Every year there are hyped up players taken in the middle of fantasy drafts who end up sorely disappointing. Remember Nikola Mirotic last year? Savvy fantasy owners will identify these overrated players in advance and avoid them on draft day in favor of safer mid round options.
Today we'll identify four overrated mid-round busts to fade in your fantasy drafts.
Happy drafting!
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2017-18 Fantasy Basketball Mid Round Busts
Tim Hardaway Jr., SG/SF, New York Knicks
2016/17 was a breakout year for Tim Hardaway Jr. He was one of the best players on the Atlanta Hawks, and he almost got the Most Improved Player of the Year award as well. All of it was well deserved, but now he signed with the New York Knicks so expect to see a decline in his production. On New York he isn’t going to get the same looks as he did in Atlanta; the Hawks play a team oriented style of play, while New York tends to play more one on one basketball. That just isn’t a style of play that fits Hardaway’s game so don’t expect him to replicate last seasons production.
Rudy Gay, SF/PF, San Antonio Spurs
Rudy Gay is still a fantastic player in his own right, but now that he’s with the Spurs don’t expect him to play as many minutes as he’s accustomed to. The Spurs don’t like to play anyone on their roster more than 30 minutes a game. That means Gay should be in for a dismal year from a pure fantasy perspective. Gay is the type of player that does better with more touches and minutes, but that just isn’t going to happen this season. So don’t be surprised if Gay ends up being a bust for your fantasy teams.
Dario Saric, SF/PF, Philadelphia 76ers
76ers forward Dario Saric had a nice rookie campaign, he averaged 12.8 points per game, 6.3 rebounds and 2.2 assists in his first season in the league. But this year look for that to change. The 76ers are loaded at the SF and PF positions, so Saric is going to see his minutes reduce. With the addition of Ben Simmons and Amir Johnson, Saric has even more competition at both forwards spots, because of that, expect to see his production decline during the 2017/18 season.
Darren Collison, PG, Indiana Pacers
The Pacers will give a fair share of the PG minutes to Darren Collison, but since he’s going to be one of the lone vets on the roster expect to see his playing time fluctuate. Cory Joseph is the PG Indiana is looking at to become their franchise cornerstone. For that reason, Collison isn’t going to get much of a run all the time. Unless the Pacers are randomly fighting for a playoff spot, expect to see Collison coming off the bench for the majority on the season.