Hakim Warrick

An athletic big, Warrick never really found his role after joining the Suns as a free agent in 2010. He has always been able to jump, but never developed a good midrange game, and is a disappointing rebounder for someone with his physical gifts. Still, he should see 15-20 minutes per game in a reserve role.

Warrick is a capable bench scorer who should fit in nicely as a pick-and-roll partner for Steve Nash. However, Amar'e Stoudemire he is not, and just because he seems to be in a good situation doesn't mean he's a lock for reliable fantasy production. He's a poor defender and doesn't rebound nearly as well as his physical tools indicate that he could.

Warrick has been used mainly off of the bench in the past, but should be able to land a starting power forward role with the Bucks. He’s been able to average double-digits in points off of the bench so he could fit in well with a Bucks team trying to figure out where it will get scoring.

Warrick has a lot of great tools – great athleticism, jumping ability, “length” – but so far he hasn’t been able to use ‘em to really build anything. With his ability to run the floor, he seems a great fit for the up-tempo attack Memphis wants to build around Mike Conley, OJ Mayo and Rudy Gay, and with Pau Gasol in Los Angeles, the Grizzlies will be holding open auditions for minutes at the four spot. But the acquisition of Darrell Arthur on draft night – a college four with a profile similar to Warrick’s – could indicate that Memphis isn’t sold on Warrick as the long-term solution.

Warrick is a third year player that showed promise in year two, which would normally make him a candidate for bigger things. Unfortunately, the Grizzlies added Darko Milicic this offseason who could cut into Warrick’s minutes. Even so, Warrick still has enough upside to merit close attention. He is a long, athletic tweener forward that excelled in the run-and-gun offense that the Grizzlies started running in the latter part of last season. If he doesn’t get starter minutes for the Grizzlies, Warrick is limited enough (mainly points/boards/percentages) that he shouldn’t be a fantasy starter either. On the other hand, he’s just an injury away from being a potential double-double threat, which makes him worth noting and possibly taking a flyer on late in drafts.

Warrick is a long, lean combo forward with excellent leaping ability. In many ways, he is very similar to the departed Stromile Swift but in a slightly smaller package. While there is some concern that he has no true position (too small to play PF, not enough perimeter game to play SF) Warrick showed in college that he is a hard-working gamer that tends produce on the court. He also showed some flashes of dominance on the Grizzlies summer league team. He will have to earn his minutes in a fairly deep Grizzlies forward rotation, but if he gets on the court he has some potential as a rebounder, scorer, and perhaps shot-blocker.