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2026-27 Fantasy Basketball Draft Strategy: The Entire Fantasy Landscape Has Changed · Hustle Sports Fantasy Podcast

• 0:11
  Speaker 1: Whoa, what's going on? Look, it's your boy T-Will. We're
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: here for another episode of the Hustle Sports Fantasy Podcast. Look,
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: we're talking about what changed in the NBA over the offseason.
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: I know it's been a while since I've been able
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: to talk with y'all. Had the mock draft from a
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: couple weeks ago. Look, we're officially about two weeks from
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: the start of the season. And we right here, it's
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: go time to grind. Do not stop. So we got
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: to get caught up on some things, you know, make
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: some adjustments. I get it. You know what I'm saying?
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: We're getting caught up from the off season, but still
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: these changes need to be on the forefront of your mind.
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: Cause you know, if it happened in July, June, it's
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: easy to forget about them. And when you forget about them,
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: you know what I'm saying? You might go in and
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: draft and based on last year's situation and now you,
• 0:59
  Speaker 1: you know, you sleep. So you already know what happened
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: when you sleep, you beat. So look, everything that happened
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: telling you, well, not everything, but the major moves that's
• 1:08
  Speaker 1: going to change. A lot of people, you know what
• 1:11
  Speaker 1: I'm saying? We got the superstars who switched up. Look,
• 1:15
  Speaker 1: welcome back to the hustlers. Look, so here we go.
• 1:18
  Speaker 1: Let's go and get into it. First off, the OG,
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: you know what I'm saying? Brian. Took him a while,
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: you know what I mean? You know, he had to,
• 1:26
  Speaker 1: you know, make the right decision. Chose Philly. And it's crazy, though,
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: because they was able to get Jalen Brown. You know,
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: they still had Embiid. They got Tyrese Maxey. They got
• 1:39
  Speaker 1: VJ Edgecombe. So, yeah, that fantasy outlook looked a little
• 1:45
  Speaker 1: different for a lot of people just because of the
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: one move of LeBron going to Philly. Look, the thing
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: about LeBron, though, I'm going to be honest. We all
• 1:57
  Speaker 1: know who LeBron is. But for me, by the time
• 2:01
  Speaker 1: it's undefeated, I ain't saying he wise, but what I'm
• 2:03
  Speaker 1: saying is whatever stock they putting on LeBron when it
• 2:07
  Speaker 1: comes to these drafts, Just tread lightly. He going to
• 2:10
  Speaker 1: year 24. He called it his Kobe year. He turning
• 2:13
  Speaker 1: 42 couldn't be simpler. Hey, look. I remember being a
• 2:20
  Speaker 1: being a younger in school arguing about who was better
• 2:23
  Speaker 1: out of Bruin and Carmelo. Here I am, you know,
• 2:26
  Speaker 1: years later looking at Bruin. Still talking about Bruin. Putting
• 2:31
  Speaker 1: up numbers, of course. Like, that's what he do. He
• 2:35
  Speaker 1: wanted the best to ever do it, but This season,
• 2:38
  Speaker 1: this move to Philly, I'm looking at him to be
• 2:41
  Speaker 1: more of a facilitator. That's what I've been hearing coming
• 2:44
  Speaker 1: out of Philly, too, though. You know what I'm saying?
• 2:46
  Speaker 1: From what I see on X on Twitter, Nick Nurse,
• 2:50
  Speaker 1: I believe. I think ESPN aired that one. Nick Nurse,
• 2:54
  Speaker 1: you know, looking at Brund to be more of a
• 2:56
  Speaker 1: point guard, facilitator. So, while I think it may not
• 3:00
  Speaker 1: be the best move for Brund in fantasy, I love that.
• 3:04
  Speaker 1: I love to hear that, and they planning on using him.
• 3:07
  Speaker 1: But that, I love that for Jalen Brown and Tyrese
• 3:12
  Speaker 1: Maxey the most. Now, I think Edgecombe probably going to
• 3:15
  Speaker 1: have to take more of a backseat this year than
• 3:19
  Speaker 1: he did last year. He the young bull. His time
• 3:22
  Speaker 1: will come, though, because we know he a baller. He
• 3:23
  Speaker 1: can hoop. But I think with all the vets in
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: the building and B, you know, form MVP, you Jalen Brown,
• 3:32
  Speaker 1: former Finals MVP. So I really love that outlook the
• 3:35
  Speaker 1: most for Maxie and Brown because if Brown facilitate, they're
• 3:42
  Speaker 1: going to get some easy looks. And you already can't
• 3:44
  Speaker 1: really double because who are you going to double off of? Exactly.
