I would order the priority as follows in standard category leagues:

1. Anthony Black

2. Ajay Mitchell

3. Jay Huff

4. Alex Caruso

5. Mccain/Da Silva

It's almost here! I know many of you are drafting this week, so I wanted to get my latest rankings update out, along with some of my favorite targets from various parts of the draft.

I also included some fades in there as well.

There's a link in the article to my full top-250 for the deep-leaguers as well!

Feel free to let me know where we agree or disagree - and good luck in your drafts this week!

Now that everyone’s draft has commenced, who are your biggest upside picks that you personally think are going to crush it? Forget what the analysts say, who do you believe is going to outperform their ADP by a significant margin? I play in 12t 9cat leagues on yahoo

For me: 

1. Peyton Watson - where did all the hype go with this guy?! Last year he was going bonkers for a depleted Denver squad, and was a league winner type pickup. This year, he signed with the Cavs, and got paid. The Cavs lost dean wade, Struss, Keon Ellis, and larry nance jr. Sure, Jaylen Tyson and Sam Merrill are still there, but Watsons mix of defense and offense should keep him on the court for 32+ minutes a night. Harden and donmitchy aren’t the best defenders…and Mobley and Jarrett Allen aren’t the best shooters/scorers. Watson will get his shots, which I know people are sleeping on. And he’s a 1/1/1 type player which is rare. Watson to the moon!
2. De’Aaron Fox - He will improve upon last year but don’t expect the Kings version of Fox. Not saying he’s lost a step, but he no longer can run rampant out there like an idiot and do whatever he wants with Sabonis being the only legit threat to take the ball out of his hands. Last year was his first full year in the spurs system, and it’s a legit organization, unlike the kings. Plays are ran and it’s not a free for all like Acuff will be afforded the luxury of having. Fox is a great player and will be way better this year. He had a down year coming back from an injury early in the season, never fully adapted to the spurs style, and he pestered out in the playoffs. It wasn’t a great year. But to think he won’t bounce back and be better, is crazy work. Him and Quickley are the best two pg’s on the board in the later middle rounds
3. Ajay Mitchell - a large part of his rise last season was due to capitalizing on Jalen Williams being out. Now with jdubb back in the fold, Mitchell will be the thunder’s 6th man. Isaiah Joe, Aaron Wiggins, and lu Dort are all gone now to open up more playing time. Shai is the point guard, jalen Williams can do some secondary play making, Cason Wallace will take a step forward in offensive production this year but I don’t think he’s a major threat to ajay outside of taking some playing time from him, Caruso won’t have the ball in his hands THAT much, and Jared McCain is a more catch and shoot guy. I believe all of the playmaking responsibilities after shai will be pretty much pegged to ajay Mitchell. He was a beast in “limited” time last year, and with another season under his belt, I could see him jumping into the top 85. 
4. Neemias Queta - this guy was a gem last year, and with a full season under his belt as the Celtics starting center, I expect him to take another jump. I think Mitchell Robinson is good insurance, but neemias is too athletic and is a better rim runner than mitchrob. Plus Mitch Rob has never been able to stay healthy in the past…I don’t see too much changing this year. It could be an equal time share situation, but even in 25 minutes last year, Queta got his.

Starting and heading for 30+ minutes. Queen can't play defense. Having a great game against Zubac. Go get him now while you can

If this is how hes moving this season I think we're set, until the NBA drug tests him and he get suspended again at least

Hey everyone..

I’m locking in my draft strategy and want to make sure I’m not missing any major sleepers.

For me, I’m targeting [harper, VJ, Fears, Cooper, Queen, k.George , Kessler, Ware] I think they are primed for a massive statistical jump.

Who is the one breakout player you refuse to leave your drafts without this year?

Drafted this majestic guy at 7th round and he showing round 2-3 performance. Ty for bringing your A game Ty Jerome 🫪🤝

First week of waivers is usually important....so who is everyone starring on waivers to watch tonight? For my league im watching Wagler and burries. Also looking out for any big man who shows some signs of life. What about you guys?

17 pts, 8 boards, 3 assists (7/11 fg) with 5 steals (yes I know this part was an anomaly) in 33 minutes (big Kalk only had 13 mins)

Last year, the hornets started with big Kalk for a good part of the first half of the season before going with Diabate and they haven’t looked back

He’s a workforce when he plays - legit double double guy

I think I’d prioritize him > someone like Missi just cause who the hell knows with the Pelicans organization lmao

Any hornets fans care to chime in?

Hey all! I put together my four favorite BUY and four favorite SELL names after 3 days of hoops! I tried to eliminate the guys that I thought would be too hard to pry loose and focused just on the guys that I can see the public freaking out about. What do you think? Are these workable? Do you have other names you think could make the lists?

