Keita Bates-Diop

Bates-Diop received the occasional start for the Spurs last season but played the vast majority of his games in a bench role, averaging 5.7 points and 3.9 boards over 16.2 minutes per game. Even in that role, his output ranked him 358th in per-game production -- far from the fantasy radar in most formats. He's likely buried in the rotation again entering 2022-23, especially following the team's selection of Jeremy Sochan with the ninth pick in the 2022 NBA Draft to shore up some depth in the frontcourt. Barring a rash of injuries bumping his playing time up, Bates-Diop should remain on the waiver wire in most standard formats.

A 2018 second-round pick the Timberwolves divested themselves of after just one season and change, Bates-Diop landed with the Nuggets via trade in early February. The 24-year-old wing saw action in just 12 games with Denver and averaged a modest 10.2 minutes per contest, but he got more valuable reps while still with Minnesota and finished with averages of 6.5 points and 2.9 rebounds across 16.8 minutes over 44 total games. Bates-Diop then signed a two-way deal with the Spurs on Nov. 22, so he'll likely open the coming season in the G-League. The 6-foot-8 Ohio State product is capable of playing either forward spot, but San Antonio should open the season with a relatively deep chart at both the three and four. When Bates-Diop does eventually see time with the big club, he's destined for a rotational role that would likely give him fantasy relevance only in fairly deep formats.

Following a productive four-year career at Ohio State, Bates-Diop landed in Minnesota as a second-round selection in June 2018. The 6-foot-7 wing then split his time between the G-League and the Timberwolves, averaging a well-rounded 17.7 points, 8.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.6 blocks and 1.1 steals across 36.6 minutes over 16 games in the former. Bates-Diop's opportunity was understandably reduced at the NBA level, but he generated a respectable 5.0 points and 2.8 rebounds across 16.8 minutes (30 games). The second-year pro then got plenty of run in the Las Vegas Summer League this past July, playing seven games and averaging 23.6 minutes, 10.4 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.3 assists. Bates-Diop hasn't been quite as efficient with his shot in any of the professional settings he's operated in thus far when compared to his college days (45.3 percent or better shooting in each Buckeyes season), but he packs solid potential and could certainly work his way into the conversation with respect to the small forward rotation this coming season. Bates-Diop logged at least 20 minutes in 10 games following the All-Star break last season, including three tallies over 30, providing him with plenty of game reps at the NBA level during his first year. If Bates-Diop can build on that experience in the coming season, he could develop into a viable option for scoring and rebounds in deeper fantasy formats.

A second-rounder out of Ohio State, Bates-Diop was one of the most productive players in the country last season, posting averages of 19.8 points, 8.7 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game en route to Big Ten Player of the Year honors. As a 22-year-old senior, Bates-Diop is among the more NBA-ready players in the class, but he'll enter a difficult situation in Minnesota. It's no secret that coach Tom Thibodeau favors a veteran-heavy rotation, and there won't be a surplus of available minutes in the frontcourt given the presence of Andrew Wiggins, Jimmy Butler, Anthony Tolliver, Gorgui Dieng and Taj Gibson. The most likely scenario is Bates-Diop spending much of the year with the Iowa Wolves of the G League before potentially becoming a back-end rotation player in 2019-20.