This article is part of our Rebound & Rant series.
Like a NASCAR fan waiting for the big crash, I can't help but become fascinated with really bad NBA teams. That's often when the best fantasy gems are uncovered, as desperate teams make desperate changes, realizing they have nothing to lose. Somebody has to score on those bad teams – see Michael Carter-Williams on those Sam Hinkie 76er teams or even Harvey Grant on those early 90's Washington Bullets squads.
As of Friday, the four bottom dwellers are the Brooklyn Nets and those process-trusting 76ers out East, with the Phoenix Suns and Dallas Mavericks out West. Let's go dumpster diving, shall we?
Brooklyn Nets
Heading into the season, everyone knew this team was dreadful, and with Boston still able to swap first round picks in 2017 and outright owning Brooklyn's 2018 first round pick, they don't even get to enjoy the lottery. By now, someone in your league has scooped up Sean Kilpatrick. With Jeremy Lin (hamstring) out since Nov. 4, Kilpatrick is the backcourt rags-to-riches story in Brooklyn. Despite being 26 years old, Kilpatrick had only played 35 NBA games heading into this season. Yet in 20 games this year, he's averaging 16.4 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.7 threes per contest. When Lin returns (hopefully Saturday), Kilpatrick's touches may go down slightly, but this Nets squad is desperate for production. Expect his nearly 13 shot attempts per game to continue. Some thought rookie Isaiah Whitehead would excel with Lin out, but that simply didn't happen, so ignore Whitehead in almost all formats.
I'm sure many Nets fans are wondering if the team should deal the brittle Brook Lopez. But here's the thing: he is no longer brittle. Lopez has played at least 72 games each of the past two years. Plus, after the crazed free-agent spending of the past summer (see Harrison Barnes), his three-year, $63 million dollar deal signed in 2015 looks pretty good in a center-scarce league. Fantasy-wise, the bummer with Lopez is he's facing more double-teams with Thaddeus Young in Indiana, and it's affecting he's shooting, hitting just 45.6 percent of his shots this year.
In the frontcourt, Trevor Booker is the hidden fantasy gem. With five double-doubles in his last seven games, Booker is getting comfortable with his new team, and he certainly shouldn't feel threatened by 36-year-old Luis Scala. Expect big minutes and nice percentages from Booker all year long.
The real disappointment for the Nets is the step back taken by Rondae Hollis-Jefferson. After given as many minutes as he wanted, the Nets were forced to remove him from the starting lineup after an ankle injury and some TERRIBLE shooting. He hit 45.7 percent of his shots during his rookie run, but he is shooting an unacceptable 32.4 percent through 18 games this season. Ugh. He'll be given every opportunity to turn things around, so keep an eye on him.
SIDE NOTE: It's early, but I think I already received my best sports-inspired Holiday card. This comes from close friend and Clevelander Stephanie (Barron) Streit with her son Dalton. Always believe, indeed. I particularly like Dalton's understandable facial expression for the Browns.
Philadelphia 76ers
I keep banging the Jerryd Bayless drum, and he keeps missing games due to injury. Whenever he does heal, he'll be HUGE. This team has been waiting almost three years for a competent point guard and head coach Brett Brown will exhaust Bayless when given the chance.
You are playing Joel Embiid in DFS, right? Just make sure you're using our Daily Lineups page to know when he's playing. The price is almost always right.
The Philly wing situation is a mess. The sleeper shine has long since left Robert Covington, who's shooting 31 percent this season. Gerald Henderson continues his nice percentages, but low threes, low steals and low assists drudgery. Covington's struggles and injury woes have opened the door for Nik Stauskus to receive a career-best 27 minutes per game. Sadly, even with the minutes boost, he's ranked 282nd on Yahoo over the past two weeks. No, thank you.
Dario Saric is the Sixer to monitor. He's drained three three's in three of the last four games, with at least 17 points and seven rebounds in each one. The turnovers are bad, but let's see how he adjusts with more NBA games under his belt.
Phoenix Suns
Oh, T.J. Warren, how is your glorious head? The man was having an awesome breakout season until a head injury on Nov. 18. If your league has an IR roster spot, stash him there now. Suns management is making positive statements about his return, and with 19-year-olds Marquese Chriss and Dragan Bender struggling, Warren will see huge minutes when healthy.
Don't look know, but 34-year-old Tyson Chandler is playing 27 minutes per game. He's seems older, doesn't he? Shame on Alex Len for not being able to wrestle the starting spot from Chandler. Len has had his chances and failed. Neither center is relevant unless you're in a 14+ team league.
Brandon Knight must get traded, right? He's an interesting bench stash before the February trade deadline, but if you've got injury issues, I can understand dumping him. He's not going to turn it around in Phoenix – they have squarely settled on Eric Bledsoe and Devin Booker. Why don't the Suns send Knight to Memphis? If I were GM Ryan McDonough I'd be calling the Grizzlies every day.
Dallas Mavericks
I was kicking myself early this season for not grabbing J.J. Berea. Then Berea tore his Achilles. He was on fire prior to the injury, averaging 16 points per game with Deron Williams out. Williams is back, but it's seems very likely that Berea again sees big minutes when he returns in January.
Dwight Powell is now getting serious minutes with both Andrew Bogut (knee) and Dirk Nowitzki (Achilles) out. Powell is averaging 10.4 points, 6.0 rebounds and 0.6 blocks in 25 minutes per game over the past five. The time is now to let the 25-year-old shine.
I probably don't need to tell you that giant-contract-owning Harrison Barnes is actually producing for Dallas. You knew he'd get a boost in shots and playing time with that huge deal, but I didn't expect 21-6-1 per game. Part of that is the Mavs don't have any other options on offense. But this is fantasy, so who cares? I'll admit, my pre-season pessimism with Barnes was incorrect.
That's it for our little dumpster run -- today's Rant has hit the end of the line. Choo-Choo! Wednesday was Larry Bird's 60th birthday, so let's end with some classic Larry Legend versus Bill Lambeer footage. Larry get knocked a few times in this 1985 ECF, then posts 31 points in the second half:
