Every Monday throughout the NBA season, we'll be giving you fantasy basketball advice. In today's edition, we take a look at players on Minnesota's roster and where they are being drafted in fantasy leagues.
F, Thaddeus Young
Averaged ESPN Draft Position: 51.5, Ranked as the 8th Power Forward
Young is going to have plenty of opportunities this season with the Wolves. He’s undersized as a power forward, but he makes up for it with his energy on the defensive end and his midrange shot. Expect Young to play 34 minutes per game while averaging right around 16 points and six boards per game. Steals are what makes him the most valuable, though.
The former 76er averaged 2.1 steals per game last season, finishing third in the NBA. He’s also become a much better three-point shooter since arriving in the league back in 2007. Young hit a career-high 90 three-pointers last season after hitting just eight combined during the three years prior.
PG, Ricky Rubio
Average ESPN Draft Position: 54.3, Ranked as the 9th Point Guard
When it comes doing a little bit of everything, Rubio is your guy. Rubio averaged 8.6 assists and 2.3 steals per game, which is elite for a point guard. He's also an above-average rebounder for his position, having averaged four or more rebounds in each of his three years in the NBA.
The concern with Rubio is he's not going to get you a lot in the scoring department - at least he hasn't yet in his NBA career. It makes a fantasy owner wonder, though, what Rubio can do without Kevin Love in Minnesota. There will be more shots to take. Will Rubio be the one to take them?
G/F, Andrew Wiggins
Average ESPN Draft Position: 63.3
A lot of this also depends if you're in a keeper/dynasty league. If so, Wiggins is a lot more attractive. Even if you're in a standard league, Wiggins is a pretty tempting player to grab, especially if you can take a chance on him late in the draft. Wiggins will rebound and get steals. Those are two things we're pretty sure of. The points are a mystery, but he'll get plenty of opportunities to score. Right now, it looks like head coach Flip Saunders is ready to give Wiggins plenty of minutes and possibly a starting spot alongside Kevin Martin on the wing.
G, Kevin Martin
Average ESPN Draft Position: 86,4, Ranked as the 18th Shooting Guard
Martin will get you three-pointers, free throws and points. He's not going to get you many rebounds or assists, but if you're looking for a shooting specialist, Martin fits that mold.
One thing that is underrated about Martin's game is his ability to get to the free-throw game. We are just four years removed from when Martin led the NBA with 594 made free throws. Last year, he made 303 free-throws, hitting 89.1 percent of them (4th in NBA). He's not a top-tier fantasy guard, but he does enough things to merit a roster spot if you need a shooter.
C, Nikola Pekovic
Average ESPN Draft Position: 140, Ranked as the 21st Center
Offensively, Pekovic is still one of the best centers in the NBA. There is one question mark that hangs over Pekovic, though. It's his playing time. After missing 28 games last season, Saunders made it known that he'd like Pekovic to play somewhere between 24-27 minutes per game in order to keep him healthy. The team has Gorgui Dieng backing Pekovic up, so it seems like a solid strategy for longterm.
If Pekovic's minutes decrease, so will his fantasy value. With that said, he still deserves a spot on your roster.
C, Gorgui Dieng
Average ESPN Draft Position: 118.8, Ranked as the 32nd Center
Dieng is talented. We saw that towards the end of last season when he filled in for Pekovic during his injury. Dieng had a great summer playing in the FIBA World Cup and he has the ability to rebound and block at an elite level. The problem is Pekovic is ahead of him on the depth chart. Dieng will likely still get decent minutes, especially with the team cutting back on Pekovic's minutes due to health reasons. Given Pekovic's injury history, it's not a horrible idea to handcuff Pekovic and Dieng together.
F, Corey Brewer
Average ESPN Draft Position: 140, Ranked as the 15th Small Forward
Brewer is coming off of a nice season, starting all 81 games he appeared in. He shot a career-high 48.1 percent from the field, but struggled from the three-point line, shooting just 28 percent.
The former Gator likely won't start 81 games this season, especially with the trade for Wiggins and improved health of Chase Budinger. Brewer probably fits better coming off the bench as an energy guy. If you're searching for a reason to have him on your team, it comes down to steals. He was fourth in the NBA last season with 151 steals (1.9 per game). Brewer has averaged one more steal per game throughout his career. Even if he falls off a bit in the category, he'll probably still have right around 1.5 steals per game.