2016 Fantasy Basketball Draft Prep: Guard Tiers 1.0

The deepest position in Fantasy hoops provides plenty of value down the draft board.

Towers' Tiers 1.0: Guard | Forward | Center

This is a guard's league, so it shouldn't come as much of a shock that the position is by far the deepest in the league.

That is especially true for point guard, who tend to dominate the most valuable Fantasy commodities out there, most notably assists.

There was a time when centers dominated the NBA landscape, but with the game opening up and becoming more perimeter oriented, there is so much more room for the small guys to dominate. The majority of NBA possessions these days begin and end with the point guard's action: pick-and-roll up top, drive into the lane, finish or find the open man.

Watch an NBA game for five minutes and it will come as no surprise that point guards are as valuable as they are.

Of course, that also means that you don't necessarily have to reach for the best ones. The difference between, say, Steph Curry and Damian Lillard probably isn't as great as the difference between the best center or small forward and the No. 6-8 player at his position.

You are going to want to grab one of the elite options at the position but it might actually make more sense to focus on other shallower spots early, because quality point guards will still be there later on.

Point Guards

First Two Tiers

Elite	Excellent
Round 1	Rounds 2-3
Stephen Curry	Giannis Antetokounmpo
Chris Paul	Damian Lillard
Russell Westbrook	Kyle Lowry
John Wall	Kyrie Irving
	Isaiah Thomas
	Eric Bledsoe
	Kemba Walker

Westbrook is going to be the popular choice for the No. 1 spot, and for good reason. With Kevin Durant gone, Westbrook is likely to put up absolutely insane numbers across the board. Of course, that also goes for his field-goal percentage and turnover numbers, which will drag you down just a bit in those category-based leagues. In points leagues, he is the obvious No. 1 pick, but it's a little less obvious in Rotisserie, where even Curry and Paul could conceivably challenge him, thanks to their 3-point shooting prowess.

Antetokounmpo is going to be one of the most fascinating players in the league on Draft Day. Based on how he closed out last season, you can make a legitimate case that he deserves to be drafted in the first half of the first round. He absolutely dominated the box score after being named the team's starting point guard, posting not just massive rebounding and assist numbers, but the kind of defensive totals you might expect from a center. If that was the real Giannis Antetokounmpo moving forward, he is a Fantasy force unlike any we've ever really seen. However, the Bucks were also a dreadful team playing teams late in the season who might not have been giving their best effort, so it's worth being a bit skeptical about what was really just a few (really) good months. If you want to reach for him in the first round, I wouldn't blame you, but you're pinning your team's hopes on a hope.

Next Two Tiers

Very Good	High-risk, High-reward
Rounds 4-6	Rounds 7-9
Mike Conley	Goran Dragic
Reggie Jackson	D'Angelo Russell
Dennis Schroder	Emmanuel Mudiay
Jrue Holiday	Darren Collison
Rajon Rondo	Jeremy Lin
Brandon Knight	Derrick Rose
Jeff Teague	Elfrid Payton
Ricky Rubio	Jordan Clarkson
George Hill	Tyreke Evans
Zach LaVine

This is really where we see the depth of the position stand out. The likes of Conley, Teague or Hill won't blow you away, but they are all steady, reliable options on good teams, so you won't really have to worry much about them; you can set them in your lineup Week 1 and never worry about them again. On the other hand, you can go for a bit more upside -- and risk -- with someone like Schroder or LaVine, both of whom are a bit unproven, but have a real chance to break out, and have already shown star potential.

And then a little later in the draft, you can really shoot the moon. If you want to focus on shoring up other positions, targeting players like Dragic, Russell and Collison in the middle rounds could prove extremely effective as a strategic. Russell especially has the ability to take a huge leap forward with Kobe Bryant out of the picture in Los Angeles. He didn't totally impress with his passing ability last season, but new coach Luke Walton should empower him to do a lot more of the playmaking we saw from him in his very impressive time at Ohio State.

Dragic and Collison are much more finished products than Russell, but they have similar breakout potential thanks to better opportunities. Both are returning to the same team they played for last season, but with significantly different situations around them. Collison should get to run the offense for the Kings with Rondo in Chicago, while Rondo's new teammate Dwyane Wade left Dragic as the lone ballhandler in Miami. Both should have big opportunities, and have a chance to jump at least one tier this season.

Next Two Tiers

Solid backups	Late-round fliers
Rounds 10-13	Last Round
Marcus Smart	Josh Richardson
Kris Dunn	Patty Mills
Patrick Beverley	Isaiah Whitehead
Michael Carter-Williams	Isaiah Canaan
Jerryd Bayless	Dejounte Murray
Matthew Dellavedova	Ish Smith
Tony Parker	Jerian Grant
	Brandon Jennings

You might not actually even need to draft any of these players as backups, if you draft especially well early on. However, if I am looking for an upside play in the later rounds, Dunn and Smart are the guys I am targeting. .

