Fantasy hoops: Does Alex Len have enough upside to be worth a stash?
Thanks to shoddy production this month and a recent absence due to a hip injury, Alex Len is now available in more than half of ESPN leagues. Should fantasy owners stash him with the hope he might garner 30-plus minutes as the season progresses? Does he have enough upside while splitting duties with Tyson Chandler to warrant a free-agent claim anyway?
Kevin Pelton: Given Chandler’s age and injury history, I think it’s likely he misses an extended period of playing time at some point and Len goes back to being the double-double player (on average) he’s been in that role over the last couple of seasons. Until that happens, though, I don’t see Len’s role changing dramatically, so to me it’s mostly a question of whether your team can spare the roster spot in the interim.
Joe Kaiser: An argument could be made that Len has been one of the most inconsistent players in the NBA since he was drafted fifth overall in 2013. At times he looks motivated and energetic on the court, demanding playing time. At other times, he is a complete nonfactor and lets himself get taken out of the flow of the game.
Really, at this stage in his career — year four — he is who he is. For three consecutive seasons, he has averaged between 22-23.7 minutes a game and hovered between 6.3-9 PPG and 6.6-7.6 RPG. He’s not a big shot blocker or steals guy, and he’s a career 45.6 percent shooter, which is very underwhelming for someone his size (7-foot-1). Len would have to play around 28-30 minutes per game and show newfound confidence in his offense to be on my fantasy radar as anything more than a streaming option.
Kyle Soppe: It really depends on your roster. Do I think the Suns want to extend the 34-year-old Chandler to nearly 28 minutes per night, which would be three more minutes than last season? Nope, not one bit. Len is the logical choice to gain any minutes that Chandler should lose moving forward. Len isn’t going to be a fantasy star, but his ability to produce solid rebounding and blocked shot totals is obvious and worth a stash if that is where you are hurting.
It wouldn’t shock me if over the next month, the Len/Chandler time share essentially flip-flop, and the corresponding minutes bump (20-30 percent) would make Len a viable frontcourt option. For what it’s worth, if you assume his current production and extend it to Chandler’s minutes, you’re looking at 10.9 points, 9.5 rebounds and 2.1 blocked shots. I’d take that over Tristan Thompson, a player currently owned in 81.4 percent of leagues.