MVP and NBA Champion Stephen Curry may be the best fantasy point guard, but who are the best options once he’s gone?
Stephen Curry – GSW (23.8/4.3/7.7)
After last year’s MVP season, there’s no doubt Curry is the No. 1 point guard available. His savvy play and smooth stroke will sit atop the point guard rankings for years to come. Entering his age-28 season, Curry is in a contract year and will produce at a high level.
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Russell Westbrook – OKC (28.1/7.3/8.6)
Russell Westbrook nearly carried the Thunder into the playoffs last year but came up just short. In a season where he took his game to another level, Westbrook recorded four straight triple-doubles. With a nearly healthy Kevin Durant and the addition of rookie point guard Cameron Payne, Westbrook will be well rested and produce at a high level for again this season.
John Wall – WAS (17.6/4.6/10.0)
John Wall was one of two players to average double-digit assists. He has organized team workouts two weeks in advance of training camp and has taken on a leadership role this off-season. His 17.6 points per game were a decline from the previous two years, but with the departure of Paul Pierce, more shots will open up. Wall will be a fantasy monster this season.
Damian Lillard – POR (21.0/4.6/6.2)
Four of their five starters are gone from last year, and he was signed to a max contract this past offseason. The team is expected to play at a faster pace than last year, meaning Lillard’s 16.6 field goal attempts will go up as well. In addition to more field goal attempts, with the departure of LaMarcus Aldridge and Robin Lopez, Lillard could grab more rebounds. His rebounding has gone up each season. He hasn’t missed a game in his three-year career.
Chris Paul – LAC (19.1/4.6/10.2)
One of the best point guards of this decade, Chris Paul will continue to be a great fantasy asset. He didn’t miss a game last year, but entering his age-30 season could result in some time off every once in a while. The team didn’t make any upgrades in the backup point guard position, so Paul will be asked to handle much of the ball handling duties yet again. The team did retain one of Paul’s favorite targets in DeAndre Jordan. He was assisted by CP3 113 times! Thank God for SnapChat!
Goran Dragic – MIA (16.3/3.5/4.5)
While Goran Dragic did have a down year marred by the discontent in the Phoenix front office, the Miami Heat presents a very promising lineup featuring Dragic, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and Hassan Whiteside. In 26 games with Miami, Dragic averaged 16.6 points, 3.4 assists and 5.3 assists. During that stretch, he didn’t play any games with Chris Bosh. The potential is there, and we think it will pan out in a good fantasy season for the “Dragon.”
Eric Bledsoe – PHO (17.0/5.2/6.1)
As noted in the Dragic section, the Phoenix Suns’ front office was a mess last season. Bledsoe now enters the season as the bonafide No. 1 option in the organization. He finally was able to play a season where he was not injured and yielded great averages. The team was able to re-sign combo guard Brandon Knight in the offseason. After the trade, Bledsoe’s averages did not dip, which is a good sign since Knight has been the primary ball handler on his past teams.
Mike Conley – MEM (15.8/3.0/5.4)
Mike Conley is one of the most underrated/durable players in the NBA. He will offer solid averages and has been durable throughout his career. Did I mention he is also entering a contract year? The Grizzlies have tried on numerous occasions to engage in extension talks, but he has refused. He should be fully recovered from numerous injuries he suffered in the postseason. Expect to grab Conley in the middle part of the rounds.
Jeff Teague – ATL (15.9/2.5/7.0)
Jeff Teague had one of his best seasons leading the Atlanta Hawks to the best record in the Eastern Conference. However, DeMarre Carroll signed with the Raptors, Kyle Korver is coming off ankle surgery and the combination of Kent Bazemore/Thabo Sefolosha does not scream fantasy help. Teague will finish in the middle of the pack this season for point guards.
Kemba Walker – CHA (17.3/3.5/5.1)
The scoring average is there for Kemba Walker, but the rate he does it is not sufficient. Only Michael Carter-Williams and DeMar DeRozan had a worse effective field goal percentage. Head coach Steve Clifford and GM Rich Cho have said Walker needs to improve his shooting this season. In addition, the Hornets are expected to run their offense through Nicolas Batum. Having less stress could produce better averages for the young guard, but don’t count on it.
