X
Lost password?

Don't have an account?
Join the Best Live Fantasy Chat Community!

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
Player Comparisons
Rookies & Call-Ups
24x7 News and Alerts

NBA Roundup: The NBA Draft and Dynasty Leagues

What Appears In This Article? hide

Fantasy basketball coverage is typically pretty dead now that the fantasy basketball season is long past.  Most NBA fans have had the playoffs to focus on -- at least the handful of series that have been fantastic like Golden State / Oklahoma City, as opposed to the many series this year that have been either lopsided (most of the 1st round in the West, Cleveland vs. anyone in the East) or a painful show of bad basketball (Raptors-Pacers springs to mind).  With the Finals coming to a close by this weekend, games will wrap up and we'll enter the fantastic, ridiculous, and often hilarious portion of the year that is the NBA offseason.

A lot of player movement will happen between now and the NBA season, but it's never too early to start speculating about fantasy basketball.  I for one am ready to kick off our offseason coverage, so we'll get going with a round-up of pieces from around the web that I've found interesting and a few of my own thoughts.

The NBA Draft

Check it out: DraftExpress Mock Draft, Updated June 7, 2016.

Before we hit free agency in July, we'll have an opportunity to get excited about some of the kids coming into the league. NBA draft hype is already in full-force on sites like DraftExpress, where you can find excellent player profiles and mock drafts that will give you a good idea of where players might go.  I like the mocks on more independents sites like this better than ones like those created by people with better connections like Chad Ford of ESPN Insiders. I think the quality of mock drafts as a tool for predicting quality of NBA play is harmed by being sourced on hype from player agents and misdirection from front offices.  Sites like Draft Express do a better job of conducting a consistent evaluation of talent to figure out who is good and deserves to be drafted into the league.

That's not to say sites like this are perfect, though.  I think they still end up susceptible to group think on certain players.  They've moved up University of Washington PF Marquese Chriss to third overall in their latest mock.  Chriss has been flying up draft boards lately as people rave about his athleticism and raw potential.  However, a player like him is extremely risky at 3rd overall, while I believe his upside relative to other potential top picks is being overrated.

Check it out: Marquese Chriss is the Boom-or-Bust Prospect in the 2016 NBA Draft by Kevin O'Connor.

As Kevin O'Connor wrote for SB Nation back in April:

However, there's a naturally high probability that Chriss never does develop into a go-to scorer, so he'll need to improve as a passer. As a freshman he was a record scratcher: when he got a touch, the ball stopped, and he'd get tunnel vision. Even when he did decide to pass, he was inaccurate and bound to commit careless turnovers.

Chriss' assist-turnover ratio (26 assists, 69 turnovers) is troubling, similar to the underclassmen seasons of comparable forwards like Stromile Swift, Michael Beasley, Al-Farouq Aminu, Derrick Williams and Anthony Bennett. Beasley was a 19-point-per-game scorer before his career went off the rails and Aminu has tremendous defensive versatility, but the others have been essential busts.

That's a spooky sounding group of NBA busts. I think a lesson linking all of these athletic freaks with unpolished games is that it's a lot harder than teams have imagined it is to teach a raw big man to be a skilled basketball player. Some relatively raw athletic freaks pan out to be stars, but it seems the more common anecdotal examples are wings like Giannis Antetokounmpo and Kawhi Leonard, rather than big men like Bennett or Williams.

The flip side of overrating the ability of athletes to develop basketball skills is that people assume athleticism is set in stone and cannot be improved in the same way as basketball skills like shooting and passing. As a result, players with awesome basketball skills are often knocked severely in the draft process if they are perceived to have poor athleticism. I think this is a faulty assumption, especially in this modern world of sports science and personal trainers. Being a kid on a college campus full of temptations can often lead to issues with fitness and athleticism that will turn around when the player becomes a paid professional athlete in competitive work environment of an NBA team, complete with personal trainers and dieticians.

