Why Charlotte's Terry Rozier tops list of fantasy draft sleepers
Yahoo Fantasy analyst Dan Titus offers three basketball draft sleepers to target ahead of the 2022-23 season.
Video Transcript
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DAN TITUS: What's up? It's Dan Titus with Yahoo Fantasy Sports, here to give you a few sleepers heading into your draft. The first guy that I have pegged to outperform his ADP this season is none other than Terry Rozier. The Hornets combo guard continues to be one of the most underrated point guards in fantasy basketball. According to Basketball Monster, Terry Rozier has finished with third-round value in each of the last two seasons, and last year, he pulled up a cool 19 points with four rebounds and four assists, along with three 3 pointers and 1.3 steals per contest, not to mention his low turnover rate, at only 1.3 turnovers per game.
Right now, his ADP in Yahoo sits at 50.9, but I've seen him fall as far as the 60s and even 70s in fantasy drafts. The absence of Miles Bridges should only help bolster his usage rate this season. And for what it's worth, in two games without Miles Bridges in the lineup last season, Terry Rozier averaged 31 points, five rebounds, and four assists. Now, he's not going to do that every night. It's a small sample size. But I think Terry Rozier will still provide third-round value, again, this season.
Next on my sleeper list is Lauri Markkanen, the 25-year-old wing, who is actually on his third team in three years. But I think he finds himself in an ideal situation on a rebuilding Utah franchise. Last year, Markkanen finished 71st in per-game value as the third and sometimes fourth option in the Cleveland offense, but now he has the opportunity to be the primary shot creator for the Utah Jazz.
In two preseason games, Markkanen has led the Jazz in field goal attempts, which, to me, signals that he's in for a big year. His ADP is currently 106 on Yahoo platforms right now, and I think he offers cross-categorial value this season. I'm projecting him to be closer to Michael Porter Jr. of 2021 season, where he averaged close to 19 points, seven rebounds, and a shade under two assists per contest, with really strong shooting percentages. He should provide sixth- or seventh-round value this season, which makes him a steal going in the 10th round this year.
And my final sleeper is Cam Johnson, the newly anointed power forward for the Phoenix Suns, who, I think, his marksmanship will only allow him to flourish for fantasy managers this season. He shot a career best 43% from 3 last year, knocking down over 2 and 1/2 per contest, and averaging 12 and 1/2 half points, with four rebounds and almost two assists off the bench. I'm projecting his numbers to go up to at least 15 points, 5 and 1/2 rebounds in his fourth NBA season as he'll see over 30 minutes per contest. And his shooting efficiency only enhances his fantasy value in the later rounds. His ADP is 130, and similar to Lauri Markkanen, I think he could finish as a top 70 player this season.