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
Weekly Rankings
Compare Any Players
Stats & Leaders
Starts and Sit
Daily Fantasy
Who To Pickup
24x7 News and Alerts

Rookie Guards to Avoid in Fantasy Basketball

As much as the NBA Draft is a time to get excited about certain players, it's also a time to be skeptical from a fantasy perspective. Before a player can even get to the stage to shake Adam Silver's hand, the impacts of that player are already thought about by fantasy enthusiasts. Lets be honest; as much excitement that is derived from a player, that player is more likely to be a "bust" than an NBA lifer.

The following guards should be avoided in your draft. These guards don't lack talent, but for multiple reasons, the situations in which they find themselves aren't exactly ideal for immediate fantasy production.

Editor's Note: RotoBaller has the best Premium NBA Subscription, only $29.99 for the full season. We have all the preseason tools to help win your drafts, and in-season tools to win your seasonal and daily leagues: Draft Kit, Premium Rankings, Sleepers List, Late-Round Fliers, Early-Round Avoids, DFS Cheat Sheets, Lineup Picks, Expert Lineups, Stacks and Avoids.

 

Leave Them Alone on Draft Day

Kris Dunn, Minnesota Timberwolves

Kris Dunn was selected fifth by the Timberwolves and is a popular pick by many to be a dark horse for Rookie of the Year. As talented and as explosive as Dunn is, people need to pump the brakes a bit. While Dunn has the talent and three years of college experience to be able to contribute right away, he finds himself in a situation that might not lend itself to producing numbers.

The Timberwolves fully believe they’re poised to make a run, and they feel they have the personnel and the coach to do it. Many believed Dunn would supplant Ricky Rubio as the team’s point guard, and would contribute towards that playoff goal immediately. The problem with all that is that Rubio appears firmly entrenched in his role, and Dunn looks like he will be backing up for the foreseeable future.

When you add Zach LaVine’s ability to run the point, plus the overall talent on the Minnesota roster, Dunn won’t find a whole lot of opportunities to contribute right away. While he may eventually turn into a key contributor this season, it’s going to take a lot more than initially thought for him to be able to do that out of the gates. Stay away for now.

 

Caris LeVert, Brooklyn Nets

Like Dunn, Caris LeVert doesn’t find himself on this list because of a lack of talent. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. The Michigan product has one of the best overall skill sets of anyone to come out of this draft, and has a chance to be a very solid pro player for a Nets team desperate for young talent. He can do a variety of things on the basketball court; all of which will help him stick around and contribute to an NBA team. That is if he can stay healthy. LeVert missed extended periods of time at Michigan, playing in only 33 of 68 games in his last two years.

LeVert should be able to work his way into that talentless Brooklyn rotation this season, but he hasn’t stepped on the court yet. Expect the Nets to ease him in when he is ready to play, and that alone will cost the rookie a lot of opportunities for production. When he does play, he can be a do-it-all type of player who will defend, score, and put up numbers in a lot of categories. It’s just likely that won’t happen this season.

Monitor his workload to see how he looks, but don't buy into him hoping he'll be an instant fantasy producer just because the Nets don't have much other talent their rotation.

 

Denzel Valentine, Chicago Bulls

Denzel Valentine had himself quite the career at Michigan State University. Valentine improved every year, and he turned what was once a limited game into being arguably the best player in college basketball and a first-round draft pick. The Bulls think the Tom Izzo favorite has a chance to become a solid rotation player and they probably won’t be wrong... in the long term.

Despite all the positives, Valentine is still rather limited for the pro game. He’s not the most athletic guy, and a lot of his value will come from the intangibles he brings. Intangibles unfortunately are not a fantasy basketball stat, so he likely won’t help your fantasy team as much as he’ll help the Bulls in real life.

Valentine could eventually develop into a good performer, but with the likes of Rajon Rondo, Dwyane Wade and Jimmy Butler in the mix, Valentine will have a very difficult time finding the minutes and touches he needs to make a real fantasy impact this season.

 


By popular demand, RotoBaller has aggregated all of our fantasy basketball NBA waiver wire pickups into a running list of NBA waiver options, so bookmark the page and check back often for updates.

POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Weekly Rankings
Compare Any Players
Stats & Leaders
Starts and Sit
Daily Fantasy
Who To Pickup
24x7 News and Alerts

REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

Chris Sale5 hours ago

Wins National League Cy Young Award
Tarik Skubal5 hours ago

Wins 2024 American League Cy Young Award
Paul George5 hours ago

Exits Game On Wednesday, Hyperextends Left Knee Again
Scoot Henderson6 hours ago

Leaves Game On Wednesday, Won't Return
Jalen Johnson6 hours ago

Active On Wednesday Night
Zach Collins6 hours ago

Uncertain To Play On Thursday
Austin Eckroat6 hours ago

Heads To The RSM Classic After Win
Harris English7 hours ago

Finding Form Heading To The RSM Classic
Ben Griffin7 hours ago

Continues Playing Well Heading To The RSM Classic
Denny McCarthy7 hours ago

Returns to The RSM Classic
Patrick Williams7 hours ago

Likely To Miss At Least One Week
Kyle Anderson7 hours ago

Available For Matchup With Hawks
Victor Wembanyama7 hours ago

Out Again On Thursday
Jusuf Nurkic7 hours ago

Available On Wednesday
Stephen Curry7 hours ago

Will Play Against Atlanta
De'Anthony Melton7 hours ago

To Undergo Season-Ending ACL Surgery
Tre Mann7 hours ago

Probable For Thursday Night Matchup Against Detroit
Mike Conley7 hours ago

Appears On Injury Report For Thursday With Toe Injury
Donte DiVincenzo7 hours ago

Questionable Heading Into Thursday
Josh Jacobs8 hours ago

Limited With Multiple Injuries
DeVonta Smith8 hours ago

Misses Practice On Wednesday
Isaiah Hartenstein8 hours ago

To Make Season Debut On Wednesday
Tyrese Maxey8 hours ago

Active On Wednesday
Jarace Walker8 hours ago

Available On Wednesday
Ben Sheppard8 hours ago

Ruled Out For Wednesday
Myles Turner8 hours ago

To Play On Wednesday
Jalen Green9 hours ago

Available On Wednesday
Vince Williams Jr.9 hours ago

Out Versus 76ers
Wendell Carter Jr.9 hours ago

Unavailable Versus Clippers
Seth Jones10 hours ago

Expected To Miss Four Weeks
Sam Darnold10 hours ago

Limited With Foot Injury
Max Domi10 hours ago

Placed On Injured Reserve
Jalen Hurts10 hours ago

Limited On Wednesday
Connor Ingram10 hours ago

Out Day-To-Day With An Upper-Body Injury
Jake Ferguson10 hours ago

Picks Up A DNP On Wednesday
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen10 hours ago