Of course you'd rather have the more athletic guy, all things being equal.  Players with low athleticism are starting further behind in athleticism, so you need to be sure about their other skills, their intellect, and their work-ethic. And you certainly can't assume improvement to an NBA level of athleticism will happen with every so-called poor athlete. But too many otherwise smart people assume a prospect's level of athleticism is completely static.

Check it out: It's All About the Game by Buster Ducks.

On the topic of the NBA draft in general, this an interesting take on draft strategy that highlights principles that fantasy sports draft strategy junkies will find familiar.  The author (Buster Ducks) names two key factors in drafting well in the NBA that are often seemingly ignored by poorly drafting teams: contract rules and positional scarcity.  You should really read the whole piece, but here's the down and dirty on how the concept of contract rules affect value and upside in the draft.

Contract rules in the NBA currently make the most valuable contracts in the NBA players who are superstars who are worth more than a max contract, and decent players on a rookie salary. As a result, NBA teams should be trying to find superstars and trying to find players who can be contributors on their rookie deals. Raw players who will take years to develop and will likely only top out as below max players who will be overpaid free agents by the time they develop are poor picks, but often made by NBA teams when they should be taking NBA ready guys.

Where teams get it the most wrong, Buster Ducks theorizes, is assuming it's an either/or between "high upside" young guys who have a bigger chance of becoming a guy worth more than a max contract and "low upside" older guys who are more likely to be NBA contributors while they are still on their rookie contracts. Based on his ranking of the top 20 players in the 2015-16 NBA season who played at least one year in college:

...there were 4 Freshmen, 7 Sophomores, 5 Juniors, and 4 Seniors.  So by year, there’s really no reason to prefer freshmen to other players, and there’s really no indication that Freshmen are “higher upside”. In fact, if you take a closer look at the Freshmen, you’ll discover that two were 19 at the start of their freshman season (Love and Jordan) and one was 20 (Whiteside).  The only 18-year-old who went on to become a top player was Kevin Durant.

So buyer beware when you're in a dynasty league. Assuming a player has a greater chance of becoming a star because he's only 18, or a lower chance because he's 22 has not turned out to be the case with the league's current crop of stars. NBA teams might make a mistake in sacrificing the chance of an NBA contributor on a rookie contract for a false hope of greater upside, but you don't have to make the same mistake in your keeper league and dynasty drafts.

Dynasty Leagues

I'll wrap things up with a plug and a teaser for what's to come in RotoBaller's offseason NBA coverage.

Check it out: The DynastyBBall Podcast.

Jordan Schultz over at DynastyBBall is doing some great work attempting to fill the void online in year-round fantasy basketball strategy and rankings for dynasty basketball league managers with his website and podcast.  I participated in the startup draft for the 20-team Official DynastyBall League that took place at the beginning of last month.  I've been holding off on it, but in the build-up of offseason fantasy basketball content following the conclusion of the NBA Finals and the lead-up to the NBA Draft and free agency, I'll be writing about my own approach to NBA dynasty leagues -- how I value players in a dynasty league and why I drafted the players that I did.

POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Draft Rankings
Draft Simulator
Enter League Settings
Player Comparisons
Rookies & Call-Ups
24x7 News and Alerts
RANKINGS
C
1B
2B
3B
SS
OF
SP
RP

