So admittedly, we’re not going to quite get through all of these… I always underestimate the time it takes to keep the rankings afloat! But we have time for at least a few more….
As we prepare for the 2016-17 Fantasy Basketball Season, I’ll be taking a look at each NBA team with their major adds and drops to see if we can pan for any surprise rotational gold. This open is especially witty for the Nuggets… We’ll be counting down from worst NBA regular season to the best, mainly because I’m still figuring out how to rank the Warriors…
Memphis Grizzlies (42-40)
Key Acquisitions:
F Deyonta Davis
Key Losses:
G Mario Chalmers
JOERRRRRRRGER!
Well, not too much of a change for the most famous city in Tennessee! Weird reference to another Podcast – I think like 4 years ago and on a baseball Podcast – but let’s see if anyone gets it! Without losing much, the Grizz sign Chandler Parsons, who new coach David “Plop, plop, fizz” Fizdale said they want to use like LeBron. Aherm, OK! And apparently Fizdale is scrapping the Grizzlies slow-paced mold, and going for more uptempo looks. Any time someone is comparing an offense to D’Antoni, my fantasy tent gets pitched! So let’s take a look at their roster, and see if an uptempo system can work:
PG – Projected Starter – Mike Conley
He is a pretty good NBA PG, so he was going to get a max deal somewhere. But the $150 some odd million he got seems a little crazypants to me, given his lower leg injury issues the past two years. He’s should be fine though, and a great play in Roto given his ridiculous TO rate, which bottomed down to only 1.5 last year compared to 6.1 AST. Fit into the uptempo system? Check!
Key Reserves – Wade Baldwin, Andrew Harrison
Do I need to add the IV?! I’m just not sure yet! These Roman numerals behind player names is starting to get out of control. Didn’t work out for RG3! Anyway, Baldwin looks like your clear PG backup, even though the rook is shooting awful in preseason. He does have a nice AST:TO going 16:4 the last 4 scrimmages. Harrison recently got a 3-year deal after looking good in the D-League last season, and just got a preseason start next to Conley, signifying he’s more a combo guard to them.
SG – Projected Starter – Tony Allen
Well, this throws the uptempo off course a little bit! Our favorite steals-only streamer is about the most boring, albeit most reliable, starting guard in the NBA. 1.7 STL last year, and we should get 1.5+ pretty easily yet again. Although with bad FT%, no scoring, no 3s… Bleh. Fit into the uptempo system? X!
Key Reserves – Vince Carter, Troy Daniels
Yup, Vince Carter is still in the NBA. Say whaaaaaa?! Should have another 15ish MPG role off the bench. With Allen and Carter so ridiculously old, and Carter maybe playing some SF, Troy Daniels is actually a pretty interesting name to keep on your radar. He hasn’t played much in preseason, but they’ve said he’ll be mixed in the rotation, and they need additional perimeter threats for their uptempo aspirations. In only 11 MPG last year, he hit an absurd 1.4 treys/game at 48.4% from downtown. Might be an uber-deep league ThrAGNOF.
SF – Projected Starter – Chandler Parsons
Awwwww, I love my Chandler! The real anchor of all the 6 Grizzlies Friends! It’s looking more and more likely that he’s going to miss a few games to start the year, but there’s just such IMMENSE potential on the wing of this team, especially if they indeed pick up the pace. He was a player possessed post-ASB last year, hitting 45% of his treys and averaging 4.1 dimes in an obscene line. Just needs to get healthy and we might have an epic second half! Fit into the uptempo system? Check check!
Key Reserves – James Ennis
Ennis has become the Grizzlies “ohhhhh look, surprise, he looks amazing!” preseason guy, but I just dunno. I will say that for deeper leagues, it looks like he’s your starting SF until Parsons is starting. Pretty temporary band-aid, but worth owning for the pure minutes. His preseason has been a fairly boring 3-n-D ouput though…
PF – Projected Starter – JaMychal Green
Uggghhhhh, I am still mad at this one! After ranking J-Mike well ahead of consensus out of the gate, the Grizz then announce he will be starting and they’ll be bringing Z-Bo off the bench. Frustration city! Grizzlies management reading my ranks! From Feb. 10th on – once he started getting an extended look – 10.7/6.3/1.6/1.0/0.6 in 25 MPG. At 28-29 MPG it could get really interesting, and he can hit treys as well. It could work if Z-Bo picks up some backup C mins. Fit into the uptempo system? Check!