Shooting Guards

First Two Tiers

Elite	Excellent
Round 1	Rounds 2-3
James Harden	Jimmy Butler
	Victor Oladipo
	C.J. McCollum
	Nicolas Batum
	Klay Thompson

Harden obviously stands alone at the shooting guard position, and the marriage between him and Mike D'Antoni should be tremendously productive for Fantasy players. D'Antoni's defensive issues have always been overblown, but the Rockets could be one of the worst defenses in the league regardless of who the coach is, and that should mean a lot of high-scoring games and big minute totals for Harden. Westbrook gets all of the hype as the top option, but if I have the first pick, I'm going with The Beard.

Oladipo is going to be a very popular breakout candidate, and for good reason. With Durant gone and Oladipo replacing Serge Ibaka in the Thunder pecking order, he should be the No. 2 option on what could be a very good offense. He has struggled mightily with consistency in his career, but Oladipo has shown All-Star potential at times, including after the All-Star break last season, when he averaged 19.4 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game. Playing next to Westbrook gives him far and away more support and help than he has ever had, and given Oladipo's limitations, that should only help. Some players might struggle in Westbrook's shadow, but Oladipo is a shaky shooter and ballhandler, so the gravity and attention Westbrook draws from defenses should only help Oladipo take the next step forward and find consistency.

Next Two Tiers

Very Good	Solid starters
Rounds 4-6	Rounds 7-9
Khris Middleton	Devin Booker
Andrew Wiggins	Rondae Hollis-Jefferson
Dwyane Wade	J.J. Redick
Brandon Knight	Avery Bradley
DeMar DeRozan	Kyle Korver
Bradley Beal	Eric Gordon
Rodney Hood	Will Barton
Evan Fournier	Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
Darren Collison	Jeremy Lin
	Jordan Clarkson

The third tier of the position is actually pretty deep, thanks to some combo-ish guards like Middleton, Wade, Knight and DeRozan, but the most interesting name might be Fournier. He doesn't get near the attention most of the rest of the players around him do, but he also might be one of the best players on the list. Beal is going to go before Fournier in most drafts, which sort of feels like a failure of convention wisdom. Just compare their numbers from last season:

Beal: 17.4 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 2.9 APG, 1.0 SPG; 44.9 percent from the field, 105 3-pointers
Fournier: 15.4 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 2.7 APG, 1.2 SPG; 46.2 percent from the field, 156 3-pointers

Add in Beal's chronic injuries and potential playing time limitations, and it's hard to come up with an argument for him over Fournier. Especially since Fournier is likely to take on an even bigger role in Orlando's offense this season in the wake of Oladipo's departure. Fournier doesn't garner much excitement, which means he could be a huge steal in Fantasy this season.

Booker is going to be an extremely popular pick in the middle rounds, but you might have noticed one thing already: two of his teammates are ranked ahead of him here. Booker projects to be a better shooter than either Bledsoe or Knight, but what made him so interesting as a rookie was the unexpected playmaking skills he showed. With Knight and Bledsoe around, there won't be many opportunities for him to show that, and it's not clear exactly what his role is going to be, since his breakout came with both injured. Will he start at small forward, or come off the bench as a two? Booker's skill set is impressive, but it might be hard for him to show it every night with the Suns' current roster.

Next Two Tiers

Solid backups	Late-round fliers
Rounds 10-13	Last Round
Danny Green	Courtney Lee
J.R. Smith	Allen Crabbe
Monta Ellis	Langston Galloway
Jamal Murray	Bojan Bogdanovic
Jamal Crawford	Anthony Morrow
Buddy Hield	Gary Harris
Tyler Johnson
Arron Afflalo

You could argue Ellis deserves to be one tier up from here, but he took a big step back in his first season with the Pacers, and might see fewer playmaking opportunities with Jeff Teague replacing Hill. He doesn't give you much beyond points, assists and steals, and if those numbers are coming down, Ellis might not give you enough to remain a starting-caliber player.

At least two NBA teams think Crabbe is a massively valuable player, as the Blazers matched the Nets' $75 million offer sheet for the 24-year-old wing this offseason. He mostly came off the bench for Portland last season, and we will likely see a similar role for him following the signing of Evan Turner, but he still has some room to grow. Crabbe emerged as a dead-eye 3-point shooter last season, and he's got some defensive chops too, which could turn him into a 30-MPG type of player, enough to make him relevant in your category-based leagues.