Returns To Action Versus Kings
CeeDee Lamb10 hours ago

Listed As Limited, Dealing With Two Injuries
Alex Tuch10 hours ago

Available Wednesday
Tage Thompson10 hours ago

Remains Out On Wednesday
Sam LaPorta11 hours ago

Practicing In Full
Jordan Eberle11 hours ago

To Remain Out On Wednesday
George Kittle11 hours ago

Will Play In Week 12
Ludvig Aberg11 hours ago

Looks To Defend RSM Classic Title
Ladd McConkey11 hours ago

Does Not Practice On Wednesday
Si Woo Kim11 hours ago

An Intriguing Option At RSM Classic
Maverick McNealy11 hours ago

In Solid Form Ahead Of RSM Classic
Eric Cole11 hours ago

Chasing First Tour Victory At RSM Classic
San Francisco 49ers11 hours ago

Nick Bosa Does Not Practice On Wednesday
Christian McCaffrey11 hours ago

Does Not Practice On Wednesday
George Kittle11 hours ago

Limited During Wednesday's Practice
Brock Purdy12 hours ago

Limited On Wednesday
Alexander Mattison12 hours ago

Zamir White Not Practicing On Wednesday
Sam LaPorta12 hours ago

Trending Towards Playing In Week 12
Calvin Ridley14 hours ago

Out Wednesday With Illness
Isiah Pacheco14 hours ago

To Practice On Wednesday
D'Andre Swift15 hours ago

Won't Practice On Wednesday
Brandin Cooks16 hours ago

Cowboys Open Brandin Cooks' Practice Window
Mike Evans16 hours ago

Practicing Again On Wednesday
Connor Bedard19 hours ago

Ends Drought With Two Assists
Sam Reinhart19 hours ago

Pushes Point Streak To 11 Games
Mark Scheifele19 hours ago

Celebrates Ninth Career Hat Trick
Evan Bouchard19 hours ago

Rocks Senators With Three-Point Period
Connor McDavid19 hours ago

Nets Two Goals During Three-Point Night
TB19 hours ago

Nicholas Paul Exits Early With Injury Tuesday
Zach Hyman19 hours ago

Sits Out Third Period Versus Senators
1 day ago

Guardians' Stephen Vogt Named AL Manager Of The Year
Milwaukee Brewers1 day ago

Pat Murphy Named NL Manager Of The Year
Jonas Brodin1 day ago

Returns To Action
Joel Eriksson Ek1 day ago

Returns To Wild Lineup
1 day ago

Nick Pivetta Declines Boston's Qualifying Offer
Robert Thomas1 day ago

Back For Blues Tuesday
Jose Siri1 day ago

Mets Acquire Jose Siri From The Rays
Alexander Romanov1 day ago

Rejoins Islanders Lineup
Brayden Point1 day ago

Ready To Return Versus Penguins
Conor Garland1 day ago

A Game-Time Call Tuesday
J.T. Miller1 day ago

Takes Indefinite Leave For Personal Reasons
Jake Ferguson1 day ago

"Will Be Hard-Pressed" To Play In Week 12
2 days ago

Phillies To Meet With Juan Soto
2 days ago

Luis Severino Rejects Qualifying Offer From Mets
2 days ago

Willy Adames Declines Brewers Qualifying Offer
2 days ago

Teoscar Hernandez Declines Qualifying Offer From Dodgers
2 days ago

Juan Soto Declines Yankees' Qualifying Offer
Luis Gil2 days ago

Wins AL Rookie Of The Year Award
Paul Skenes2 days ago

Named 2024 NL Rookie Of The Year
Brady Singer3 days ago

Reds, Royals Discussing Jonathan India, Brady Singer
3 days ago

Sean Manaea To Reject Mets' Qualifying Offer
3 days ago

Braves Have Interest In Walker Buehler
3 days ago

Astros Interested In Willy Adames
Charles Oliveira3 days ago

Gets Back In The Win Column
Michael Chandler3 days ago

Gets Dominated At UFC 309
Karine Silva3 days ago

Suffers Her First UFC Loss
Viviane Araujo3 days ago

Gets Back In The Win Column
Mauricio Ruffy3 days ago

Extends His Win Streak To Six
Nick Martinez4 days ago

Signs Qualifying Offer With Reds
4 days ago

Luis Severino Likely To Decline Qualifying Offer From Mets
James Llontop4 days ago

Loses Clear-Cut Decision In Thrilling Fight At UFC 309
Paul Craig4 days ago

Loses Decision At UFC 309
Bo Nickal4 days ago

Remains Undefeated With Lackluster Performance At UFC 309
Stipe Miocic4 days ago

Retires After UFC 309 Loss
Jon Jones4 days ago

Gets TKO Win At UFC 309 To Defend Heavyweight Title
Grayson Rodriguez5 days ago

Orioles Optimistic Grayson Rodriguez Will Have A Full Spring Training
6 days ago

Red Sox Have Productive Meeting With Juan Soto
Michael Chandler6 days ago

Set For A Rematch At UFC 309
Charles Oliveira6 days ago

A Favorite At UFC 309
Viviane Araujo6 days ago

An Underdog At UFC 309
Karine Silva6 days ago

Looks To Extend Her Win Streak
Mauricio Ruffy6 days ago

Looks For His Second UFC Win

RANKINGS

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