Key Reserves – Zach Randolph
T-Dog moves to a bench role, but he should be able to feast on second units with some possessed Pts/Reb nights. I think he maintains a pretty sizable role, and was under 30 MPG last year anyway and still did comparable damage. Of course we don’t get blocks, but I think it’ll still be a solid season for the old man.
C – Projected Starter – Marc Gasol
I’m honestly surprised Gasol is this much further ahead than Parsons. The broken foot had everyone alarmed all Summer, but he’s playing in preseason and holy shit! Look at the 3s! 6-13 from downtown in 5 games at under 20 MPG, so if he legit gets to 1.0 3PTM a game, this could get really interesting. Damn, I need to move him up. I’m feeling a lot less concerned on his foot, and as linked in that article above laying out this uptempo season, if he’s gonna pick-n-pop for 3s it could get nasty. Fit into the uptempo system? Hesitant check…
Key Reserves – Brandan Wright, Deyonta Davis
With Gasol looking good, Wright doesn’t have much of an outlook to have substantial production. Not that he had a ton of upside anyway, but for being a backup behind a still-lingering question mark, it’s pretty blah. For the deepest of dynasties, I really liked Deyonta coming out of the draft, but it looks like a season of D-League for the raw rookie. I’m not even sure I’ll throw a $1 REL bid at him…
JB’s 2016-17 Projection: 50-32
Once Parsons is 100%, and if they’re indeed going uptempo while having good defenders, this should be a mad fun team.
Hi JB! Drafted last night in a 12-team Yahoo keeper league, 9-cat. Posting it below. The one pick I mostly regret is Knight, and I’m wondering (1) What you think of my team, and (2) What you think of these ideas to flip Knight for my greatest need, which is at SF/PF guy.
Team: Lowry, Conley, Collison, Knight, Beal, Batum, Parsons, Millsap, Zingis, Gobert, RoLo
Trade ideas:
Knight for J.Parker
Knight for Thad Young
Knight for Fournier
Knight and Parsons for Crowder and Deng
Knight and Collison for Teague and Matthews
@Joe: Yo! Pretty dirty team especially for a 12er! Once Parsons is 100% I think your AST will be OK, but yeah Knight kinda overloads your 3s and hive unnecessary TO. Only one of those ideas I like is the Fournier deal. I’m not sure you need to do much tweaking either! FG% is an iffy cat, so if you dealt Knight, that would be something I would consider.
Your love for Parsons has me going all in on him in our auction league this year. Not sure if I missed a post on this, but what should I do differently in a points league compared to 9 cat? It is our first year switching to points and I am not really sure what to do beside snaging the best player available.
Thanks!
@IV: Yup I think we could see an epic season! Need to wish him healthy thoughts… I haven’t done a dedicated Pts league post because the format differs so much league to league. Can you post your scoring settings? Def will help me guide a response there 🙂
@JB Gilpin: That makes sense. The thing is I am commissioner of the league and in charge of setting up the points format (I have no idea what to make everything so I just copied a combo of Fan duel and Draft kings). Here is what I have so far:
3Pt Made: .5
Points: 1
Rebounds: 1.25
Assists: 1.5
Steals: 2
Blocks: 2
TO: -.75
Double Double: 3
Triple Double: 5
@IV: Ah gotcha. Well those setting look pretty good! Like I said, they change wildly league to league. In this format, I def go for bigs early. REB bonus, BLK bonus, and DD guys.
@JB Gilpin: I like that. it is an auction so I can just spend big on the big guys. Thanks for your help!
@IV: Nice sounds like a plan, good luck!
GIIIIIIIIILLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLPEN.
What up. This is because of your rankings since, you know, football.
