This year’s rookie class is maybe the best in 15 years. Nearly every lottery pick is highly touted and considered a player with potential for greatness. Some of these players though will not be immediate superstars. Whether it be the team that drafted them will not use them exceedingly, or they need to deal with an injury before they can focus on basketball, these rookies will not be stuffing the stat sheets in their rookie seasons. If you’re planning to invest, either get them on the cheap or avoid the risk. A lot of people are overpaying for what they think might happen but we don’t know because they don’t have much of a track record. Here are the rookies to avoid overpaying for in fantasy this season.
Jayson Tatum – Boston Celtics
The Duke stand out from last season may be the luckiest third overall pick ever, getting a chance to play for the Eastern Conference runner-ups and a serious NBA Finals contender. Most of the time, someone drafted as high as Tatum is thrust into a much worse situation, but Tatum has a real chance at making the NBA Finals as a rookie.
This is why Tatum may not be that valuable in fantasy. The big question on everyone’s mind is how much time can an NBA Finals contender give to a rookie. The Celtics just inked Gordon Hayward to a massive deal, and he is guaranteed the starting job at small forward. This leaves Tatum to compete with Marcus Morris for minutes. Tatum should develop into a fine NBA player, but as a rookie, he will likely spend much of his season watching instead of playing.
Malik Monk – Charlotte Hornets
Entering the NBA, Malik Monk is a pure scorer with some raw talent. He has shown flashes of brilliance, including a 47-point night against North Carolina last year and can make a shot from anywhere on the court. The biggest knock against Monk is he does not yet provide much else besides scoring. He is at most an average passer and lacks the size to bring down many rebounds or blocks. He has the speed to generate steals but still, needs to strengthen his defensive game.
He enters his rookie season with a nagging ankle injury, which could hinder his production and playing time to start the year. Overall Malik Monk is an interesting talent and exciting player to watch, but not likely not a great fantasy player until he can get significant NBA minutes under his belt.
Jonathan Isaac – Orlando Magic
Capable of playing either small forward or power forward in a small-ball lineup, Jonathan Isaac is a promising young player stuck in a mediocre situation. The Orlando Magic have a large contingent of small forwards on their roster including Aaron Gordon, Terrace Ross and Jonathan Simmons. This will force Isaac to play much of his minutes at power forward in his first season.
He flashed excellent defensive skills in the summer league, but will Frank Vogel be able to turn Isaac into an elite NBA defender capable of guarding the best power forwards in the East? Either he can or cannot, take this year as a wait-and-see approach and leave Isaac off your fantasy team.
Frank Ntilikina – New York Knicks
A surprise pick by the Knicks at number eight, Frank “Frankie Nicotine” Ntilikina is a difficult player to evaluate this season. The point guard played limited minutes in the summer league meaning projections for the young guard come squarely based off his size and international play.
Ntilikina has superb size for either guard position and with a wingspan of 7’0”, the point guard projects to be an elite defender. He has shown great shooting abilities in his international career. Lastly, he seems to possess a love for the game, which is never a bad quality.
Ntilikina needs to develop better playmaking tendencies to be more than a situational point guard. Expect the Knicks to focus on development this year before throwing Ntilikina in as their full-time point guard, which means he has a relatively low ceiling in fantasy.
The 2017 NBA futures are out. It’s been a wild offseason already, but keep an eye on the betting lines as they move around at Diamond Sportsbook! Get the latest NBA betting lines right here.