RANKINGS

QB
RB
WR
TE
K
DEF

REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

Nick Martini6 hours ago

Homers Twice On Opening Day
Trey Lipscomb6 hours ago

To Be Called Up
Nick Senzel6 hours ago

Expected To Miss 3-4 Weeks
Jon Gray6 hours ago

To Start On Sunday
Justin Steele6 hours ago

Likely To Go On Injured List
Anfernee Simons8 hours ago

Out Against The Heat
Max Kepler9 hours ago

X-Rays Come Back Negative On Max Kepler
Keldon Johnson9 hours ago

Questionable For Friday
Justin Steele9 hours ago

Has Left-Hamstring Tightness
Matisse Thybulle9 hours ago

Questionable For Friday
Davis Bertans9 hours ago

Listed As Probable For Friday
Jusuf Nurkic9 hours ago

Questionable Against Oklahoma City
Frankie Montas9 hours ago

Blanks Nationals In Win
Dario Saric9 hours ago

Listed As Questionable For Friday
Jose Hernandez9 hours ago

Surprises With Opening Day Save
Noah Clowney9 hours ago

Probable For Nets Friday
Griffin Jax9 hours ago

Closes Out Royals Thursday
Jonathan Kuminga9 hours ago

Questionable For Warriors Friday
Jerami Grant9 hours ago

Considered Doubtful For Friday
Clay Holmes9 hours ago

Hangs On For First Save
Dennis Smith9 hours ago

Jr. Probable For Friday
Garrett Crochet9 hours ago

Fans Eight In Tough-Luck Loss
Lauri Markkanen10 hours ago

Questionable Against Houston
Toumani Camara10 hours ago

Will Not Play Friday
Justin Steele10 hours ago

Exits Thursday's Start
Richaun Holmes10 hours ago

Out Versus Pistons
Cameron Johnson10 hours ago

Out Against Chicago On Friday
Luka Doncic10 hours ago

On The Injury Report For Friday
David Bednar10 hours ago

Still Dealing With Lat Injury
Deandre Ayton10 hours ago

Is Questionable For Friday
Rudy Gobert10 hours ago

Might Miss Friday's Game
Tyus Jones10 hours ago

Unavailable For Friday
Zeke Nnaji10 hours ago

Ruled Out Against Minnesota
Jaden Ivey10 hours ago

Listed As Questionable For Friday
Rhys McKee10 hours ago

Searching For First UFC Win
Anthony Edwards10 hours ago

Uncertain For Friday Night
Chidi Njokuani10 hours ago

Drops Back Down To Welterweight At UFC Atlantic City
Kyle Nelson10 hours ago

An Underdog Again At UFC Atlantic City
Bill Algeo10 hours ago

Eyes Sixth UFC Win
Joaquin Buckley11 hours ago

Gets Ranked Opponent At UFC Atlantic City
Vicente Luque11 hours ago

Gets Short-Notice Opponent At UFC Atlantic City
Randal Grichuk11 hours ago

Begins Season On Injured List
Eduardo Rodriguez11 hours ago

Could Throw Off Mound In 5-7 Days
Max Kepler11 hours ago

Leaves On Opening Day With Injury
Nick Senzel12 hours ago

Suffers Broken Thumb
Jason Foley12 hours ago

Earns The Save For Tigers
Tarik Skubal12 hours ago

Tosses Six Scoreless Innings On Opening Day
Corbin Burnes13 hours ago

Pitches A Gem On Opening Day
Aaron Ekblad20 hours ago

Returning To Panthers Lineup Thursday
Nikita Kucherov20 hours ago

Establishes New Career High With 42nd Goal
Shane Pinto20 hours ago

Collects Career-High Four Points
Valeri Nichushkin20 hours ago

Nursing A Lower-Body Injury
Samuel Girard20 hours ago

Battling An Illness
J.K. Dobbins20 hours ago

Visiting With Chargers On Thursday
Oskar Sundqvist20 hours ago

To Miss Rest Of Season With Torn ACL
Ethan Bear20 hours ago

Enters Player Assistance Program
Mark Hubbard2 days ago

Coming Off A Career Performance
Davis Thompson2 days ago

Looking To Pay Off A Stellar Run Of Ball-Striking
Akshay Bhatia2 days ago

Coming Into Houston With Confidence
Thorbjorn Olesen2 days ago

Still Trying To Find Footing On U.S. Soil
Patrick Rodgers2 days ago

Fighting Inconsistencies Heading Into Houston
Malik Nabers2 days ago

Shines At Pro Day
