game Suspension
Randy Rodríguez

Randy Rodriguez Placed on Injured List
Brandon Aiyuk

49ers Officially Place Brandon Aiyuk on PUP List
Nathan Eovaldi

Likely Done for the Season
Tyreek Hill

Remains Out of Practice
Najee Harris

Moved to Active Roster
Yordan Alvarez

Activated and Starting on Tuesday
Oneil Cruz

Back From Injured List
New York Mets

Jonah Tong Promoted to Major Leagues
Spencer Rattler

Saints Name Spencer Rattler as Starting QB
MarShawn Lloyd

Packers Leaning Toward Placing MarShawn Lloyd on Injured Reserve
Tyjae Spears

to Begin the Season on Injured Reserve
Nikola Jović

Heat Have High Hopes for Nikola Jovic
Golden State Warriors

Cody Martin Drawing Interest From Warriors
Minnesota Timberwolves

Timberwolves Interested in Reunion With Bones Hyland
Kylor Kelley

Joins Lakers
Colin Castleton

Links Up With Magic
Brock Bowers

Pete Carroll Classifies Brock Bowers Among His Best Players Ever
De'Von Achane

Lingering Calf Injury Poses Concerns for De'Von Achane
Adam Thielen

Vikings and Panthers Struggling to Finalize Adam Thielen Trade
Malik Monk

Kings "Not Actively Engaged" in Trade Discussions Involving Malik Monk
P.J. Washington

Mavs Likely to Offer P.J. Washington a Contract Extension
Kenny Pickett

Raiders Acquire Kenny Pickett From Browns
NHL

Jan Rutta Lands in Switzerland
Kirby Dach

Skates on Monday
COL

Tyson Barrie Retires From NHL
Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Back in Toronto's Lineup
Zhang Mingyang

Suffers His First UFC Loss
Johnny Walker

Gets Back In The Win Column
Brian Ortega

Loses Back-To-Back Fights
Aljamain Sterling

Proves Too Much For Brian Ortega
Chris Sale

Penciled in to Start on Saturday
Waldo Cortes-Acosta

Suffers Unanimous-Decision Loss
Sergei Pavlovich

Wins Decision At UFC Shanghai
Kevin Borjas

Drops Decision At UFC Shanghai
Sumudaerji

Wins Back-To-Back Fights
Kiefer Crosbie

Still Winless In The UFC
Taiyilake Nueraji

Gets His First UFC Win
Ryan Blaney

Earns his Second Daytona Cup Series Win
Tyler Reddick

Locks Into the 2025 Playoffs Despite Underwhelming Daytona Performance
Erik Jones

Misses the 2025 Playoffs Despite Top-Five Run at Daytona
Justin Haley

Best Performance of 2025 Falls Short of Victory at Daytona
Chase Burns

To Throw Bullpen on Tuesday
Kyle Larson

Enters Playoffs As Co-Points Leader
Alex Bowman

Advances to Playoffs Despite Crashing at Daytona
Cole Custer

Finally Shows Signs of Life at Daytona
Daniel Suarez

Lame-Duck Daniel Suarez Delivers Clutch Second-Place Finish
Logan Gilbert

Punches Out 13 in Victory
Randy Rodríguez

Randy Rodriguez Battling Arm Soreness
Marcus Semien

Out 4-6 Weeks, Could Miss Rest of Season
Ranger Suárez

Ranger Suarez Strikes Out 11 in Win
Chase Elliott

Despite Being Winless at Daytona, Chase Elliott is Probably the Best DFS Option
Ryan Blaney

Will Likely Lead a Lot at Daytona
Kyle Larson

a Poor DFS Option at Daytona
Christopher Bell

Consistent Enough to Consider for DFS
Chris Buescher

Now Must Win His Way Into Playoffs
Ryan Preece

Being One of the Slowest-Starting Fords Makes Ryan Preece a Strong DFS Option
Ross Chastain

Leads a Lot on Drafting Tracks
Daniel Suarez

Now in Desperation Mode With his Career on the Line
Chase Briscoe

Tendency to Finish Better Than He Runs May Reap Dividends at Daytona
Carson Hocevar

Hard to Forecast Since He's Rarely Given 100 Percent at Daytona
Michael McDowell

has a Solid Drafting Record
AJ Allmendinger

A.J. Allmendinger Arguably Starting Too Well for Place-Differential Points
Austin Dillon

Will Likely Be Too Conservative for DFS Consideration
Moses Moody

Warriors Not Interested in Trading Moses Moody
Kevin Durant

Rockets Expected to Agree on New Contract
Trey Murphy III

Warriors, Spurs Interested in Trey Murphy III
CAR

Luke Kunin Joins Panthers on One-Year Deal
Auston Matthews

Says His Health is "Good" Before Start of Season
Roope Hintz

"Feeling Good" Ahead of New Season
Matthew Tkachuk

Recovering From Surgery
Marco Rossi

Wild Re-Sign Marco Rossi to Three-Year Deal
NBA

Malik Beasley Now Drawing Interest from Teams
Zhang Mingyang

Set For UFC Shanghai Main Event
Johnny Walker

In Dire Need Of Victory
Brian Ortega

An Underdog At UFC Shanghai
Aljamain Sterling

Set For UFC Shanghai Co-Main Event
Waldo Cortes-Acosta

Looks To Extend His Win Streak
Sergei Pavlovich

A Favorite At UFC Shanghai
Kevin Borjas

Set for UFC Shanghai Main-Card Bout
Sumudaerji

Looks To Win Back-To-Back Fights
Kiefer Crosbie

Set To Open Up UFC Shanghai Main Card
Taiyilake Nueraji

Set For His UFC Debut

RANKINGS

QB
RB
WR
TE
K
DEF
RANKINGS
C
1B
2B
3B
SS
OF
SP
RP