Trail Blazers' Anfernee Simons Leads 2023 Fantasy Basketball Sleepers
Dan Titus and Justin Henry explore potential breakout players for this season.
Video Transcript
DAN TITUS: I want to know your sleepers, man. What you got cooking over there?
JUSTIN HENRY: Well, I think this is where you can win your league, right? This is how you find value. And in fantasy basketball, it's important to hit on those mid tier guys that can become elite. And one of those players that I think can truly reach elite status is Anfernee Simons.
Now, this is a guy when Dame Lillard was on the shelf last year, in 11 games, he averaged over 27 points, over 5 assists, 4.6 three pointers per game without Lillard. He took on a lot of the same burden that Damian Lillard had.
So for me, I'm looking at a guy that's probably going to be the focal point of the offense. He has great efficiency, shooting at 45% from the field, 89% from the line. And that volume is probably going to go up, seeing as he's going to be more involved in the offense.
When we take a look at his value, I kind of compare him to, like, Jordan Poole's ascension, right? We saw him as more of a role player, became a mainstay for our fantasy lineups. I think Anfernee Simons has top 25 to 30 potential on the season.
DAN TITUS: Wow. That is a lot of potential. Yeah, man, I kind of see him as, like, a poor man's Tyrese Maxey a little bit. Like, he'll get buckets, but I'm wondering about those assists, and the rebounds, and the steals. But I love the take of it, because I think he's going to be the best player on the Portland Trail Blazers outside of DeAndre Ayton.
I'm going to go-- stick with the point guards, but I'm going to go to Washington. And I know that this guy is probably not going to become a household name because Washington's hot garbage, but Tyus Jones finally becomes a starter. This is what fantasy managers have been wanting for years.
Every time this guy gets a shot to start, he produces-- 13 points, 7 assists. He's one of the best in the league at assist to turnover ratio. So no matter how much he's dishing it out, he doesn't hurt you in that turnovers category.
He gives you the threes. He gives you the steals. I think this is going to be the breakout campaign for Tyus Jones, a guy that you can get in the mid to late rounds in drafts right now.
JUSTIN HENRY: Good call on that, because he's been a problem. When he was with Memphis, he was a problem. Another guy that's probably going to be in an elevated role this year is Keegan Murray.
And I think he could truly be a sleeper for your fantasy team too. He's got, like, 13th round ADP right now, which, to me, is insane for a player that's assumed to take this second leap up-- assumed to take this leap up here in his second year. We saw him over Summer League-- dude was balling over Summer League. You were there in person for it, right?
DAN TITUS: They had to put him on ice. They were like, all right. We've seen enough. We've seen enough.
JUSTIN HENRY: But this guy, you think about it-- the three pointers-- set the rookie record for three pointers. We can see more of that this year. He's already a low turnover guy.
And if he can somehow find a way to increase his defensive output at almost a steal a game, I think this is a guy that we can put comfortably in the top 100, and probably a little bit more room to grow there. I think of him as an elevated Kyle Kuzma. That's how I think of him.
DAN TITUS: Yeah. I even think he's probably more efficient than Kyle Kuzma. I would love to see the growth in him as a rebounder, but we already know that he's an elite three point shooter. And he's going to get better. I think that the confidence within the Sacramento Kings, Mike Brown has done an amazing job.
And right now, he's the starting power forward. So I think it is going to be a good season for Keegan Murray. And he is super cheap right now if you need to get a late round stretch big.
And I'm going to go for another big man. And I'm going to go to Detroit-- Jalen Duran. Paul George called this man "Dwight Howard light." And I thought that was cap for a minute. And I'm looking at the numbers and I'm like, he ain't that far away, man.
He had a 30 and 17 game with 4 blocks. And when I'm looking at him, looking at the USA select team, his relationship and chemistry with Cade Cunningham undeniable. So I feel like you're going to see this guy catch a lot of lobs, get a lot of easy buckets in that pick and roll as the runner and the lob threat.
But then also defensively, I mean, I'm thinking we can get to 1.5 blocks per game, the rebounds are going to be there-- and Monty Williams is already giving him the vote of confidence. He says he's one of the leaders of the team, one of the best and most vocal defenders on the team. I think this guy gets 30 minutes, we're going to look at a low end double double-- 13, 12, 1.5 blocks. You're looking at a top 60, 70 guy that you're getting well outside the top 100 right now. So all in on Jalen Duran.