• 3:50
  Speaker 1: So 2026, keep in mind, that version of Brown might
• 3:53
  Speaker 1: not be your go-to, but the 2026 version of Brown
• 3:59
  Speaker 1: could definitely unlock Jalen Brown, Tyrese Maxey, and he could
• 4:04
  Speaker 1: really reinvigorate M.B. too. You know what I mean? M.B.,
• 4:09
  Speaker 1: we know he a baller. He can hoop. And if
• 4:11
  Speaker 1: Brown can get him some easy looks, what does that mean? Like,
• 4:15
  Speaker 1: if he can play more, then, yeah, Philly going to
• 4:20
  Speaker 1: be a team I think you probably want to– a
• 4:24
  Speaker 1: slice of that pie for that offense. You know what
• 4:27
  Speaker 1: I mean? I think they're going to have some good
• 4:28
  Speaker 1: fantasy years and I think that's going to be because
• 4:30
  Speaker 1: of Brian, but I personally wouldn't, wouldn't go to burn
• 4:35
  Speaker 1: route me next up. This guy left from Milwaukee. No,
• 4:39
  Speaker 1: I mean, got traded. We've been, they've been flirting with
• 4:43
  Speaker 1: it for years. We've been hearing about it, that they
• 4:47
  Speaker 1: probably going to move on from, from them. It finally happened.
• 4:51
  Speaker 1: And I ain't going to lie. This one, Now, you know,
• 4:56
  Speaker 1: you see the MFFL back. You see the Mavs logo
• 5:00
  Speaker 1: at a reserve park and been in MFFL. I say
• 5:03
  Speaker 1: that all the time. I'm going to make sure y'all know. But, look, Klay,
• 5:07
  Speaker 1: I think this version of him, this is what I
• 5:11
  Speaker 1: think we were hoping for when he signed with Dallas
• 5:14
  Speaker 1: when he wanted to play with Lucas. So, we'll see
• 5:17
  Speaker 1: if the version of him that can knock down good
• 5:21
  Speaker 1: looks consistently– Then this Giannis move to Miami is going
• 5:26
  Speaker 1: to be crazy because now you're talking about another element
• 5:30
  Speaker 1: of playmaking from Giannis with better shooters around him. You
• 5:34
  Speaker 1: still got young players. You still got Davion Mitchell. You
• 5:38
  Speaker 1: got Andrew Wiggins. He can hoop champion. And then what
• 5:43
  Speaker 1: this mean for Bam? Like Giannis and Bam, I'm not
• 5:48
  Speaker 1: even going to lie to you. I think they about
• 5:50
  Speaker 1: to go crazy for this fantasy season. 2027, I think
• 5:54
  Speaker 1: it's up for the Miami Heat. Now, championship? Nah, let's
• 5:59
  Speaker 1: pump the brakes on that. But fantasy championship? The Miami
• 6:05
  Speaker 1: Heat boys might be able to get you there, and
• 6:07
  Speaker 1: I ain't going to lie. Hey, if I'm in a
• 6:11
  Speaker 1: position to grab, especially Giannis or Bam, or Wiggins, if
• 6:16
  Speaker 1: I'm in a position to grab one of them three, Now,
• 6:19
  Speaker 1: I ain't going to try to overspend on Wiggins, but,
• 6:21
  Speaker 1: you know, you got to play it smart. But if
• 6:23
  Speaker 1: I can grab one of them three stream play here,
• 6:26
  Speaker 1: you know, sometimes I think that's going to be a
• 6:29
  Speaker 1: good move. And I think this Giannis move to Miami
• 6:32
  Speaker 1: unlock a lot of players as well. Here go four
• 6:35
  Speaker 1: more players whose trajectory has changed from last season. So,
• 6:43
  Speaker 1: Giannis to the heat. Keep watch on it. Keep watch
• 6:46
  Speaker 1: on it. Because he going to do what he do.
• 6:50
  Speaker 1: All right, look, I ain't going to lie. All three
• 6:55
  Speaker 1: of these so far, they going to impact so many players.
• 7:00
  Speaker 1: And these moves change the balance of the NBA, too.
• 7:06
  Speaker 1: You know, like I say, I don't know if Miami
• 7:08
  Speaker 1: can win a chip. They definitely going to be better.
• 7:12
  Speaker 1: Top four seed, possibly. Who knows? So if they top
• 7:16
  Speaker 1: four seed, that means people are hooping. For you to
• 7:19
  Speaker 1: be top four in your conference, that means you're having
• 7:22
  Speaker 1: a great year. And a great year in reality means
• 7:25
  Speaker 1: a great year in fantasy, you know what I mean,
• 7:27
  Speaker 1: based on production. All right. So LaMelo Ball to Minnesota.
• 7:32
  Speaker 1: All right. Out of this list, I want– this is
• 7:41
  Speaker 1: one of my favorite ones. I think this is the best.
• 7:44
  Speaker 1: set of players LaMelo has ever played with. You're talking
• 7:48
  Speaker 1: about playing with Anthony Edwards. Who are you going to double?
