The ol’ 2 guard! Man things have changed since I started, because I remember in 13-14 when SG was a travesty. Curry had the combo eligibility, then it was a minefield. I should note and remind everyone that these positionsal breakdowns are based on Yahoo position-eligibility. Why Yahoo?! Because it’s RCL time baby! And we need more leagues! We’re still in the “just under a month out, so I’m not a straggler for making an RCL league this late” tier!
Due to Yahoo whoring out their position eligibility, SG is no longer an issue, but this was still an interesting tiering system to put together as it pertains to PTS/3s/AST/STL needs as you move along in your draft. But never forget that ThrAGNOF! Here’s the top SG for the 2016-17 fantasy basketball season, in tiers:
The “Sitting pretty if I get the #1 or #2 pick!” Tier:
| SG RANK | OVERALL RANK | PLAYER, TEAM, AGE | POS | NOTE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Stephen Curry, GS (28) | PG, SG | My frequently used soundbyte now – Durant is a phenomenal player, Curry is a transcendent player. Curry will also be taking the ball up the court more. 3s with the FG% and the rest of the package keep him #1. |
| 2 | 2 | James Harden, HOU (26) | SG, SF | D’Antoni?! Sign me up! TO will be out of control again, but so will the Pts/Ast as well as the flops for FT. |
The “Last gasp of the elites, before SG takes a nosedive!” Tier:
| SG RANK | OVERALL RANK | PLAYER, TEAM, AGE | POS | NOTE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 8 | Giannis Antetokounmpo, MIL | PG, SG, SF | Over the last 26 games, Greek Freak went 18.8/8.4/7.5/1.5/1.9. Insanity! Shot 51.5% too. With Middleton gone, it adds more offensive onus on The Alphabet. I think it spells #8 value! |
| 4 | 10 | Kawhi Leonard, SA (25) | SG, SF | The metrics love him, most people agree maybe a smidge too much, and he still gets a little docked for not playing 80 games. But the multicat, huge steals, and great FG% improvement with more 3s can’t be overlooked. |
| 5 | 15 | Paul George, IND (26) | SG, SF | Hard not to root for the guy bouncing back from the bad injury; played 81 games last year, set a huge career best in FT volume, and this is going to be a ridiculously paced team. Living up to the IND name! |
The “Sexy 2nd and 3rd rounders who have first-round upside” Tier:
| SG RANK | OVERALL RANK | PLAYER, TEAM, AGE | POS | NOTE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 26 | Eric Bledsoe, PHO (26) | PG, SG | Was looking great with my high rank of him last year, but those effin injuries… Risky, but did play 81 games sandwiched between the injury-plagued seasons. Had the meniscus surgery that takes longer to recover from so you can play at peak level, so I still see that big upside there. |
| 7 | 27 | Jimmy Butler, CHI (26) | SG, SF | 67 games or fewer in the past 3 seasons, and now has USG hogs Wade and Rondo to ruin possessions rather than Rose. 2 is worse than 1… Still should be his team and a solid value though. |
| 8 | 28 | Victor Oladipo, OKC (24) | PG, SG | I’m warming more and more on the player, but I really don’t love this situation. I’m confused as to why changing your running mate from Elfrid Payton to Westbrook is a GOOD thing, and not like OKC is too shabby compared to ORL everywhere else. I don’t trust the 3s and I think he could be overdrafted. |
| 9 | 29 | Kyrie Irving, CLE (24) | PG, SG | Looking at 15-16 seasonal numbers might be a turnoff, but he was eased in off the knee injury. Post-ASB and that final Finals shot is a turn ON though! What can Uncle Drew do for YOU?! |
