Team building and roster building has to be one of my favorite aspects of the NBA offseason. I am that GM on NBA2K that would sim all the games and only conduct roster machinations, aiming to build the best roster I could. For fantasy it is no different. I want to be the very best and to do that, I always try to take stock of NBA rosters in the offseason and predict how I see rotations working out. Below I’ll dive into some key position battles I foresee and how they will affect respective fantasy values.

All ADP data is from Yahoo

John Collins vs. Jazz Frontcourt

People seem so willing to crown John Collins as a big fantasy winner with the trade to the Jazz. I can understand the argument here – former top-50 fantasy player coming off a down spell who can finally be freed and unleashed on a retooling Jazz roster. But baked within that assumption is Collins is worthy of the usage and role needed to be that fantasy player, and that’s where I struggle.

Collins’s fantasy game shines when he operates as the roll-man and being assigned as the team’s rim protector. In Hardy’s movement-based offense that requires quick decision making, I actually prefer Kelly Oynyk over John Collins playing the roll-man. Olynyk may not be as mobile or athletic as Collins, but he certainly has passing and dribbling skills that Collins lacks. On defense, Walker Kessler clearly is the better rim protector over John Collins. These two factors should limit Collins to more of a spacer on offense and a weak-side help defender, things we do not want to see if we hope for Collins’ fantasy value to rebound. Collins should see minutes ranging from 24-30 per game, but I doubt they will be in Collins’s ideal role for fantasy production.

Draft and ADP Recommendations

John Collins’s early ADP sits at 106.3 which is reasonable at this stage if a tad high for me. I’d be passing at him at that price. Olynyk sits at 140.3, which I love for some strong value in the early parts of the season. Kessler is currently at 41.8, which feels appropriate given his four category contributions without much elsewhere.

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