1. (12) LeBron James SF,PF
2. (13) Kyle Lowry PG
3. (36) Gorgui Dieng PF,C
4. (37) Carmelo Anthony SF,PF
5. (60) Dirk Nowitzki PF,C
6. (61) Bradley Beal SG
7. (84) Jordan Clarkson PG,SG
8. (85) Avery Bradley PG,SG
9. (108) J.J. Redick SG
10. (109) Markieff Morris PF,C
11. (132) Zach Randolph PF,C
12. (133) Al-Farouq Aminu SF,PF
13. (156) Manu Ginobili SG,SF
Question: What is Al-Farouq Aminu, and if Trump wins, will I need to replace him on the waiver wire?
Question 2: What the ef is wrong with your Panthers?
@Jay: What’s up Mr. Wrong?! Good to see you in these parts!! Pretty solid draft! Need some AST for sure. Good %s though and pretty low TO, it ain’t bad! Haha Aminu or even Jusuf Nurkic might have trouble. Hell, the whole world is in trouble with this election. 2 – Dude… Everything. Bad secondary, Gano hasn’t been automatic like last year, front 4 aren’t getting penetration anymore. And only the Falcons game was a blowout really. Lost on missing a FG and 2 last second FGs. Annoying
@JB Gilpin: We call him Ganope over here. I’m also sad about all these hot takes on Newton resurfacing. Jesus, it gets annoying. And got it, AST. Thanks man!
@Jay: Ugh. He was sooooo good last year. Missing extra points this year now too….
12 team, H2H, standard league.
Sadly I had the 12th pick. I passed on Brow and LeBron. I just don’t trust Brow. I think he’s going to miss a lot of games. And LeBron is good, but I took Millsap because I don’t have him on my other leagues and I just wanted to mix things up.
Paul Millsap
Kyle Lowry
Mike Conley
Rudy Gobert
Evan Fournier
Jeff Teague
Wesley Matthews
Jeremy Lin
Zach Randolph
Joakim Noah
Derrick Rose
Taj Gibson
Jerami Grant
I took Rose because I he gave me another scorer that late, but also if he does well, I can probably trade him for a big. I think Randolph will be solid enough. I think if Noah stays healthy he will be solid. Taj should start, so he can easily put up good numbers. Jerami Grant gives me extra blocks. So I think my bigs can keeps me in it most weeks. I expect big things from Rudy. I think his FT% will be a lot better than last year and if he can keep up his play from the preseason, he should be a top C. But if I can flip Rose for a big, all the better.
@TheMuppetManiac: Ugh yeah the 12th pick is no fun. Wowwwwww I think I woulda taken the flier on Brow, but he’s not far off from the 2 you got. Def hear you on mixing things up in leagues haha. Yeah agree, def could use another big, but I like Rudy a ton as well. Love that Lin value. Could see you needing more scoring even with the Rose pick, but I like the build!
alright jbizzle. 20 teamer h2h 9-cat in the books let me know what you think. came in pretty cold. looks like I’m punting FTs, TOs right off the bat.
PG – Bledsoe (35)
SG – Dragic (46)
G – D’Angelo Russell (86)
SF – Winslow (115)
PF – Anthony Davis (6)
F – Marcus Morris (155)
C – Kanter (75)
Util – Mudiay (126)
Util – Amir Johnson (166)
Bn – Ilyasova (195)
Bn – Jennings (206)
Bn – Wesley Johnson (235)
decided to gamble with brow so we’ll see how that goes, but I’m PG heavy and could probably flip D’Angelo Russell for Parsons — is that a deal you’d make with this squad? Otherwise, what are some targets to go after, giving up a PG (and whom)?
Thanks man as always!
@SheriffMcRawDawg: Why you think you’re punting FT? It doesn’t look that bad at all to me! I actually think your %s are fairly solid! TO is def awful for a 20er, but ya know what, you have a lot of USG on your team for a 20er for sure. Wow, 86th pick for Russell… Ummm, I kinda like embracing the FT punt and I think I would hold there. I’d be more apt to try and sell Mudiay high if he starts hot, but I kinda like leaving all your PG together and slay AST and punt TO
@JB Gilpin: Thanks man – the more I look at other teams, the more I’m liking mine. If Winslow takes a couple steps forward this could be real nice and I’ve got meh cover for him in Morris, Amir and Ilya.
First available guys off the wire — make any switches?
