Fantasy Basketball Rookie Report – Three French Hens

Welcome to the first week of December! Two months have gone by this season. We are in the midst of the famous, and extremely competitive, mid-season (early season?) tournament for all the marbles. Whoever wins this week will surely be the best basketball team of the year.

Regardless, we have a few rookies to report on that have made some continued leaps, and others who we might have to reconsider. This last week was rounded out by the three French hens: Victor Wembanyama, Bilal Coulibaly, and Jordan Hawkins (New Orleans). Among others, there is a lot to go over, but it certainly was a great end to the month. I particularly enjoy this rookie class, especially since they have gotten a lot of minutes to stretch their wings. A lot of injury minutes giving quality development time.

Fantasy Basketball Rookie Report – Three French Hens

Although there was a lot of positive gain over the last week for a few rookies, there is going to be some up-and-down short-term movement. This will not necessarily take away from their long-term value, and each will be addressed per player.

Players of Note

• Chet Holmgren (C, Oklahoma City Thunder)
  • The missing puzzle piece in OKC
  • Last four games: 19.5 PPG/7.5 RPG/3.0 APG/3.0 Stocks. 47% FG/32.1% 3P/77.8% FT.
  • Hard to argue with, but his efficiency is down. Getting defended better. 22.2% USG, Shooting over 45% from 0-16 feet and 39.5% from three. Will continue to get comfortable. No replacement player for Chet in OKC.
  • Short Term: Buy
  • Long Term: Hard Buy
• Jordan Hawkins (French Hen #2, SG/PG/SF, New Orleans Pelicans)
  • With McCollum and Trey Murphy II back, has less responsibility and a different role.
  • Last three: 9.7 PPG/1.3 RPG/0.7 APG on 36.8%/40.0%/90%
  • Short Term: Sell, took a DNP for the first time in a while with CJ McCollum and Trey Murphy back.
  • Long Term: Buy. He’s demonstrated his future fantasy worth in the last two months and has good potential
• Victor Wembanyama (French Hen #1, PF/C, San Antonio Spurs)
  • Led last week in points, rebounds, blocks, and steals. Still having shooting problems from 3, but free throws and within the arc are going very well, but only played one game.
  • Short Term: Buy. Usage is staggering at 30.3%, and only getting better.
  • Long Term: Buy more!
• Jaime Jaquez Jr. (SF/PF, Miami Heat Culture)
  • Second in points per game last week. Fourth in NBA fantasy points per NBA.com.
  • Shooting 61.3%/33.3%/75.0% with 16.3PPG/4.0 RPG/3.3 APG over the last week.
  • Short Term: Buy, still getting a lot of minutes whether starting or not, could seriously contend for 6th man if he keeps this up.
  • Long Term: Hard buy. Season up to 52.5%/39.3%/79.3% with 12/3.9/2.6 and 1.1 steals per game. A well-rounded forward with good efficiency never hurt a fantasy team.
• Brandon Miller (SG/SF, Charlotte Hornets)
  • Miller has been stepping it up. 5th best scorer last week.
  • Raised his overall numbers to 45.8%/38%/79.4%. Starting to become the shooter that he was picked for.
  • Short term: Buy, 16 PPG/4.0 RPG/2.5 APG in the last week. Playing high minutes with nearly a 20% Usage Percentage.
  • Long Term: Shooters shoot.
• Bilal Coulibaly (SF/PF, Washington Wizards)
  • Improving his free throw percentage while also maintaining key shooting statistics. Playing more minutes.
  • 8.0/4.7/0.0/2.0 Stocks in the last week on 55.6%/33.3%/100%
  • Short term: Buy, Wizards are most likely going to sell some of their more veteran players like Kyle Kuzma.
  • Long-term: Buy, Coulibaly is displaying an ability to demonstrate consistency statistically and improve in other areas.
• Toumani Camara (SF/PF, Portland Trailblazers
  • Improved on the offensive state line last week!
  • 7.3/2.3/0.3/2.7 on 52.9%/25%/100%. Defensive metrics and other baseline stats to interesting to keep him off the team.
  • Short term: Buy, Jerami Grant most likely to depart!
  • Long-term: Too smart of a player not to improve across the board. Keep an eye out.
• Dereck Lively II (C, Dallas Mavericks)
  • Great option for a backend of the roster center for an average fantasy league. High variance but low baseline.