The “Hell yeah Klay Thompson is gonna regress and should be picked here!” Tier:
| SG RANK | OVERALL RANK | PLAYER, TEAM, AGE | POS | NOTE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 39 | C.J. McCollum, POR (24) | PG, SG | Yikes my anti-McCollum 15-16 calls didn’t go well! I don’t know if he has any more upside, unless he can get to 1.5+ steals. |
| 11 | 42 | Klay Thompson, GS (26) | SG, SF | Takes the big hit amongst the Golden State Western All-Stars, and the D stats took a major step back last year as well. Back to being one of the NBA’s best ThrAGNOFs. |
| 12 | 43 | Gordon Hayward, UTA (26) | SG, SF | FG%, AST, STL and BLK all dropped last year, and now they have a competent PG. Love the player, but couldn’t rank him any higher. |
| 13 | 46 | Goran Dragic, MIA (30) | PG, SG | 17.3/4.6/6.7 post-ASB last year, with a lot more upside with Wade gone, despite the metrics not loving his game due to lack of STL/3s. His FG% makes him a great punt-FT fit though, and seeing how drafts are playing out and SOMEONE is punting FT by the 4th round, I am moving him snugly in my top-50. |
The “Laundry list of shooters and scorers to nab in the mid-rounds” Tier:
| SG RANK | OVERALL RANK | PLAYER, TEAM, AGE | POS | NOTE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | 52 | Reggie Jackson, DET (26) | PG, SG | Metrics hate him, but only 30:41 MPG last season, getting in StanVan’s doghouse a few times. Will improve in both minutes and total stats. |
| 15 | 57 | DeMar DeRozan, TOR (27) | SG, SF | My original blurb was too good – “Why I didn’t like DeRozan last year – Pts went down, AST:TO took a huge step back, treys down, FG% down, and a bad groin injury was the main reason he missed 22 games. Why I like DeRozan this year – Pts went back up (23.5 – career high), AST:TO took a huge step forward (4.0:2.2, ironically the exact same as in 13-14), treys up, FG% up, and he only missed 4 games.” |
| 16 | 58 | Brandon Knight, PHO (24) | PG, SG | Apparently this rank still prices me in, but I love the high-output 3s with the AST contribution – easy to miss the 5.1 AST he brings amongst some other warts, mainly FG%… |
| 17 | 60 | Evan Fournier, ORL (23) | SG, SF | The Virgin! Also, don’t google what his last name means. Posted a career year going 15.4/2.8/2.7/1.2/0.0 with 2 treys a game and only 1.7 TO, and had some assist-binges as well, diming 3.7/per in April. No Dipo will mean more usage, and they desperately need his scoring! |
| 18 | 62 | Bradley Beal, WAS (23) | SG | I actually might have some Beal shares this year, with some confidence in that the Wizards have faith his leg injury issues are behind him – hell, it’s THEIR medical staff that know him better than anyone! So if they had doubts, I suspect they wouldn’t have dropped all dat ca$h. |
| 19 | 67 | Trevor Ariza, HOU (31) | SG, SF | He fits certain builds REALLY well, and like Gortat is a metrics-friendly finisher every year, but I don’t think the D’Antoni effect really impacts Ariza as much. The ups and downs in FG% can crush you, unless you’re outright punting FG%. |
The “Heavy run of guards since we need more Ast, Stl or EVEN MORE scoring!” Tier:
| SG RANK | OVERALL RANK | PLAYER, TEAM, AGE | POS | NOTE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | 69 | Andrew Wiggins, MIN (21) | SG, SF | Obviously needs to make improvements, but at least he’s durable! Big scoring sources aren’t too plentiful past here. |
| 21 | 71 | Dwyane Wade, CHI (34) | PG, SG | Rondo is a TO-vortex! We might get a little fix there, along with good scoring and some wing dimes. But ya know, for 65 games… |
| 22 | 72 | Zach LaVine, MIN (21) | PG, SG | As a starter, was unreal for 17.3/2.8/3.2/1.1/0.2 in 33 games, including 2.4 treys at an absurd 47.4% clip from the field overall. I don’t know if that % is fully replicable, but heavy treys without killing your FG% should fit some FT punt builds. |
| 23 | 74 | Jeremy Lin, BKN (28) | PG, SG | Had a great 15-16 in FT volume and a career-low TO rate, and joins a team in desperate need of playmaking. And cool hair. |
| 24 | 75 | George Hill, UTA (30) | PG, SG | Provides 5ish dimes with a minuscule TO rate, with just an overall non-killing game in %s and TO. LET ME SEE THAT THONG! |
| 25 | 79 | Kent Bazemore, ATL (27) | SG, SF | Fell off a smidge last year as the minutes I think caught up to him a bit, but he offers a very sexy metrics-friendly game, and could be a huge get if he can maintain across 82 games. |
| 26 | 80 | Avery Bradley, BOS (25) | PG, SG | Career highs in STL, PTS and 3s, with a nice FG% for a high-end ThrAGNOF. |
| 27 | 81 | Jordan Clarkson, LAL (24) | PG, SG | Ugh, a tough whiff last year, but with Kobe’s USG gonzo, I could see him being George Hill-ish this year… |
| 28 | 83 | Wesley Matthews, DAL (29) | SG, SF | Even off the awful injury, played 78 games at 33:54 MPG in 15-16. Mark Cuban said Matthews couldn’t even dunk half of last year, but he’s apparently having a great, healthy offseason. A great unsexy name for sexy upside. |
| 29 | 84 | Devin Booker, PHO (19) | SG | Mannnnn I want to rank him higher and higher with the PJ Tucker injury news, but 0.6/0.3 STL/BLK with 2.6 AST last year, meh, and a lot came without Knight and Bledsoe off the floor. I think you have an extremely sexy, admittedly young and sexy, player that could be overreached for if you went much higher than here. |
| 30 | 88 | Monta Ellis, IND (30) | PG, SG | A lot went down, BUT HE’S STILL GETTING PAID ONLY $11 MIL A YEAR! Readers last year get that one… 1.9 STL and 4.7 TO is what you’re drafting here, as any bounceback in scoring is tough to see with this new offense. |
The “ThrAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGNOF!!!! …and a few other stat-fillers late…” Tier:
| SG RANK | OVERALL RANK | PLAYER, TEAM, AGE | POS | NOTE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31 | 92 | JJ Redick, LAC (32) | SG | I don’t see the crazy high marks of 48% from the field again, 47.5% from deep, or scoring over 16 PPG with Blake back. ThrAGNOF! |
| 32 | 93 | Rodney Hood, UTA (23) | SG, SF | Loves – 2 treys and 2.2-2.5 FT for 86% freebie clip. Hates – 0.9/0.2 in Stl/Blk and 2.7:1.9 AST:TO. I worry the dimes and steals are a little overrated and he’s more ThrAGNOF than not, but I do still like him! |
| 33 | 96 | Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, DET (23) | SG | The KCP addiction remains STRONG! Well, I should say I’ve plateaued, now that his ADP is getting to where my rank is these days… About time! |
| 34 | 110 | Will Barton, DEN (25) | SG, SF | People are being way too chill on Will the thrill! 5.8 REB, 2.5 AST, 0.9/0.5 STL/BLK, and 1.4 treys as ancillary stats to the scoring is nothing to sneeze at, and I think he gets a similar MPG role, even with everyone healthy and the new wing rooks. |
| 35 | 111 | Patrick Beverley, HOU | PG, SG | I know I kinda argued the other way for Ariza, but I love me some D’Antoni for P Bev! If he had any history of making it close to a full season, I might push him to 90ish, but missed games has been a big issue. |
| 36 | 113 | Tyreke Evans, NO (28) | PG, SG | We know the upside when healthy, something he’s not going to be on opening night. I HATE drafting injured guys out of the gate, even if they’re vets. Especially guys with his checkered ankle/knee history. |