Carolina Panthers2 days ago

Jadeveon Clowney Signing Two-Year Deal With Panthers
Wyndham Clark2 days ago

Battling Back Injury Ahead of Houston Open
San Francisco 49ers2 days ago

Talanoa Hufanga Expected To Return At Training Camp
Jayden Daniels2 days ago

Raiders To Meet With Jayden Daniels
Tank Bigsby2 days ago

Jaguars Want Tank Bigsby More Involved
Josh Reynolds2 days ago

Signs Two-Year Deal With Broncos
Doug Ghim2 days ago

Looks To Bounce Back At Houston Open
PGA2 days ago

Cameron Davis Seeking Consistency Ahead Of Houston Open
Thomas Detry2 days ago

A Gamble At Houston Open
Ryan Fox2 days ago

Lacks Upside Heading Into Houston Open
Andrew Novak2 days ago

Will Be Chalk At Houston Open
Josh Doan2 days ago

Scores Twice In His NHL Debut
Filip Forsberg2 days ago

Makes History In Big Comeback Win
Jamie Benn2 days ago

Scores In Fifth Consecutive Game
Sidney Crosby2 days ago

Collects Three Points Versus Carolina
Artemi Panarin2 days ago

Continues Scoring Tear With Three Assists
Joey Daccord2 days ago

Shuts Out Ducks
Sahith Theegala2 days ago

Showing Consistency This Season
Wyndham Clark2 days ago

Working Toward Star Status
Scottie Scheffler2 days ago

Heads To Houston At His Best
Sam Ryder2 days ago

Putting The Lights Out Of Late
Joel Dahmen2 days ago

All Systems Go For Joel Dahmen In Houston
Kurt Kitayama2 days ago

Ready For Houston Debut
Ben Griffin2 days ago

Finding Form Heading To Houston
Taylor Moore2 days ago

Continues Made-Cut Streak Heading To Houston
Adam Svensson2 days ago

Hoping For Consistency In Houston
Taylor Montgomery2 days ago

Looks To Bounce Back In Houston
Amon-Ra St. Brown2 days ago

Discussing Extension With Lions
Jared Goff2 days ago

Lions Discussing New Deal
J.K. Dobbins2 days ago

Cleared For Football Activities
Los Angeles Rams2 days ago

Tre'Davious White To Join Rams
PIT3 days ago

Sam Poulin Recalled From AHL
Jack Quinn3 days ago

Could Return Wednesday
Scott Mayfield3 days ago

Undergoes Season-Ending Surgery
TOR3 days ago

Mitch Marner Skates On His Own Tuesday
Trevor Zegras3 days ago

To Return Tuesday
Justus Annunen3 days ago

Inks Two-Year Extension
Nick Chubb3 days ago

Expected To Start Load Running Next Month
D'Andre Swift3 days ago

Bears View D'Andre Swift As Receiving Weapon
Cordarrelle Patterson3 days ago

Signing With Steelers
Sam Howell3 days ago

Seahawks Believe Sam Howell Can Be A Full-Time Starter
Tennessee Titans3 days ago

L'Jarius Sneed Agrees On Four-Year Contract With Titans
Dak Prescott3 days ago

No Indication A Deal Is Coming For Dak Prescott
Calvin Ridley3 days ago

To Have Big Role In Tennessee
Josh Jacobs3 days ago

To Be Used More In Passing Game
Brandon Saad3 days ago

Gets Another Goal In Monday's Loss
Logan Thompson3 days ago

Stretches Winning Streak To Three Games
Pittsburgh Steelers3 days ago

Cameron Heyward Expected To Be Healthy For Training Camp
Zach Wilson3 days ago

Jets Could End Up Keeping Zach Wilson
Amanda Ribas4 days ago

Takes Decision Loss
Rose Namajunas4 days ago

Snaps Losing Streak
Edmen Shahbazyan4 days ago

Scores Vicious Comeback Knockout
AJ Dobson4 days ago

Knocked Out In The First Round At UFC Vegas 89
Fernando Padilla4 days ago

Gets Back On Track With Submission Win
Luis Pajuelo4 days ago

Submitted In UFC Debut
William Byron4 days ago

Dominates For Victory At COTA
Ty Gibbs4 days ago

Grabs Another Solid Finish At COTA
Chris Buescher4 days ago

Texas Native Chris Buescher Finishes Eighth At COTA
Christopher Bell4 days ago

Kyle Busch Confronts Christopher Bell Following A Top-10 Finish At COTA
Justin Haley4 days ago

