Norman Powell among top fantasy basketball free-agent finds
A willingness to entertain competition for the last few spots on your fantasy hoops roster can prove rewarding. When curating this fluid collective of statistical contributors, it helps to consider your end-of-bench players in direct competition with the talent floating in free agency.
The goal of this weekly series is to identify players available in at least half of ESPN leagues at each position. Some nominations are specialists capable of helping in one or two categories, while others deliver more diverse and important statistical offerings. In the breakdowns below, I’ve ordered players at each position with the priority of acquisition in mind, rather than roster percentage in ESPN leagues.
Shake Milton, Philadelphia 76ers (Rostered in 43.0% of ESPN leagues): The most added player of the past week, Milton has scored 78 points across his past three appearances, including a career-best 39 in a breakout showing against the Clippers on national television this past Sunday afternoon. With a nearly 43% career collegiate clip from 3-point range and a fearless stepback shot in the pros, Milton makes for a fun source of shooting and scoring while the 76ers are missing major offensive pop with Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons sidelined.
Don’t wait until it’s too late! Baseball’s Opening Day is Thursday, March 26. Will you be ready?
Create or join a league today >>Everything you need to compete >>
Tomas Satoransky, Chicago Bulls (41.7%): Coby White rightfully became a widely rostered player, thanks to a brilliant scoring bender the past few weeks. Satoransky, meanwhile, continues to provide helpful assist production as the lead distributor for the Bulls with Kris Dunn likely sidelined for the remainder of the campaign due to a knee injury. Dimes are tough to find on the wire, given that the top creators around the league consolidate distribution duties in modern offenses, making Sato’s seven assists per game this past week noteworthy.
Shabazz Napier, Washington Wizards (12.3%): Napier has played more minutes and been more productive than veteran positional peer Ish Smith for Washington of late. His blend of shooting and steals is helpful for those in deeper category formats or competitive roto leagues.
Malik Beasley, Minnesota Timberwolves (49.8%): With stellar shooting and scoring production since putting on a Timberwolves jersey, Beasley is dramatically underappreciated by fantasy managers even weeks into his volume-driven role with Minnesota.
Kevin Huerter, Atlanta Hawks (36.7%): An underrated playmaker often viewed as a shooting specialist, “Red Velvet” has averaged an impressive 4.5 assists the past week to go with strong scoring, shooting and defensive rates. As the key complementary creator next to Trae Young, Huerter merits more attention down the stretch.
Kevin Porter Jr., Cleveland Cavaliers: Vaulting ahead of the likes of Curry and Lee (below) in terms of acquisition priority, Porter Jr. has flashed fun playmaking skills to go with variant scoring results. With Cleveland giving him plenty of burn and touches off the pine, KPJ is a strong addition to fantasy rosters for the final six weeks of the campaign.
Seth Curry, Dallas Mavericks (34.6%): Enjoying arguably a career-best scoring bender, Curry often thrives when Luka Doncic rests and can even prove helpful when Dallas has its full complement of perimeter scorers.
Damion Lee, Golden State Warriors (32.1%): Averaging 14.8 PPG and 10.1 combined assists and rebounds to go with strong shooting and respectable defensive metrics make Lee one of the more intriguing free-agent wings in fantasy hoops. Sure, the impending return of Stephen Curry could cut into Lee’s usage, but he’s unlikely to miss out on many minutes, given the shallow nature of the roster at the perimeter.
Norman Powell, Toronto Raptors (35.5%): Since returning to action from another injury stint, Powell has topped 20 points in both appearances and should continue to serve as a key perimeter scoring force for a deep Toronto rotation.
Bogdan Bogdanovic, Sacramento Kings (39.8%): While his scoring volume and efficiency have waned in recent weeks, it’s worth noting that Bogdanovic averaged 2.0 3PG and 2.0 SPG this past week. Such a rare blend of 3-point and steals production is enough to overlook some of the uglier outings.
Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk, Detroit Pistons (2.1% rostered): Balling in a bigger role for the Pistons, Svi was productive as a perimeter scorer for a depleted Detroit backcourt this past week. Averaging nearly 35 MPG during his past two appearances and due for more work with Derrick Rose now ailing, Mykhailiuk makes for a solid streaming option in deeper weekly formats.
Juan Hernangomez, Minnesota Timberwolves (16.8%): Serving a stretch forward role for the Wolves as they wait for Karl-Anthony Towns to heal, Hernangomez has begun to play well enough on the glass of late (8.5 RPG the past seven days) to be considered the premier pickup at the power forward spot this week.
Jerami Grant, Denver Nuggets (32.7%): An awesome week saw Grant score 21.7 PPG to go with solid peripherals. He’s a fun fantasy force to consider in deeper leagues.
Jae Crowder, Miami Heat (38.2%): Eligible at both forward positions in ESPN leagues, Crowder is best appreciated at the shallower power forward spot. Productive since coming over from Memphis, Crowder provides atypically strong 3-point and steals production from a frontcourt position.
Eric Paschall, Golden State Warriors (35.0%): Most valuable as a fantasy option whenever Draymond Green sits, Paschall just became the first Warriors rookie since Klay Thompson to deliver as many as five 25-point showings in his first pro season.
P.J. Tucker, Houston Rockets (39.9%): You’ll endure some lean box scores with Tucker but also net some truly unique lines that include strong defensive and shooting results whenever he’s hitting from deep. Active as a post defender for the extreme small-ball agenda Houston has pursued, Tucker is a helpful fantasy addition in category and roto formats (he has little value in points leagues).
Alex Len, Sacramento Kings (8.5%): With at least 11 rebounds in two of his past three showings as of Monday and an impressive five blocks in his most recent outing, Len has reemerged as a useful spot starter for those seeking reinforcements at this thin center position.