• 7:53
  Speaker 1: You can't double nobody. And you're worried about touches. LaMelo's
• 8:00
  Speaker 1: shot attempts may go down, but if they stagger them,
• 8:05
  Speaker 1: LaMelo is going to be Charlotte on another level, LaMelo.
• 8:10
  Speaker 1: You feel me? Like, Anthony Edwards finna get so many
• 8:13
  Speaker 1: easy looks. LaMelo about to get so many easy looks.
• 8:18
  Speaker 1: I've been speaking about Kaminga all season on the Believe
• 8:21
  Speaker 1: in Fantasy channel. Off-season, rather. Like, I think this roster
• 8:28
  Speaker 1: would go bare. I think this finna up his stock. Like,
• 8:34
  Speaker 1: this roster, fantasy-wise, you're going to want one of the
• 8:37
  Speaker 1: main guys where you can get them. Obviously, don't ever
• 8:41
  Speaker 1: overspend on anybody. When you talk about here go four
• 8:45
  Speaker 1: more players, you're talking about 13, you know what I mean,
• 8:49
  Speaker 1: upwards of 13 players who've been affected based on just
• 8:53
  Speaker 1: a move of one person. And that's what you want
• 8:56
  Speaker 1: to see. The opportunity is there for Minnesota. And because
• 8:59
  Speaker 1: you know that the expectations is there. And that's what
• 9:03
  Speaker 1: really got me the most intrigued about LaMelo going to
• 9:06
  Speaker 1: Minnesota is he's playing for an organization where the expectations
• 9:11
  Speaker 1: are miles beyond what the Hornets was trying to do.
• 9:15
  Speaker 1: And I think when a player can go to an
• 9:17
  Speaker 1: organization where they playing meaningful ball late into the season,
• 9:22
  Speaker 1: that do something to you. I mean, like that's when
• 9:24
  Speaker 1: you know you gotta be locked in if you trying
• 9:27
  Speaker 1: to really make noise. Cause that's when people put respect
• 9:30
  Speaker 1: on your name, the playoffs. We don't care how many buggies,
• 9:34
  Speaker 1: you don't care what you doing in regular season, unless
• 9:37
  Speaker 1: you could do it in the playoffs. Somebody like LaMelo, look,
• 9:42
  Speaker 1: he can do it in the playoffs. That's why I
• 9:44
  Speaker 1: think this fantasy year is going to go up for him.
• 9:46
  Speaker 1: I ain't even going to lie to you. I like
• 9:47
  Speaker 1: the mood of Minnesota. Last but not least on the
• 9:53
  Speaker 1: fantasy basketball change landscapes list, Luka Doncic. Now, I know
• 9:58
  Speaker 1: he ain't changed teams. but that first guy I mentioned,
• 10:03
  Speaker 1: LeBron James, him going to Philly changes the outlook for Luka.
• 10:09
  Speaker 1: I'm going to be honest. I had Luka last season.
• 10:12
  Speaker 1: Luka definitely, if I'm in a position to grab Luka,
• 10:18
  Speaker 1: there's no, I don't care who on the board. I
• 10:20
  Speaker 1: don't care who on the board. Do not care who
• 10:25
  Speaker 1: on the board. You talk about assists about to go up. Points,
• 10:31
  Speaker 1: he already averaged 30. What he finna get now, 35, 36?
• 10:35
  Speaker 1: In this NBA? Hey, Luger is about to go crazy, bro.
• 10:44
  Speaker 1: And that fantasy landscape is crazy. Now, he probably the
• 10:47
  Speaker 1: only one that ain't going to fake. Oh, no, that's
• 10:49
  Speaker 1: a lie. They got Walker Kessler, Collin Sexton, Quentin Grimes,
• 10:55
  Speaker 1: Austin Reeves being a dog. This team, another year of LaRavia.
• 11:02
  Speaker 1: The Snowtime Lakers, I ain't going to lie, they got
• 11:05
  Speaker 1: a lot of pieces out there that could definitely make
• 11:09
  Speaker 1: some noise in fantasy. And I think that one move
• 11:12
  Speaker 1: of Brun leaving and Luka being there, it actually might
• 11:17
  Speaker 1: be similar to what, probably not as deep. I was
• 11:21
  Speaker 1: going to say the 2024 Mavs. I think they don't
• 11:23
  Speaker 1: have too deep at every position. But you talk about talent, though,
• 11:29
  Speaker 1: they got depth for sure. So Luka, his fantasy landscape
• 11:34
  Speaker 1: changed because Brian leaving. I think, like I said, I
• 11:37
  Speaker 1: think his assist numbers, he consistently at nine, he probably
• 11:41
  Speaker 1: could lead the league this season at about 11, 12.
