Week 8 - The Role Player

We all love a good role player. We all need good role players. Plural. Just like any real NBA team our JBL teams need good role players to help balance out the roster. Sometimes JBL teams need 7-8 role players and sometimes we need just 3-4. Whatever the number, let's look at our JBL teams and give credit to the unsung heroes. I'm going to define a JBL role player as either a later round draftee for low dollars or a waiver wire pickup who has performed well so far this season. With that, let's dive in...

Arctic has a few good candidates in Maxey, Mills, and Davion Mitchell. Maxey has been singled out before because of just how good he's been in Philly without Simmons around. But I'm going to shout out Patty Mills here. A $1 dollar late round pick who would be playing more minutes with Kyrie out, Mills has been amazing from downtown shooting 46% from deep. He also has a 3:1 ATO and scoring 12ppg. We could all use a little Patty in our lives.

Bangkok found a couple gems in Cody Martin and Herb Jones on the waiver wire. So, let's look at another player comparison.

Player A - 6ppg, 2reb, 49/27 shooting, 20/19 ATO, 35 steals and 21 blocks

Player B - 7ppg, 3reb, 48/39 shooting, 41/29 ATO, 35 steals and 20 blocks

I don't know about you but Player B gets the nod for me as to who is the better fantasy asset. 

Player A is considered one of the best young wing defenders in the NBA. In fact, he was named to the ALL-NBA 2nd team last season. Player A is Matisse Thybulle and Player B is a 2021 2nd round draft pick named Herbert Jones. The kid is a defensive dynamo already. 

Bellingham found the breakout role player in Cole Anthony this season. Drafted for just $6 bucks none of us clearly expected him to put up 20-6-6 with a steal a game. Sure, the %'s aren't the greatest but it's these $6 dollar gems that get paired with big dollar stars that make for good fantasy teams.

Sometimes the key to a good role player is signing them just before they go on a hot streak. Brussels did just that when he snagged Kentavious Caldwell-Pope off the wire. In the 10 games KCP has appeared for Brussels he's shooting 48/47. On the year though, he's shooting just 43/40. So, that tells me Brussels picked him up at the perfect time. KCP is a solid role guy for the Wizards and is now proving his worth for the Muscles as well. 

Cali struck gold with Lu Dort off the waiver wire. Brussels drafted him and was hoping for the breakout season for the Montreal native. Instead, after 3 games, Brussels cast him aside. Cali swooped in and Mr. Dort is scoring almost 20ppg in Cali while shooting a very respectable 45/36. 

I didn't think he could be this good but Pat Connaughton has been a very nice addition in Chilliwack. Since he's been in the Wack he's shooting 47/42 and averaging almost 12ppg. He can grab a few boards and even gets some nice steals. And hey, his Tendex is 12.7 so he's doing a nice job. 

French's find was the Vandalorian - Jarred Vanderbilt. A per-minute monster last year has finally been turned loose in Minny and French is reaping the rewards. He doesn't score much but averages 8 rebounds per game and has 33 steals and 18 blocks in 24 games. I like him!

Golden prides himself with trying to find waiver wire gems and has done well this year with Caruso, Beverley, and Grayson Allen for a bit. But the real find on the opening night of free agency when FA money were thrown around like dollar bills in a strip club - was Jalen Brunson. He's averaging 14ppg and shooting 49% from the field. His ATO is an amazing 3.562. 

Idaho was a little harder to identify the "best" role player. You see the Pimps have already used 38 different player this season and most of the guys could be considered role players. Idaho had Herb Jones - but dropped him. Idaho had Kevin Love. Dropped him. He had Otto Porter. Dropped him too. Kevin Huerter? Yup. Briefly. Now the current crop of role guys consists of Bagley, Robinson-Earl, Jaden McDaniels, Doug McDermott and Terrence Davis. All have had their moments but Idaho needs more consistency from them as soon as possible. If I had to pick one - keep an eye on Terrence Davis - he's carving out quite the role in Sactown. Queue multiple Terrence Davis offers...

Juan de Fuca keeps hanging around. No Sexton and now no Michael Porter Jr. but they keep pushing for the top 4. While I like the Alec Burks signing I'm going with the $6 dollar Bobby Portis. He was set to play his off-the-bench role behind Brook Lopez but since the big man went down with back issues - Crazy Eyes has filled in admirably. 15 and 9 and shooting 47/40 and he's even blocked 20 shots in 21 games. Big year Bobby is in full force. 

Maui has been so good this year he almost hasn't needed to sign any role players. That said, he did find some late round gems that I've mentioned before. Desmond Bane ($7) and De'Anthony Melton ($3) have been very serviceable guys for Trev this season. Another couple under the radar types who've carved out more minutes because Dillon Brooks was out for so long. Now, they've shown to be too good to just go back to spot minutes. Maui is loving his Grizzlies. 

Some might argue that Norfolk is the JBL's role team this season. Nevertheless, the find for the appropriately named Norfolk 'n' Chance has been Cedi Osman. He's scoring 11ppg and shooting 46/41. A small glimmer of hope for Norfolk in otherwise dark times. 

Seoul is usually pretty good at finding some late round gems or waiver wire steals. Last year it was Terry Rozier for $1 in the late rounds (you're welcome) and this year he snagged Josh Hart and Gary Trent Jr. for $1 each. Trent is 4th in the NBA steals and Hart is always one of the better rebounding guards. Both are solid role players for the underachieving Brothers squad. 

Alphabetically last but not least our Vancouver Jizzlies may have found some real value in JaVale McGee. While he doesn't always post lines like he did tonight - anytime Ayton is out or in foul trouble - he's shown to be a very serviceable role player for the Suns and in the JBL. McGee is averaging 10 and 7 and has blocked 20 shots in 24 games. And he's doing all that in just 15 minutes a game. Yes, just 15 minutes a game. 

So there you have it Gents - a little dive into the world of JBL role players. You need them. You have to have them. And you need to identify the next guy who can help your squad. Wouldn't it have been nice to take a flyer on James Bouknight this week with all those Hornets out? Or maybe Caleb Martin in Miami while Jimmy rests his sore tailbone? Find those gems, use them for a week or two and then move on to the next hot commodity. Good luck to all in the hunt for the next breakout role player who can help your squad.