Disqualified After Strong COTA Run
Martin Truex Jr4 days ago

. Rounds Out Top Ten At COTA
NASCAR4 days ago

A.J. Allmendinger Worms Way Up To Sixth At COTA
Shane Van Gisbergen4 days ago

Shane van Gisbergen Comes Down to Earth After Mediocre COTA Run
Ross Chastain4 days ago

Ran Well at COTA as Usual Despite Late-Race Fade
Christopher Bell4 days ago

Furious Charge Falls Just Short at COTA
Tyler Reddick4 days ago

Scores Strong Finish of Fifth at COTA
Chase Elliott4 days ago

Finishes 16th at COTA After Lackluster Performance
Billy Quarantillo5 days ago

Suffers Submission Loss At UFC Vegas 89
Youssef Zalal5 days ago

Gets Submission Win In Return To The UFC
Cameron Saaiman5 days ago

Gets Knocked Out At UFC Vegas 89
Payton Talbott5 days ago

Scores KO Win At UFC Vegas 89
Justin Tafa5 days ago

Drops To .500 In The UFC
Karl Williams5 days ago

Remains Undefeated In The UFC
Kyle Larson5 days ago

Is One Of The Optimal DFS Options For COTA
Denny Hamlin5 days ago

Should Denny Hamlin Be Rostered For DFS Lineups At COTA?
Kaz Grala5 days ago

Is A Serviceable DFS Play For COTA
Shane Van Gisbergen5 days ago

Will Start 12th In First COTA Cup Start
Todd Gilliland5 days ago

Is A Sneaky DFS Play With Upside For COTA
William Byron5 days ago

Is One Of The Top Favorites To Win At COTA
Christopher Bell5 days ago

Is A Comfortable DFS Play For COTA
Tyler Reddick5 days ago

the Favorite to Win at COTA
Ty Gibbs5 days ago

Looking for First Career Win at COTA

MORE RECENT ARTICLES

 

2024 NFL Draft: Bold Predictions and Potential Surprises for Round 1

Football never sleeps at RotoBaller! With the 2024 NFL Draft fast approaching, we're digging into what might transpire on draft night. RotoBaller analyst LaQuan Jones previews the 2024 NFL Draft and makes some BOLD Predictions about possible surprises and potential landing spots for the first round of the draft. Win MORE in 2024 with RotoBaller!... Read More


George Pickens - Fantasy Football Rankings, Draft Sleepers, Waiver Wire Pickups

Early Look At Wide Receivers In 2024 Fantasy Football Drafts

The upcoming NFL Draft is less than a month away. While everyone is excited for the NFL Draft, fantasy players are looking forward to the regular season. While we won’t have meaningful NFL football for months, it’s never too early to prepare for your fantasy football drafts. Last year, the fantasy football world saw multiple... Read More


Spencer Rattler, College Football Transfers

Underrated Rookie Draft Targets - Early 2024 Sleepers for Dynasty Fantasy Football

We are a month out from the NFL Draft, meaning if you are here, you are probably looking for draft content and reading up on prospects. You probably have all of the information you need on stud prospects like Caleb Williams and Marvin Harrison Jr. That’s not what you’re here for.  Rookie draft season for... Read More


Breece Hall - Fantasy Football Rankings, Draft Sleepers, NFL Injury News

2024 NFL Free-Agency Winners and the Fantasy Football Impact - Part II

The NFL's offseason, including trades and free agency, can strongly impact a player's fantasy football value. This effect can be positive or negative. For this series, we're focusing on fantasy football players who have seen their fantasy value increase. This can occur via a player's direct movement, such as a trade or signing with a... Read More


UFL RANKINGS, FANTASY FOOTBALL,

UFL Fantasy Football Rankings for Week 1: QB, RB, WR, TE Rankings and Analysis (2024)

