Jalen Green

Green took a small step back last season, partially due to the addition of Fred VanVleet and the emergence of Alperen Sengun. However, the third-year pro was still second on the team in points (19.6) and third in assists (3.5) per game. While it wasn't enough to give fantasy managers a good return on investment, he had a massive end to the season. With Sengun sidelined for the final 18 games of the season, Green averaged 24.2 points, 6.6 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.0 steals on 45/38/79 shooting. That could give optimists hope that the 22-year-old will be able to turn the corner in his development this season, but we also can't count on Sengun getting hurt again or taking on less usage. Green will have to prove he's capable of taking on a bigger scoring burden, and do so efficiently, which has been his main struggle to this point. And if Green doesn't have it going on a particular night, the Rockets have no shortage of young players with upside to steal some minutes. Fantasy managers don't have much to lose drafting Green around pick 80 in category formats - closer to 60 in points formats - but that's mostly based on faith in the player and not a better situation. If he can finally combine his top-shelf athleticism with better shooting from everywhere on the court, Green may start looking more like the No. 2 pick that he was in 2021.