  • 10.7/8.7/1.0/4.4 stocks on 83.3%/0.0%/40% over the last week.
  • Short term: Buy. The Mavericks are putting more faith in their draft pick and have a need for this type of center.
  • Long-term: Buy. High-efficiency big men with defensive statistic upside are hard to find!
• Brandin Podziemski (SG/SF, Golden State Warriors)
  • Shooters are always in need, especially if they are shooting at a 44.1% clip. Averaging 18.7 minutes now.
  • Last three: 12.5/7.0/2.5/1.5 on 52.6%/57.1%/50%. Not getting to the line a lot, only took one free throw per game last week. Averaged 33.9 Minutes!
  • Short Term: Buy! Seems like the Warriors found a guy that can contribute immediately from a shooting perspective, so having that is worth its weight.
  • Long Term: Buy. Again, shooters shoot.
• Scoot Henderson (PG/SG, Portland Trailblazers)
  • Is being given the opportunity to make mistakes. Took 11 Field Goals per game over the last week.
  • Averaged 10.7/3.0/3.7in that time. Shooting percentages low.
  • Short Term: Stay away. The inefficiency is not going to go away any time soon.
  • Long Term: Buy low. Scoot’s value has dropped drastically but exists. Some people may hold on him.
• Julian Strawther (SG/SF/PF, Denver Nuggets)
  • Not a great shooter or rebounder. Does not accumulate defensive metrics until this point! Getting minutes though.
  • 6.0/2.0/1.0 on 33.3/35.3/50.0. Not great, but useful in deeper leagues.
  • Short Term: Hold, do not buy unless for the bare minimum, do not sell.
  • Long Term: Hold, just has not demonstrated a specific worth yet.
• Ausar Thompson (SG/SF/PF, Detroit Pistons)
  • Started off as a rookie of the year hopeful. Had some really good numbers. Still a rebounding champ.
  • Last week: 19.5 minutes played. 8.8 PPG/6.3 RPG/0.5 APG/1.1(!) stocks. 51.5%FG/12.5%3P/No free throws.
  • Short Term: Great question. The Pistons currently do not know what they are doing.
  • Long-term: Great prospect, defensive metric, and rebounding forward/wing with great instincts.
• Cason Wallace (PG/SG, Oklahoma City Thunder)
  • He improved on his overall production over the last week at 20 minutes per game.
  • Last Week: 11.7 PPG/3.0 RPG/0.3 APG on 56.5%/50%/50%. Doesn’t take many free throws.
  • Short Term: Buy. Efficiency king.
  • Long Term: Buy. Efficiency king.
• Marcus Sasser (PG/SG, Detroit Pistons)
  • Establishing a role as the key backup. Worth its weight in deeper leagues.
  • Last Week: 9.3 PPG/1.5 RPG/4.0 APG/1.3 Stocks on 41.2/43.8/100. Half of his shots are threes, so FG efficiency is going to come at a premium.
  • Short Term: Buy for deeper leagues, not a starter.
  • Long Term: Buy for deeper leagues, same as above. Hard to see past that.
• Keyonte George (PG, Utah Jazz)
  • 30 minutes per game, the starting point guard moving forward. Still inefficient, and needs to improve scoring to open assists.
  • 15/4.5/3.8 on 33.9/26.9/71.4. May as well be in the same boat as Portland.
  • Short Term: Buy, has shown flashes in ability to pass the rock at a high rate. 20.6% Usage!
• Anthony Black (G/F, Orlando Magic)
  • Low usage, low shooting type, but has started a lot of games. Part of an elite defense, but does not convert fantasy-wise.
  •  5.0 PPG/3.3 RPG/2.3 APG. Not even a steal and a block in the last week. Shooting better, on low volume. 60/66.7/50.
  • Short Term: Sell, just is not going to get the run, but is a prime trade prospect.
  • Long Term: Buy? I question his overall ability to shoot down the line, but could be a numbers-getter otherwise.
• Olivier-Maxence Prosper (SG/SF/PF, Dallas Mavericks)
  • Playing! Too early to tell.
• Jalen Hood-Schifino (PG/SG, Los Angeles Lakers)
  • Started to play now! Too Early to tell.
• Kobe Brown (SG/SF/PF, Los Angeles Clippers)
  • Has not accumulated enough stats to make a difference, but getting some wiggle room. Could be sold in the trade market.
• Nick Smith Jr. (PG/SG, Charlotte Hornets)
  • Starting to play more, finally.
• Andre Jackson Jr. (SF/PF, Milwaukee Bucks)
  • Still getting minutes, still getting buckets. Should continue to develop.
• Taylor Hendricks (SF/PF, Utah Jazz)
  • Started to get minutes.