The 2017-18 NBA season is right around the corner. That means fantasy basketball league drafts are underway across the country. Every fantasy manager is looking for an edge when it comes to building a championship team. While the top picks in every league seem obvious on paper, it’s the sleeper options that could make the difference between winning a title and falling just short. Here is a look at one fantasy sleeper pick to watch for from each Pacific division team.
C: JaVale McGee, Golden State Warriors
The Warriors are absolutely loaded with talent so it’s difficult to find a viable sleeper option on such a deep roster. However, an injury to starting center Zaza Pachulia could open the door for McGee to play substantial minutes early on in the season. McGee started 10 games for Golden State when Pachulia was injured last year and averaged 9.8 points with 5.2 rebounds in 16.4 minutes per game. McGee isn’t an elite sleeper option by any means but he could be a capable depth center if you are desperate enough in a deep fantasy basketball league.
PG/SG: Patrick Beverley, Los Angeles Clippers
Beverley requested a trade from the Houston Rockets because he wanted a bigger role. Now he will have a chance to showcase his skill set in Los Angeles this season. The Clippers will need Beverley to step up after they lost a couple of key pieces in the offseason with Chris Paul and J.J. Redick leaving town. Beverley has struggled with consistency over the past couple of years but a bigger opportunity could result in much better numbers from the veteran guard this season.
What you have to like about him is the role. The Clippers were stripped of their starting back court and the assumption is that someone like Beverley will be playing quite a bit. He can score and he can play defense, but the question is can he create? Paul was such a creator for the Clippers, so it’ll be interesting to see how they function.
C: Willie Cauley-Stein, Sacramento Kings
Cauley-Stein got his big break when the Kings traded DeMarcus Cousins to the New Orleans Pelicans last season. The young big man averaged 14.3 points and 10.9 rebounds over the final seven games of the season in a showcase of what he could potentially do this year with bigger minutes. The Cousins trade opened the door for Cauley-Stein to play a bigger role in Sacramento. His value could be a lot higher than most projections have forecasted heading into the season. As a starter last season, he averaged 13.1 points per game along with 8.7 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.1 steals and 0.8 blocks while shooting 50.5 percent from the field. That gives you a glimpse of what he’s capable of when he’s getting the lion’s share of the minutes. Expect him to be around a double-double assuming his continued development goes as planned. He’s still just 24 years old.
SG: Brandon Ingram, Los Angeles Lakers
Ingram failed to live up to the hype as a rookie after the Lakers selected him with the second-overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft. However, that performance has left him as a solid sleeper pick heading in to the 2017 season. Ingram averaged 13.2 points while shooting 47.5-percent from the field over his final 21 games last season. If he could continue to build on that strong finish, Ingram could emerge as a sneaky sleeper pick this season.
PF: Marquese Chriss, Phoenix Suns
The Suns benched their veterans and gave more minutes to their young stars once again late last season. The result was some strong numbers from players like Chriss, who came on strong down the final stretch. Chriss averaged 13.8 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.1 assists over his final 15 games. As long as he continues to play decent minutes he should pick up from where he left off and put up decent numbers in Phoenix this year. While he’s not worth reaching on too early, Chriss is definitely worth a late flier as a capable sleeper pick with immense potential. He’s part of a young core that’s on the rise.
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.