It's finally here: the UFL season is set to kick off with two games on Saturday, March 30 and two games on Sunday, March 31. Saturday's games will be broadcast on Fox Sports while Sunday's matchups will be on ESPN. The most anticipated Week 1 matchup pits the 2023 USFL champion Birmingham Stallions against the... Read More


Jared Goff - Fantasy Football Rankings, NFL Injury News, DFS Lineup Picks

Will the Lions Extend Jared Goff's Contract This Offseason? 2024 NFL Outlook

Jared Goff's career in Los Angeles didn't take off like many expected after his appearance in Super Bowl LIII, and he was traded to the Lions for Matthew Stafford. Goff's first season in the Motor City was terrible, but he has completely turned things around over the last two seasons. In 2022, he almost led... Read More


Kyle Pitts - Fantasy Football Rankings, Draft Sleepers, NFL Injury News

2024 NFL Free-Agency Winners and the Fantasy Football Impact - Part I

Free agency symbolizes the start of a new NFL season. It's the first opportunity for NFL clubs to start addressing their weaknesses and considerably impacts how the upcoming season plays out. Just as free agency can improve or worsen a team's outlook, a player's fantasy football value is also impacted. Free agency marks the real... Read More


Malik Nabers - Fantasy Football Rankings, College FB, WR, NFL Draft Sleepers

Coach Knows Ball: Malik Nabers 2024 NFL Draft Film Breakdown of LSU WR

Welcome to Coach Knows Ball, an NFL Draft series analyzing the top prospects in the 2024 class. I'm a college football coach with nine years of NCAA experience and have been scouting NFL Draft prospects for over 15 years. This series will give a deep dive into the film of some of the top players... Read More


Avoid These Running Backs in 2024: Fantasy Football Outlook

Football never sleeps at RotoBaller! The staff is already looking ahead to the 2024 season to help our readers get the jump on their competition. RotoBaller analyst LaQuan Jones discusses five Running Backs that you should AVOID in 2024 fantasy football drafts. Win MORE in 2024 with RotoBaller! Be sure to tune into RotoBaller Radio... Read More


Brock Bowers - Fantasy Football Rankings, NFL Rookies, Draft Sleepers, NCAA College Football, Prospects

Brock Bowers 2024 NFL Draft Stock Update – When Will the Georgia TE Be Selected?

Georgia tight end Brock Bowers was arguably the top tight end in college football over the past few years. Bowers was outstanding his freshman year, totaling 56 receptions for 882 receiving yards and 13 touchdowns. Unfortunately, his production slightly slipped in 2022 as defenses started to game plan for the star tight end. Bowers had... Read More


Xavier Worthy 2024 NFL Draft Stock Update – When Will the Texas WR Be Selected?

Texas wide receiver Xavier Worthy has been one of the top pass-catchers in college football over the past few years. The explosive receiver was outstanding his freshman year, totaling 62 receptions for 981 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns. Unfortunately, his production slipped in 2022. Worthy had 60 receptions for 760 receiving yards and nine touchdowns... Read More


Blake Corum - Fantasy Football Rankings, College FB, RB, NFL Draft Sleepers

Blake Corum 2024 NFL Draft Stock Update - When Will the Michigan RB Be Selected?

Former Michigan running back Blake Corum is one of the most popular prospects in the 2024 NFL Draft class. The 23-year-old is fresh off a College Football National Championship victory and a 2023 campaign consisting of over 1,300 yards from scrimmage. However, given the devaluation of the running back position and Corum not being an... Read More


Brandon Aiyuk - Fantasy Football Rankings, NFL Injury News

Will The 49ers Trade Brandon Aiyuk?

Brandon Aiyuk had a career year last season, finishing seventh in the league in receiving yards (1342), second in yards per catch (17.9), and catching seven touchdowns. For his efforts, he was named to the Second-team All-Pro. However, despite many expecting them to do so, the 49ers failed to win Super Bowl LVIII and now... Read More