Nemanja Bjelica

Bjelica saw the biggest role of his career last season, starting 67 of his 72 appearances and garnering 27.9 minutes per game. The result was career highs essentially across the board, with the forward averaging 11.5 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.9 threes and 1.5 combined steals-plus-blocks. He cracked the top 100 in fantasy for the first time as well, ranking 86th on a per-game basis in eight-category leagues. Much of Bjelica's increased playing time was the result of Marvin Bagley appearing in just 13 games due to injury. This season, Bagley is entering the season healthy. If he stays on the court, Bjelica could see a dip in playing time. The Kings added Hassan Whiteside as well, making it less likely Bjelica sees time at center, as he did for 19 percent of his minutes last season. Chances are, his fantasy stock will fall this season, but he figures to still make for a quality late-round option in deeper leagues.

Bjelica finished with career highs across nearly every category last season, including points (9.6), rebounds (5.8), assists (1.9), threes (1.3), blocks (0.7) and minutes (23.2) per game. Bjelica also matched his career high in steals per game (0.7), turned in a career-best field goal percentage (47.9), appeared in a career-high 77 games, and drew over three times as many starts (70) as he did through his first three seasons combined (22). Bjelica's ability to stretch the floor from beyond the arc (40.1 percent) helped him hold down the fort as the starting power forward on the Kings for the vast majority of the campaign. Still, Marvin Bagley was slowly but surely eating away at Bjelica's minutes as the year went on, and it's reasonable to assume that will continue going forward, not to mention the addition of Trevor Ariza. All things considered, it could prove difficult for Bjelica to maintain last season's per-game averages, and he should only be considered in the late rounds of most fantasy leagues.

Bjelica saw the most run of his career last season with the Timberwolves, which was the third year of his NBA career. At age 29, he averaged 6.8 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 20.5 minutes per tilt. Notably, he shot over 40 percent from beyond the arc, drilling 1.1 threes per tilt. He also started 21 games in the wake of Jimmy Butler’s knee injury, averaging 10.8 points in those efforts, which included one 30-point double-double against the Celtics. This year, it’s unlikely he garners a bigger role with the Kings. he'll presumably be a backup to Marvin Bagley at power forward, and may be able to compete for some time at small forward. Plus, even when he garnered significant run last season, his upside was relatively low, save for one performance. So, Bjelica can probably be safely avoided in most standard Fantasy leagues in 2018-19.

Bjelica’s second year in the league wasn’t much different as his first, as he garnered just 18.3 minutes, providing 6.2 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game. The 29-year-old also shot just 42.4 percent from the field and 31.6 percent from deep last season compared to 46.8 and 38.4 respectively two seasons ago. He likely won’t be in line for much of a workload boost heading into the 2017-18 season, either, as the Timberwolves added veteran power forward Taj Gibson to the mix over the summer, not to mention already-present Gorgui Dieng. Bjelica will seemingly have to fight hard in training camp to have any chance to boost his role. As a result, he can probably be safely avoided in seemingly every Fantasy format on draft day.

Though he was first selected in the 2010 NBA Draft, Bjelica didn't immediately transition into the NBA. Instead, he elected to remain in Serbia to hone his craft, and ended his Euroleague career as the 2015 MVP of the league. The 27-year-old finally made his NBA debut this season, and introduced himself to the league by drilling multiple triples in five of his first nine appearances. However, a knee injury ended up providing a roadblock in the rookie's season, and he subsequently fell out of coach Sam Mitchell's rotation before reemerging in April. Bjelica then sat out the 2016 Summer Olympics while recovering from a leg injury. He may get a boost from new head coach Tom Thibodeau as his three-point shooting could get him significant minutes as one of the top front court options off the bench.

Bjelica is entering his first season in the NBA after being brought over from Turkey this offseason. As a 6-10 small forward, Bjelica has intriguing size for his position and should challenge for spot minutes at both forward slots for Minnesota in 2015-16. Bjelica's averages for 2014-15 were 12.1 points, 8.5 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.3 steals, and 0.8 blocks in 28 minutes per game. He shot 35 percent on three-pointers for his European club last season, while making 0.9 three-pointers per game, so a stretch-four role is not out of the question for the first-year-player, should he earn one. Bjelica also has the reputation as a point-forward in Europe, despite only 1.9 assists last season in Turkey, so it's possible he has some playmaking upside as well. There will be an adjustment to professional ball in the United States, but it will be worth watching Bjelica in training camp, as his skill set could make him an interesting prospect should he carve out a role with the Timberwolves.