Kyle Lowry – TOR (17.8/4.7/6.8)
During the months of November and December, Kyle Lowry averaged 21 points, 6.75 assists and 4.7 rebounds. As the season went on, he accumulated injuries that hampered his quality season. After the All-Star break, Lowry averaged only 14 points. The Raptors recognized this and signed Cory Joseph and drafted Delon Wright to give Lowry extra rest. He also focused more on Pilates and less on strength training this offseason. Lowry could be an excellent target once all of the top tier point guards are off the board.
Ty Lawson – HOU (15.2/3.1/9.6)
Being traded to the Rockets was a yawn compared the other headlines Ty Lawson produced this offseason. He was arrested twice for suspicion of driving under the influence. In total, he has four DUIs. When Lawson has his head on straight, he can be a fantasy beast. He enters a great situation with Dwight Howard and James Harden already in place. Lawson still averaged 9.6 assists on a bad Denver Nuggets team and hasn’t averaged less than six since his second season. As long as he doesn’t have any more hiccups, Lawson will reward fantasy owners. Hey Uber, I think I know a pretty good spokesperson!
Kyrie Irving – CLE (21.7/3.2/5.2)
It’s a shame that Kyrie Irving is this low in the rankings. You can blame his injuries. If this were dynasty rankings, his injury would have minimal impact. There are reports that Irving might not be ready until January and will most certainly be limited in training camp if he’s cleared. Other than scoring, free-throw percentage, and three-pointers Irving doesn’t produce much in any other categories. This can be attributed to LeBron James handling the ball deep into games, but being the point guard on one of the top teams should yield better results. Proceed with caution when drafting Irving.
Reggie Jackson – DET (14.5/4.2/6.0)
Reggie Jackson will finally get his chance to be the starting point guard for a full season. If he replicates what he did for the Pistons this year, Jackson will be the steal of your draft. He struggled from the arc early in the season averaging 27.8%, but it went up to 33.7% after the trade. Averaging 17.6 points, 9.2 assists and 4.7 rebounds with his new team would put him in the conversation of first round status. However, we are talking about the Pistons after all. They lost Greg Monroe to the Bucks, which will put a lot of pressure on Andre Drummond. Jackson and his new max contract will get every opportunity to succeed. If you can’t shoot the three, you can’t play for Stan Van Gundy!
Isaiah Thomas – BOS 16.4/2.3/4.2
Much like Reggie Jackson, Isaiah Thomas stepped it up for his new team after being traded at the deadline. Thomas put up 19 points, 5.4 assists and 1.2 rebounds for the Celtics. For some reason, the organization likes IT2 to come off the bench behind offensively challenged Marcus Smart and Avery Bradley. The drafting of Terry Rozier and R.J. Hunter doesn’t exactly help Thomas either. We expect him to get his share of minutes, but it seems that Brad Stevens is trying to keep everyone fresh. The Celtics do, however, play in one of the worst divisions that feature the Nets, Knicks, 76ers and Raptors. I speak for every fantasy football owner and plead that we don’t start point guards by committee!
Derrick Rose – CHI (17.7/3.2/4.9)
The curious case of Derrick Rose will enter another season where we’re not sure where he belongs. He has played in only 100 games in the past three seasons. The former MVP showed glimpses of his old self, but other times he was just another player. There is a potential dark cloud under Rose as his ex-girlfriend has pressed charges on him for sexual assault. One could make the assumption that Rose doesn’t trust his agility anymore. He took a career-high 5.4 3-point attempts that resulted in an ugly 28% from downtown.
Michael Carter-Williams – MIL (14.6/5.3/6.7)
Michael Carter-Williams is a triple-double threat each night, The team helped him by signing Greg Monroe. MCW will also have Jabari Parker back in the lineup to take the scoring load off. Carter-Williams is an exciting option for the reason of playing on a decent team for once in his career. Featuring potentially the tallest starting five in the NBA, MCW averaged 15 points, 6.2 rebounds and a career-high 7.4 assists with the Bucks. Since he doesn’t have to shoulder the load for the whole season, his field goal percentage could be a career high.
D’Angelo Russell – LAL
Labeled as the next Lakers superstar, Russell will get his chance to start from day one and play a lot. The Lakers will most likely be playing from behind in a lot of games this season, and he will get his chances to bring the team back. Kobe Bryant is expected to be on a strict minutes restriction, and Julius Randle is coming off a broken leg. Russell’s turnovers will be a problem, but everyone has to punt one category, right? Dynasty drafters, grab the next Dange-Russ!
