Xavier Tillman

Tillman spent the regular season as a bench contributor for the Grizzlies in a smaller role that he logged as a rookie back in 2020-21. That is due mainly to rookie Ziaire Williams impressing the brass, earning a steady role, and carving out a small chunk of Tillman's action. Tillman did play slightly expanded minutes in the playoffs and started six straight games at one point, though that was primarily due to injuries and alignment tweaks. He enters his third campaign likely bound for a similar role as last season. However, he could be in line for an expanded role right away with Jaren Jackson recovering from a broken foot. His timetable is November-January, but his extensive injury history gives fantasy managers reason to believe he'll return closer to the New Year. From a fantasy perspective, Tillman could be somewhat interesting in deeper formats if he can add minutes and closes the gap on his efficiency from the field closer to the 55.9 percent mark he posted as a rookie after posting a measly 45.3 percent mark last season. Tillman's rookie season saw him rank 135th in fantasy production per 36 minutes and 194th overall, while his per-game rank of 240th lagged a bit behind. Still, that level could be palatable in deeper formats, provided he makes improvements.

The 35th overall pick in last season's draft, expectations were relatively low for Tillman. However, with Jaren Jackson missing most of the season due to a knee injury and Brandon Clarke taking a step back, opportunities opened up for Tillman. He started 12 of his 59 appearances and averaged 6.6 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.3 combined steals-plus-blocks in 18.4 minutes. That led to a per-game fantasy rank of 240, though he had impressive per-minute production and ranked 135th in that respect. While fantasy managers have plenty of reason to target the 22-year-old in dynasty formats, redraft leagues might be another story. He'll be definitively behind Steven Adams and Jaren Jackson this season, and he'll still need to compete for playing time with Brandon Clarke and possibly Juancho Hernangomez. Only fantasy managers in deep formats should consider drafting Tillman, and it probably only makes sense with a final pick, but the upside remains low for this season.

Selected early in the second round of the 2020 draft by Sacramento, Tillman was immediately traded to Memphis. He played three years at Michigan State, providing his strongest season in 2019-20. In his final year with the Spartans, Tillman put up a huge stat line of 13.7 points, 10.3 rebounds, 2.1 blocks and 1.2 steals per game as a full-time starter, getting it done on both ends of the court. Tillman has got plenty of potential heading into his rookie season, but he'll have a difficult time finding the court in the Grizzlies' talented frontcourt. Tillman will clearly play behind Jaren Jackson, Brandon Clarke and Jonas Valanciunas, and he'll compete with the likes of Gorgui Dieng and Jontay Porter for minutes off the bench. Tillman is an interesting dynasty prospect, but he's not a player to target in redraft formats in leagues of any size this season.