Saddiq Bey

After an intriguing rookie season, Bey had a mixed sophomore campaign. The No. 19 overall pick out of Villanova in 2020 started the year struggling to shoot the ball. For the first three months of the season (32 appearances), Bey averaged 14.3 points on splits of 37/32/83. However, the new year brought newfound efficiency. From Jan. 1 onward (49 appearances), Bey averaged 17.2 points on 41/36/82 shooting. Notably, he even had a 51-point outburst against the Magic in mid-March, going 10-of-14 from three. The longball is Bey's specialty - he made 2.9 per game after the new year - but he's also displayed a more diverse skillset. During the season's home stretch, he added 4.9 rebounds and 3.1 assists in his 32.8 minutes per game, and he also got to the free-throw line a decent 3.2 times. Whether or not Bey can become a playmaker at the NBA level remains to be seen. Cade Cunningham and Jaden Ivey will handle the vast majority of the offensive initiation, though Jerami Grant shipping out to Portland opens up some usage that could go to Bey. However, it remains to be seen how much usage Bojan Bogdanovic will take on -- the Pistons trading for him late this offseason. Despite the spotty shooting, the 23-year-old ranked 108th in per-game fantasy production last season, so optimistic fantasy managers have reason to draft him sooner than that this time around.

The Pistons grabbed Bey with the 19th pick in the 2020 NBA Draft. Detroit believed they were selecting a sharpshooter with length, and Bey did not disappoint. The 6-foot-7 wing drained 175 three-pointers in his rookie season -- tops amongst all rookies. He also shot 38.0 percent from behind the arc, which was good for seventh amongst rookies with at least 65 attempts. Bey's 857 total points were also second amongst rookies. Of course, most NBA freshmen were playing on squads with more talent than the rebuilding Pistons. When Detroit bought out Blake Griffin in mid-February, Bey was named the starter. In his 53 starts, Bey delivered 13.6 points, 4.9 boards, 2.7 three-pointers and 0.9 steals over 30.8 minutes per game. Bey is likey the starter at small forward heading into the 2021-22 season unless coach Dwane Casey starts Kelly Olynyk at the four and Jerami Grant at the three. Either way, he'll fight off reserves Hamidou Diallo and Josh Jackson in an effort to continue seeing more than 30 minutes per contest, which seems likely. Expect the usual sophomore shooting improvement from Bey this season. During his last season at Villanova, the wing shot 47.7 percent from the field. So an improvement on his rookie season's 40.4 percent seems likely. Gradual improvement in most counting stats also seems likely as the 22-year-old and the Pistons continue to improve.