Brandon Knight – PHO (17.0/3.9/5.2)
After Brandon Knight had joined the Suns, his production took a dip. His points per game fell by four points, and his rebounds per game were cut in half down to 2.4 per game. The Phoenix Suns just can’t be trusted when it comes to any player. Anyone is on the trade block! Right now, it seems that he is slated to start alongside Eric Bledsoe. Archie Goodwin and Devin Booker could push for minutes. Knight can be drafted in the latter part of drafts.
Ricky Rubio – MIN (10.3/5.7/8.8)
It’s only a matter of time until Ricky Rubio gets traded away. The rumors keep filtering in, but the organization keeps brushing them off. Where there’s smoke, there’s fire. As far as Rubio’s fantasy value, his value remains in assists and steals. Coming off a torn ACL, his burst could affect his steals which would in turn diminish his value even more. Having only played 21 games last season and shooting 35.6% and 25.5% from the field and 3-point range respectively resulted easily in his career worst averages. The team traded for his replacement in Tyus Jones, and now feature Andrew Wiggins and Karl Anthony-Towns. Rubio is kind of an after-thought in Minnesota.
Tony Parker – SAS (14.4/1.9/4.9)
This dude has been around forever! Entering his 14th season, Tony Parker will most likely see his minutes reduced even more. Last year, he took the least amount of shots per game since his rookie season. Hopefully, his FIBA shooting won’t carry over into the regular season! The addition of LaMarcus Aldridge won’t help his shooting cause either. Parker hasn’t played over 70 games since the 2010-2011 season and will probably see even more Tim Duncan treatment.
George Hill – IND (16.1/4.2/5.1)
Last year’s 16 points per game was a fluke due to Paul George’s injury. Since then, PG13 has recovered, and they added Monta Ellis, who isn’t shy about getting his shot up. Hill’s 47.7% field goal percentage and 5.1 assists are intriguing, though. When one of the top point guards (Derrick Rose or Kyrie Irving) get injured, Hill could be a serviceable replacement.
Deron Williams – DAL (13.0/3.5/6.6)
Deron Williams has been on my bust players list for two years and the trend will continue. In his prime, Williams was one of the most physically imposing point guards, but that contact has caught up to him and unfortunately, he hasn’t been the same player for five years. His points per game have fallen each year since then. The Dallas roster doesn’t show much promise in helping Williams in the early going. Wes Matthews and Chandler Parsons are coming off major injuries, Dirk Nowitzki has been hobbling down the court for three years, and Zaza Pachulia was a fall back option for LaMarcus Aldridge and Tyson Chandler.
Emmanuel Mudiay – DEN
Emmanuel Mudiay had his first taste of pro ball over in China last season and produced at a high level until his ankle sprain. A roster featuring bad players isn’t very promising in terms of morale, but on the flip side, it looks like Mudiay will get plenty of chances to produce! The Nuggets will be one of the worst teams in the NBA.
Rajon Rondo – SAC (8.9/5.5/7.9)
It is fitting that one of the biggest head cases joins another one in DeMarcus Cousins. A blow up is inevitable with these two knuckle heads clashing with George Karl. Rondo is a horrible shooter and lacks his speed from his Celtics days with the “Big 3.” I would avoid him for the time being.
Jrue Holiday – NOR (14.8/3.4/6.9)
Jrue Holiday was an up-and-coming star before his foot injuries. Entering the season, he is expected to play a maximum of 15 minutes per game and avoid back to back games. I wouldn’t draft him but maybe think about picking him up around the end of January. Other than that, don’t waste a roster spot for him.
Elfrid Payton – ORL (8.9/6.5/4.3)
It does say something about a player who will play 15 minutes per game and they’re ranked ahead of you. Elfrid Payton has a lot to prove if he expects to be the long term starter for the Magic. They acquired Shabazz Napier as an insurance policy. 42% field goal percentage and 55% from the free throw line aren’t enticing numbers for fantasy owners.
Brandon Jennings – DET (15.4/2.5/6.6)
Brandon Jennings isn’t expected to return to full contact work until mid-November. Achilles injuries are the worst to return from and might require a whole year of recovery. Jennings belongs on the wire for the long term until he proves he’s healthy.
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Danny Stokes is a correspondent at FantasyPros. Check out his archive and follow him @LegionReportNBA.