| 37 | 115 | Evan Turner, POR (27) | SG, SF | Both Turner’s AST and AST:TO took massive steps forward in Boston, but nothing else really jumps off the page. I imagine a similar role in POR. |
| 38 | 116 | Buddy Hield, NO (22) | SG | Steals consistently went down in college and he shot 32.7% in Summer Ball, with only a 22.9% clip on treys. Small sample, but there’s going to be some big % waffles to his ThrAGNOF game. |
| 39 | 118 | Jerryd Bayless, PHI (28) | PG, SG | JB love JB! The Sixers need a PG who can hit treys, and be cool not distrubiting a ton, with a point-F developing like Simmons. Hard to believe Bayless is still only 28… Could easily have a P-Bev-ish season. |
| 40 | 123 | Gary Harris, DEN (22) | PG, SG | Numbers without Gallinari went WAY up, and while Gallo is injury-prone and a trade candidate, I think Harris is going to be very blah to open the year. |
| 41 | 125 | Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, BKN (21) | SG, SF | Had a 7.6/7.7/1.6/1.9/0.4 9 game stretch pre-injury, and BKN needs him to be their SG of the future. |
| 42 | 127 | Danny Green, SA (29) | SG, SF | We saw how fickle metrics-whore guys can be – didn’t hit his 3s and it destroyed his value last year. Could bounce back a little. |
| 43 | 129 | Kyle Korver, ATL (35) | SG, SF | After shooting treys in the high-40%s for a long stretch, 39.9% last year. A healthy offseason instead of recovering from two surgeries including one on his elbow – I think a sneaky bounceback ThrAGNOF. |
The “Late round flier” Tier:
| SG RANK | OVERALL RANK | PLAYER, TEAM, AGE | POS | NOTE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 44 | 143 | Josh Richardson, MIA (23) | SG, SF | I wasn’t fully buying into the hype, as he shot 53.3% from deep (!!!) in the second half last year during that huge run. I saw some regression coming …andddddd, he tears his knee in offseason workouts. Ugh! It’ll cost him an epicly important training camp and preseason, but I still have him on the fringe of draft-worthy as an IL slot, since RCL leagues have 2 IL spots. |
| 45 | 145 | J.R. Smith, CLE (31) | SG, SF | 12.4 Pts and 2.6 treys we saw last year I think regress with a full season of Kyrie. But the Cavs do play a ton of off nights, so that could help his ThrAGNOF ownability a tier above the streamers. |
| 46 | 146 | Tyler Johnson, MIA (24) | PG, SG | I think the plan was always to mainly play him behind Dragic, so I’m not tinkiering his rank with the J-Rich injury. Lovvvvvve TyJo’s game, but I dunno if he’ll play enough to reap the full rewards. |
| 47 | 147 | Courtney Lee, NYK (30) | SG, SF | Pretty lame last roster-filler, but he contributes STL/3s with virtually no TO. |
| 48 | 149 | Jared Dudley, PHO (31) | SG, SF | Probably a forgotten name come draft day, but did go 10.1/3.9/2.7/1.2/0.2 over 39 games while Wiz had injuries, with 1.7 treys and shooting almost 50%. Has a chance to replicate that as the Suns starting SF or PF. |
| 49 | 158 | Bojan Bogdanovic, BKN (27) | SG, SF | ThrAGNOF! Nets need wing scoring/3PTM in the worst way, but the rest of his stats are so empty to rank him higher, even with the Pts/3s upside. |
The “Undraftable in 12ers” Tier:
| SG RANK | OVERALL RANK | PLAYER, TEAM, AGE | POS | NOTE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50 | 161 | Arron Afflalo, SAC (30) | SG, SF | Could be a 15 PPG source, but is blah everywhere else. |
