A trait a fantasy owner looks for in a player is the ability to continually improve statistically throughout the season. The younger players have the best chance of maintaining a steady rise in statistical output. At the beginning of their climb a young player may have little fantasy value but at some point their potential value is realized and the shrewdest fantasy owners react first. This past season Tracy McGrady showed this type of improvement. Note his scoring averages for each month below:

Scoring (ppg)

• November 11.7
• December 14.8
• January 15.1
• February 15.6
• March 16.6
• April 19.1

Tracy McGrady was most likely drafted in all leagues last season. Are there any players with the potential to go undrafted next season but grow into a valuable fantasy player? How about Rashard Lewis? Similar to McGrady, he came straight from high school without a lot of physical bulk but with a ton of natural talent. For the most part his scoring averages improved each month of the season (his second) as shown below:

Scoring (ppg)

• November 3.8
• December 7.1
• January 5.8
• February 9.5
• March 11.6
• April 13.8

At the start of the season Rashard Lewis was averaging around 12 mpg and at the end of the season his playing time had more than doubled to 29 mpg. His season averages of 19 mpg and 8 ppg don't really reflect what his fantasy value will be next season. A fantasy owner who looks at season averages only will miss the boat on some nice young players such as Lewis. In fact, in some leagues, Lewis' season averages may cause him to go undrafted.

At 6-10, Lewis can play three positions and has shown an ability to steal the ball and hit the trey. Projecting his per minute numbers to 35 mpg (which he should average next season) he would get 1.5 steals per game and 0.9 treys per game - pretty good for a guy his size. He should also provide nearly a block per game. Projecting points and rebounds to 35 mpg he would average 15 pts and 7.5 rpg. These numbers are based on last years per minute averages which will probably improve next season!

In the Sonics two most important games last season, games four and five in the Utah series, Lewis averaged 20 pts. There is a consensus in the NBA the he has star potential. After guarding in the playoffs him Byron Russell felt Lewis had great talent. The most important thing for the fantasy owner is how much the competing managers know about Lewis and how they rate him. That might determine how long to let him slide in next years draft. Last season I let Tracy McGrady slide just a bit too long and regretted it more and more as the season went on!

Now that Rashard Lewis is an unrestricted free agent. Sonics general manager Wally Walker said, "Rashard is absolutely our top priority in the off-season." The signing of Lewis will certainly give him some off-season exposure. Just hope your competitors don't see it.

To see how Rashard Lewis and other sleepers rate for your league categories order the HoopsKlyce Player Rating Report