With the 2015-16 NBA season now well underway, the waiver wire hunt has already begun to find the players that were missed in drafts. There’s been a number of surprising options at the point guard position and while it’s probably the spot that’s deepest on everybody’s team, here are four guys to keep your eye out for:
T.J. McConnell
Philadelphia 76ers
So we all knew this would happen. The Philadelphia 76ers have a ton of minutes to soak up but the question was always going to be: which players are they going to give minutes to? What would make sense – if they’re trying to win games – would be to give Isaiah Canaan, Kendall Marshall or Tony Wroten minutes since all of those have experience. Instead, the 76ers look like they’ve tabbed T.J. McConnell as the starter, which means he’s got the most fantasy value.
McConnell isn’t considered a dynamic scorer by any means but he has been an assists machine early on, averaging 7.5 helpers per game. He’s a bit of a statsheet stuffer, as evidenced by his most recent outing where he had six points, five rebounds, eight assists and a pair of blocks.
It doesn’t look like he’ll give you many points, averaging 5.5 points per game early on, but heis pitching in with 4.7 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game. Those are decent numbers that can’t be ignored. It seems like a natural fit at the point guard position in Philadelphia where there is an excellent chance he carves out a bigger role with the team as the season progresses.
Jerian Grant
New York Knicks
The rookie first-round pick hasn’t been able to wrestle the starting point guard job away from Jose Calderon in New York just yet but he has the higher potential outlook moving forward. Even if he isn’t starting right now, he is still contributing at a decent level by averaging 7.1 points, 4.0 assists and 2.7 rebounds in 22.3 minutes per game. That’s decent value if you’re in a 14- or 16-team league. Grant should only continue to get more comfortable at the NBA level and considering Calderon’s age and injury history, it wouldn’t be a major shock if Grant stole the starting point guard job in New York sooner rather than later. The Knicks know what they have in Calderon and they need to develop Grant.
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Jerryd Bayless
Milwaukee Bucks
Michael Carter-Williams has been dealing with nagging injuries early on this year and that has opened the door for Bayless to play more minutes in a situation worth keeping a close eye on. Bayless has averaged 10.7 points, 3.9 assists and 2.4 rebounds in 30.9 minutes per game this season and while those numbers alone make him worth rostering in deeper leagues, the real breakthrough could happen if Carter-Williams is sidelined for an extended period of time.
Toney Douglas
New Orleans Pelicans
The Pelicans are off to an absolutely atrocious start that nobody saw coming but they are too talented to play this poorly for that much longer. We saw the first signs of a turnaround when they beat the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday night. While Douglas is still somewhat buried on the depth chart, he could be worth adding in deeper leagues. Douglas has averaged 10.0 points, 2.8 assists, 2.5 rebounds and 1.3 steals in just 19.5 minutes per game and if he continues to perform, he will continue to earn bigger minutes for New Orleans. The fact that he contributes across the board including assists, rebounds and steals makes him that much more attractive of a fantasy option. The Pelicans would like to get more out of their bench and give Jrue Holiday less minutes to ease his burden. Both of those things bode well for Douglas. While some general managers will hesitate to add him now, it makes sense to at least keep a close eye on the Pelicans point guard position with a chance he eventually seizes a much bigger role and becomes a more prominent point guard option on the waiver wire.
