Sacramento Kings: Fantasy Basketball Season Preview

Standard League Options

Below are the Kings’ players that are worthy of being selected in every league no matter how shallow.  These are targets in even an eight-teams league, but standard leagues usually cover ten and twelve team leagues as well.  The must own Kings are:

DeMarcus Cousins

DeMarcus Cousins leads the Kings in fantasy value as well heading into this season.  Cousins is worthy of a first round pick in almost every draft.  I have no problem targeting DeMarcus Cousins starting at pick 5 overall.  I would ideally grab him at pick 10 to 12, but remember fantasy is supposed to be fun, so if you have pick 5 and Cousins is your favorite player on your favorite team then, by all means, grab him and enjoy the ride.

As far as fantasy production goes I expect Cousins to improve his assists numbers this season only adding to his already great value.  Expect a line that reads like this by season’s end, a field goal percentage of 46%, 73% connection from the foul line, 11.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 1.6 steals, 1.4 blocks, 0.7 threes, and 26 points per game.  That is a monster line and will produce you first round value for your fantasy league.

Rudy Gay

Rudy Gay is often an underrated player in fantasy.  Since he is coming off a down season and recently made headlines about wanting out of Sacramento that is not changing this season.  I do not mind grabbing Gay in the sixth round, but I am hoping to hold off till the seventh or later for some extra value on the pick.

Gay does have some risk that he gets traded mid-season and ends up in a much worse situation for himself.  I, personally, think the Kings are going to keep him and try to convince him to re-sign in the offseason.  That risk is baked into his fantasy price, so if he reaches the top of your draft board do not hesitate to select Rudy Gay.

Rudy Gay should improve on his numbers from last season.  I think Rajon Rondo took the ball out of his hands a lot and depressed his counting stats.  I am expecting Gay to shoot 45.5% from the field and 80% from the line.  The counting stats should read something like 1.2 threes, 5.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.1 steals, 0.7 blocks, and 18.5 points per game.  That stat line would place him inside the top sixty overall in fantasy, so do not be afraid to snag him.

Darren Collison

We know Darren Collison is going to miss the first eight games of the regular season, so if you select Collison as a starter in your fantasy league, you will need to replace him for those games with another player.

Between the suspension and the Kings lack of enthusiasm with making Collison the starting point guard the last few seasons, Collison is another player who often slips in drafts.  If you are worried about Collison losing minutes to Ty Lawson, please read an article I wrote about the two sharing the court here.  Collison has a history of playing with another point guard and I think Collison is a lock for thirty minutes a game.

I am expecting Collison to produce when he is on the court.  I expect Collison to shoot 47% from the field and 85% from the free throw line.  The counting stats should read like this by season’s end 1.2 threes, 2.4 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 1.1 steals, 0.2 blocks, and 14.5 points per game.  That puts Collison around the top 100 overall and I would not hesitate to select him in round nine or later.