Jarred Vanderbilt

Coming off easily the best season of his career, Vanderbilt now finds himself on a Utah team that appears to have shifted trajectory. The 2021-22 season was a breakout for Vanderbilt, spending much of the season as the starting power forward for the Timberwolves. While his production slowed as the season came to an end, his per-game numbers of 6.9 points, 8.4 rebounds, 1.3 steals and 0.6 blocks in 25.4 minutes were enough to see him rank 128th in eight-category per-game fantasy production. Now in Utah, Vanderbilt should be able to see a similar workload on the rebuilding squad, if not more minutes. The frontcourt is a little jammed, but aside from Lauri Markkanen, the other options don't inspire confidence -- Kelly Olynyk, Walker Kessler, Cody Zeller and Udoka Azubuike head into camp as options at center. There's upside for Vanderbilt to make a meaningful impact as a rebounder and defender, but the preseason will help inform us on whether or not he can push 30 minutes per game.

After Vanderbilt struggled to land a rotational role in his first two seasons, he was given the most run of his career in 2020-21. He started 30 of his 64 appearances and averaged 5.4 points on 60.6 percent shooting, 5.8 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.7 combined steals-plus-blocks in 17.8 minutes. He's an extremely low-usage, defensive-minded player. Per 36 minutes, he averages an impressive 11.6 rebounds and 3.5 combined steals-plus-blocks. He was also the 100th-most valuable fantasy player on a per-minute basis last season, though he ranked just 222nd in per-game production due to a low minutes total. This season, he'll be battling for the starting power forward job with Jaden McDaniels and Taurean Prince. Even if Vanderbilt doesn't earn the job, he should continue to see roughly 15-20 minutes per game as a defensive specialist. He's worth considering with a final pick in deep drafts considering his per-minute output.

The 41st overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft will provide depth and may not get many minutes off the bench. He saw action in two games for Minnesota last season after coming over in a trade from Denver, while also spending time with the team's G League affiliate, the Iowa Wolves. In seven games for Iowa, Vanderbilt averaged 28.7 minutes per game and held averages of 15.9 points, 13.0 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.4 blocks.