| 51 | 162 | Stanley Johnson, DET (20) | SG, SF | Obviously didn’t have the rookie season the buzz was hyping – shooting 37.5% and turning it over an obscene 1.6/game in only 23 minutes – but StanVan wants to limit KCP and Marcus a little, and StanJo can play the 2, 3 or 4. Hopefully he can improve if given more minutes in year 2. |
| 52 | 166 | Matthew Dellavedova, MIL (26) | PG, SG | Mehhhh, yeah Middleton news does nothing for me here, maybe an extra 3 attempt happens a game from what we would’ve otherwise expected. Still going to be Giannis running the point. |
| 53 | 169 | Tony Allen, MEM (34) | SG, SF | Steals! And that’s it! Streambait. |
| 54 | 172 | Dion Waiters, MIA (24) | SG, SF | Might get snagged as a sleeper in a lot of leagues, but I’ve always been bleh on his game. Not enough 3s for a bad FG%, I’m not sure the MPG he’ll get, and not like Richardson is out too long. Steals get a little overlooked for him though. |
| 55 | 173 | Mario Hezonja, ORL (21) | SG | Was anything but super his rookie year, and while the Magic lack a lot of wing depth, he just doesn’t do enough beyond 3s and a couple of boards to get me excited as a 6th man. |
| 56 | 176 | Solomon Hill, NO (25) | SG, SF | No Reke gives Hill a chance to play some starting minutes out of the gate, and over the final 5 games of 15-16, Hill went 15/7.2/2.2/2.0/0.2 on the Pacers. Very small sample, but there’s talent there. |
| 57 | 180 | Gerald Henderson, PHI (28) | SG, SF | Blah scoring. As empty as his hair folicles. |
| 58 | 184 | Norman Powell, TOR (23) | SG | Might have a little too much buzz after his awesome finish last year, but I just don’t see enough run… |
| 59 | 185 | Eric Gordon, HOU (27) | SG | Has great upside to be a combo guard backup behind Beard and P-Bev in D’Antoni’s system, but my optimism is capped by his health. Wow, he’s only 27? |
| 60 | 187 | CJ Miles, IND (29) | SG, SF | Averaged a whopping 2.2 treys last year! But with PG13 now locked in at SF minutes instead of stretch-4 minutes, it’ll be tough to see Miles get the same MPG. |
| 61 | 189 | Jeremy Lamb, CHA (24) | SG, SF | Lin is back in NY and MKG has balky shoulders – there’s a shot for a little added run! Yes, he’s inconsistent and the coaching staff calls him out on it, but they paid him! |
| 62 | 190 | Lou Williams, LAL (29) | PG, SG | Minutes are obviously a question mark, but his FT volume and 3PTM skillset is unique in the streaming class. |
| 63 | 191 | Joe Johnson, UTA (35) | SG, SF | I could see Exum, Burks, JJ, Lyles as a really entertaining 2nd unit for the Jazz… |
| 64 | 194 | Langston Galloway, NO (24) | PG, SG | Gets an added boost with Jrue’s games played in question, and should be a fixture as a combo guard off the bench. Doesn’t do much stats-wise, but has impressively low TO rates with a few dimes. |
| 65 | 195 | Shaun Livingston, GS (31) | PG, SG | Warriors have pretty light depth at guard, and Livingston can chip in some low-volume stats with low-TO. Nice deep league depth. |
| 66 | 196 | Allen Crabbe, POR (24) | PG, SG | Got really effing rich this offseason! Turner is probably starting and McCollum is going to get his huge run… When are the Blazers gonna get Crabby?! |
| 67 | 197 | Jarrett Jack, ATL (32) | PG, SG | A little surprising he landed somewhere where playing time is so assured, but he should play a nice mentorship role to Schroder. Although he’ll need a German translator like my boy Paul. |
| 68 | 198 | E’Twaun Moore, NO (27) | PG, SG | Another benefactor to the Jrue-hole, and one that got paid. He’ll have some sort of role. |
| 69 | 199 | Wesley Johnson, LAC (29) | SG, SF | 0.7/1.1 STL/BLK last year, but was really up and down. Will get a little boost if The Truth retires. |
