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Your one-stop-shop for Rotoworld\u2019s fantasy basketball draft coverage. <\/p>\n
\ud83c\udfc0 Cole Huff\u2019s picks: C Myles Turner (Milwaukee Bucks) and F Zion Williamson (New Orleans Pelicans) <\/p>\n
In his 11th NBA season, Turner will be playing for an organization that isn\u2019t the Indiana Pacers for the first time in his career. While he thrived as a floor-spacing center alongside Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam in the Pacers\u2019 recent deep postseason run, those same opportunities to flourish should present themselves with Giannis Antetokounmpo consistently attracting multiple defenders and finding open shooters. He\u2019ll essentially play the Brook Lopez role for the Bucks this year. With his sustained abilities to shoot near 50.0 percent from the field, make threes on high volume, and consistently erase shots at the rim, I think Turner will perform even better than where he\u2019s being projected as a top 45-50 fantasy player in nine-category leagues.<\/p>\n
As for Zion, this isn\u2019t so much about me buying into his physical transformation during training camp as it is about me understanding that he\u2019s an elite talent when he\u2019s on the court, regardless. The former first-overall pick saw his points, rebounds, assists, blocks and steals per game all increase from the 2023-24 season to the 2024-25 campaign, despite averaging fewer than 30.0 minutes for the first time since his rookie season. I\u2019d expect the numbers to climb once again as Williamson presumably logs more minutes per game than he did a season ago, which leaves me incredibly optimistic on how high he could rank come season\u2019s end, if healthy. There has to be some good injury luck at some point, right?<\/p>\n
\ud83c\udfc0 Noah Rubin\u2019s picks: F Ausar Thompson (Detroit Pistons) and G Brandin Podziemski (Golden State Warriors)<\/p>\n
I\u2019m all aboard the hype train for an Ausar breakout season. Last year, we enjoyed his brother Amen Thompson\u2019s breakout, and when comparing the twins\u2019 per-possession stats, Amen got the slight edge in most categories, but Ausar was a much better source of steals. The difference is that Ausar only played 22.5 minutes per game, while Amen got 32.3. Ausar is now locked in as a starter and should see a bump in minutes. Foul trouble was an issue for him last season, which could be a frustrating factor at times, but I think his production when he is on the floor will outweigh that. The shot will likely continue to be an issue, but he does more than enough as a defender, passer and cutter to compensate for it.<\/p>\n
Podziemski was in and out of the starting lineup early last season and struggled to find his footing while battling injuries. However, he became a fixture of the starting unit in February and averaged 15.6 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.1 steals and 2.7 three-pointers per game over the rest of the season. Golden State took a while to fill out the rest of the roster, but they didn\u2019t add anyone who should impact Podz\u2019s place in the rotation. The Warriors have a ton of old guys on their roster, so the spry 22-year-old should be relied on often to help keep the veterans fresh.<\/p>\n