Ja Morant

Morant is coming off a frustrating season, which he began in amazing fashion, including earning his second All-Star selection, before picking up a nine-game suspension in March after brandishing a gun on Instagram live. Things got even tougher for the talented young guard, as he suffered a wrist injury in Game 1 of the first round of the playoffs, which caused him to miss the next game and remain limited for the rest of the series, which the Grizzlies lost in five games. Unfortunately, the drama did not end there, as Morant was once again seen flashing a gun on Instagram live in the offseason and as a result was handed a 25-game suspension by the league, effective at the beginning of the 2023-24 season. Additionally, the Grizzlies underwent a significant change at the point guard position, as they said goodbye to Tyus Jones and brought in Marcus Smart as part of a three-team deal soon after news of Morant's suspension broke. Smart will surely be expected to carry the load while Morant is out, but when the All-Star guard is eligible to return, it is mostly a guarantee that he will take the reins of the offense and be ready to produce back at a top-tier level. Some of Morant's best performances from the 2022-23 season included a season-high 49 point outburst in a win over the Rockets, eight triple-doubles, and 12 more double-doubles. If Morant can keep his focus, he is likely to pick up where he left off and shine as one of the league's top point guards.

Morant made a massive leap forward in production last season. After averaging 19.1 points and shooting 44.9 percent from the field during the 2020-21 season, he averaged 27.4 points and shot 49.3 percent last season. His usage rate skyrocketed to 33.7 percent, and he dazzled on a nightly basis with his ability to finish at the rim. He wasn't just a scorer, either, providing 5.7 rebounds, 6.7 assists and 1.2 steals per game. However, two red flags cap his fantasy upside. First, he only shot 76.1 percent from the free-throw line -- an area where you usually need stellar production from a guard in fantasy to help offset the deficiencies of some forwards and centers. Second, he was limited to 57 games because of injuries. Injury risk comes with using an early-round selection on Morant due to his high-flying, reckless style, but when he's on the floor, he's one of the most valuable fantasy assets out there.

The 2019-20 Rookie of the Year, Morant's numbers took a step back last season. He ranked 74th in per-game fantasy production as a rookie, with that number dropping to 114th in 2020-21. The main culprit was his decreasing efficiency. All of Morant's shooting percentages fell, with the point guard hitting just 44.9 percent of his field goals and 72.8 percent of his free throws. He's also not a positive in the three-pointers (1.2) or steals (0.9) categories. Obviously, Morant's 19.1 points and 7.4 assists per game were excellent, but his real-life reputation far outweighed his fantasy value last season. That said, it's clear that Morant has what it takes to be an elite point guard. His performances in the play-in games and five playoff contests were fantastic. In his final seven appearances, Morant averaged 29.4 points, 7.6 assists, 5.1 rebounds, 1.0 steals and 2.4 threes across 41.3 minutes on 48/37/73 shooting. Morant will need to find a way to become a consistent three-point shooter and stat-accumulating defender to make a massive leap as a fantasy player, but he absolutely has the talent to do it. Plus, he's already proven he can be a nightly 30-and-10 threat with a below-average jumpshot. Based on pure upside, Morant will be a popular selection, potentially as high as the third round, but fantasy managers must be cognizant of the holes in his stat profile over his first two NBA seasons.

The 2019-20 Rookie of the Year, Morant had one of the best first-year point guard campaigns in recent memory. Helping carry a team with extremely low expectations, the Murray State product averaged 17.8 points, 7.3 assists and 3.9 rebounds in 31.0 minutes per game. He also shot well all around, hitting 47.7 percent of his field goals, 33.5 percent of his 2.7 three-point attempts per game and 77.6 percent of his free throws. Morant also supplied an impressive 15 double-doubles and two triple-doubles in his 67 appearances. Now it's up to Morant to build upon increasingly high expectations in 2020-21, which won't be easy in a Western Conference that appears to be as stacked as ever. The rookie finished with a per-game, eight-category fantasy rank of 63 last season, with his most obvious weakness being three-point shooting, where he converted only 0.9 per contest. Morant was also relatively average on defense, combining for 1.2 steals-plus-blocks. Fantasy managers who are banking on those improvements -- or even improvements elsewhere -- will certainly select Morant higher than he was valued last season, and it wouldn't be surprising if his name was trending in the late-third to early-fourth rounds of most drafts.

Morant will presumably take over the Grizzlies' starting point guard spot, which was vacated as a result of the trade of Mike Conley to the Jazz. Morant, the 2018-19 OVC Player of the Year and Consensus All-American, averaged 24.5 points, 10.0 assists, 5.7 rebounds and 1.8 steals across 36.6 minutes last year with Murray State. He's lauded for his athleticism and playmaking ability, but an underdeveloped jumpshot and tendency to turn the ball over could be a cause of early struggles in the NBA. Rookie point guards can often get off to a rough start, but fantasy owners should be confident that the rookie will have a big role with the Grizzlies right out of the gate, and Memphis is likely to let Morant get plenty of reps considering the team's rebuilding status. Morant makes for a safer pick in points leagues, where a potentially troublesome field-goal percentage and lack of threes won't damage his fantasy value.