Marquese Chriss
Miles Plumlee
Nick Young
Willie Reed
Corey Joseph
KJ McDaniels
Beasley
@SheriffMcRawDawg: Yeah man, it’s pretty nasty for a 20er! Name that shoots out here is Chriss. And Beasley a little. I know you spent a decently high pick, but I might take a shot on Chriss over Ilyasova. I think your scoring is pretty good, so no big need for Beasley
@JB Gilpin: what is the deal with OKC’s PF situation?! Kanter seemed kind of high on a couple lists, but is he coming off the bench!? ESPN has Ilyasova starting at PF so I really don’t know what to think. What’s the deal!
@SheriffMcRawDawg: I think Sabonis starts, Kanter plays 28-30 MPG off the bench, some at PF next to Adams, some at C, and Ily plays a little SF/PF at like 15 MPG. It’s pretty gross haha
Regarding Gasol, you also have to take into account the fact that MEM has said that they’ll be cautious with him this season, so I’m thinking DNPs a plenty. Def staying away from him in roto. Parsons? I’m still not sure if I should invest in roto.. someone like a Crowder or def Tobias turn me on more, as far as staying on the court. But if we get 72+ games outta Matt Perry, then prob worth it. BTW, Conley looks very nice so far, I think I’m buying in. Hard to decide between he, Lin and Russ tho..
@Lasandro: Oh for sure, there’s still a level of concern. Crowder I can get behind > Parsons, but I think there’s too much upside to take Tobias over him. In Roto, def gimme Conley for the low TO. H2H vs Russell is close for the upside. I LOVE me some Lin, but he’s still behind those 2 for me. Crazy it’s gotta even close, consensus had him 100ish when ranks started coming out.
@JB Gilpin: Yeah well consensus can suck my EMBIIIIIIIIIIIID! Lin all day. He’s got the keys in BKK
@Lasandro: No disagreement there! He’s just kinda blah in 3ptm and STL though… I remember his consensus being like 90-100 when I put my ranks out at first. Everyone copying me and moving him up!
Hi JB, I’m an avid fan of your site and it really helps me out with my nba fantasy decisions. I would like to ask for your comment on my team. 12 teams 9 Cats H2H:
Steph Curry
DeAndre Jordan
Draymond Green
Goran Dragic
Nikola Jokic
Aaron Gordon
Chandler Parsons
Jahlil Okafor
Wesley Matthews
Jared Sullinger
Jrue Holiday
Tim Frazier
I’ve been offered Green+Jokic for Drummond+Lin. Im thinking of offering Okafor for Lavine to another manager in need of bigman.
What do you think of these trades? Thanks in advance and more power.
@pbomb: Appreciate that man, thanks for stopping by! While it def makes sense to FT punt, no way am I doing that deal. Too much value from Draymond. If you could get Drum for Jokic and mayyyyybe a small throw in, ala Sullinger or something, I would do that one. Def would take LaVine for Okafor if it works 🙂
Waiver wire in our league will run at exactly 25 hours from now, and I’ve been itching to drop Markieff. To be honest I really don’t know why I still have him on my team. I know he’s just a metric friendly kinda guy, but he doesn’t really excel in any category.
I have my eyes on either Taj or Mirza.. Heck, I even wanna take Lyles over him! And one owner from my league is open to trading his Frazier for Kief, your thoughts bud??
Team recap:
PG1 Dennis Schroder
PG2 Jordan Clarkson
SG1 C.J. McCollum
SG2 Josh Richardson
SF1 Gordon Hayward(IR)
SF2 Jae Crowder
SF3 Rondae Hollis-Jefferson
SF4 Dario Saric
PF1 Tobias Harris
PF2 Markieff Morris
C1 Karl-Anthony Towns
C2 Jusuf Nurkic
@Dante Green: I wouldn’t mind Frazier for Kieff, you def could use additional PG play. But I wouldn’t drop him for those other guys, pretty low upside from them IMO
Good news on jrue holidays wife. You move him up in the ranks at all?
@Papa Jean Segura: Yup, great news. Ummmm, maybe a handful but I imagine there still is recovery time and without knowing his timetable, it’s just so hard to project out a higher rank