Josh Minott might be here to stay. In a lost season with plenty of opportunity to go around in Boston, Minott has looked amazing these last couple of games as a starter, and he's definitely forced the hand of the Celtics to keep him as a starter. Looking like a monster on the glass with plenty of stocks upside.

This may be a run and grab situation, and figure it out later.

Edit: Josh Lloyd agrees, he's a must add (and not just because they're both named Josh, most likely):

https://x.com/redrock_bball/status/1983717745427402789?t=jW9352Prgj_u1K4ugViICQ&s=19

This could be a player in any round, doesn’t have to necessarily be a sleeper. Who are you reaching for?

I'm seeing him picked as early as 15 in some drafts but found that he reached me yesterday at the 32nd pick. Idk but am I missing something? I feel like he has top 10 potential and a lot of fantasy analysts too. I wonder if 15 was too early for him as well? Seems his range of being drafted is big. I'm pretty high on him and can see him returning first round value but maybe that's too optimistic

My goal this season is to create the most comprehensive piece of waiver wire content in the fantasy basketball space.

Check out the new weekly planner with color-coded matchup ratings!

25 players featured this week - all rostered in 25% of Yahoo leagues or fewer!

As always, you can AMA, and I'll do my best to answer everyone! Good luck in Week 2!

Who's the biggest disappointment for your team this year? I'm not talking about injuries, just someone that was ranked high that ended up having an off year

Jovic/Jokic

Last night my league had their auction draft and the manager with the first selection nominated Nikola Jovic to be bid on first...

Clearly everyone was expecting Nikola Jokic there, as half of the managers didn't pay close attention & immediately started bidding quickly, driving his price up. It ultimately seemed like the managers caught on later as the bidding stopped short of what past Jokic bids went for, but not before it reached $80 (out of the $200 you get to buy players).

So now we have a manager in our league with Nikola Jovic at $80!!! While "unfair" in some opinions, it's within the rules and it worked!

What do you think - was this dirty af, or diabolically clever?!

Holy shit. Monster performance from the big guy.

32, 17 and 5 blocks on 80% from the field in 29 minutes.

He had a few ramp up games when he returned from injury, but he’s been an absolute animal over the last week. If you watch the games, you’d see that he’s literally unstoppable. No one other than maybe Wemby can stop that jump hook of his. Can’t believe I got this dude off waivers, a legit league winner.

Who is your favorite week one pickup? Mine was Kris Dunn!!!!

Who is the hardest player to own right now? That guy you want to drop quite often but you continue to hold? Poeltl? Ware? Morant? Or is it still the GOAT: Anthony Davis? The are guys people rarely drop and usually try to trade and it’s nearly impossible to get good value back.

I vote Ware this season because he is playing most the time but has clearly found his way into the doghouse in Miami. Hard player to hold but his potential makes him hard to drop.

Ware owners want to see him shipped to the Bucks in a deal for Greek so badly they can taste it. Usually this award is injury oriented which brings me to the next two jack off candidates…

Runner up: Morant. Half man / half glass. He has his sights set on AD’s GOAT status, but it’s a pipe dream. Let’s be honest. Nobody can touch the stellar career of…

Honorable mention and lifetime achievement award: Anthony Davis. God bless the human game decision and the unquestioned world champ at the most different kinds of injury in a career. There is nothing in that body this man can’t injure.

Pussies. Sorry that’s an insult to most women who are much tougher than these guys. I grew up a Blazer fan. Look at the games played every year for Terry Porter and Cliff Robinson and Kersey and Drexler. Drexler got hurt now and again but put up many 82 game seasons. Robinson must have played 82 games six or seven times. Same with Porter. The game was twice as physical back then! It’s a league of pussies today. They are ruining the league.

34pts 11reb 4ast 2stl 3blk 11/15 7/9. Greatest player of all time candidate right here.

Seriously, a career high for Mr. George after a strong season opener. Can he keep this up? Surely the Wizards prioritize him first among all the young talent the team has.

What do y’all think?

Dan Besbris offers his opinions as to why you should NOT draft these players in fantasy basketball leagues this season!

Hey everyone! I finished up my massive Buckets Board of 9-category rankings, plus an article detailing how to best use the list.

What do you guys think? Who am I too high on? Do you agree with the Flier Tiers? Health risks? Let's chat about it!

I traded for him last year and he was great. What are the signs he will make a significant leap in year 2 to merit being drafted over guys like Spida, Hali, Maxey, Barnes, JJ, etc.?

I have the 12th pick in 12 team H2H snake.

Dude broke AI and Lebrons record tn

We can all agree JJ has been a top 10 (arguably top 5) player this season in fantasy. I was able to grab him at 40 in a 14T league so I’m curious as to where others drafted him at?