• 11:43
  Speaker 1: He going to have the ball so much. He always
• 11:47
  Speaker 1: got you about eight, nine rebounds and then, you know, points.
• 11:51
  Speaker 1: We've seen them average 33 before, so 36, 37 ain't
• 11:57
  Speaker 1: really far-fetched to me personally. So that's another guy's landscape change.
• 12:03
  Speaker 1: And like I said, I named you five guys on
• 12:05
  Speaker 1: the Lakers whose landscape changed because of that move too,
• 12:09
  Speaker 1: because of more opportunities for Luka means people are going
• 12:13
  Speaker 1: to get a lot of shots. They're going to catch
• 12:16
  Speaker 1: a lot of passes to where they have to shoot
• 12:17
  Speaker 1: it right then and It may work for some, it
• 12:21
  Speaker 1: may not, but, hey, look, that's opportunities. You knock them down,
• 12:25
  Speaker 1: your fantasy relevant. You know what I mean? Look, enough
• 12:30
  Speaker 1: on the vets, though, enough on the OGs, you know,
• 12:32
  Speaker 1: people who've been in. Let's jump into the rookie class. Look,
• 12:35
  Speaker 1: don't mistake. You know, don't try to ignore the class
• 12:39
  Speaker 1: just because they're rookies. And I'm talking to myself on
• 12:41
  Speaker 1: that because depending on your situation, I try to stay
• 12:45
  Speaker 1: away from rookies. Not going to lie to you. A.J.
• 12:47
  Speaker 1: DeBonson went number one. That's one that I'm a little
• 12:50
  Speaker 1: nervous about just because of AD and Trey there. I
• 12:54
  Speaker 1: know the injury history of both of them. But if
• 12:57
  Speaker 1: this the year they stay healthy, what does that mean
• 12:59
  Speaker 1: for AJ? Alex Saw, I thought he looked decent last year.
• 13:03
  Speaker 1: You know what I mean? He had good numbers. I
• 13:05
  Speaker 1: think he was, what, 16-9? I'm just throwing it off
• 13:09
  Speaker 1: to my head. You know what? We got a little time.
• 13:12
  Speaker 1: We got a little time. We got a little time. Look,
• 13:17
  Speaker 1: Alex Saw, yep, 16-7. Last season, almost three assists, 48%
• 13:22
  Speaker 1: from the field. Yeah, like I just think there's so
• 13:27
  Speaker 1: many people there, so that kind of make me nervous
• 13:30
  Speaker 1: with A.J. But he cold. He cold. He cold. But
• 13:36
  Speaker 1: Cameron Boozer, I think I like that one the most.
• 13:41
  Speaker 1: He in Memphis. Caleb Wilson in Chicago, I think they're
• 13:45
  Speaker 1: going to both have a lot of opportunities. So if
• 13:47
  Speaker 1: you got opportunity to get either one of them, You
• 13:50
  Speaker 1: should have a good season from them because they're going
• 13:53
  Speaker 1: to be one of the main guys on the roster.
• 13:55
  Speaker 1: And that always bodes well for individual success for rookies.
• 13:59
  Speaker 1: And I think that grows you up quicker too. You
• 14:01
  Speaker 1: know what I mean? You go from, you know, being the,
• 14:04
  Speaker 1: you know, the rook, obviously you're young, you got to
• 14:06
  Speaker 1: pay your dues. But when you got to lead a
• 14:10
  Speaker 1: team in scoring and lead the team and be the
• 14:13
  Speaker 1: big man on it, not big man, I guess the leader,
• 14:16
  Speaker 1: the best word, you got to do that. that grow
• 14:20
  Speaker 1: you up, that make you mature a lot faster. So
• 14:22
  Speaker 1: I think the opportunity this season, for sure, for Cam
• 14:25
  Speaker 1: Boozer and Caleb Wilson are there. Darren Peterson, I'm a
• 14:29
  Speaker 1: little iffy on him, too. Utah loaded. They loaded Jaron Jackson, Laurie,
• 14:36
  Speaker 1: Isaiah Collier, Ace Bailey, Keontae George. Like, you know, they
• 14:46
  Speaker 1: got a lot. there that it makes it a little
• 14:53
  Speaker 1: hard to think Darren Peterson going to just come in
• 14:56
  Speaker 1: and just do his thing. So I'm, I'm watching these
• 14:58
  Speaker 1: situations come preseason and we already in the thick of it,
• 15:02
  Speaker 1: you know, preseason, I believe kicked off the 29th. So yeah,
• 15:08
  Speaker 1: like we already there. So them just some names that
• 15:12
  Speaker 1: I think fantasy managers should watch for. If you cool
• 15:16
  Speaker 1: with taking the risk on AJ and Darren, By all means,
• 15:19
  Speaker 1: because I could be wrong. It could pay off for you.
• 15:22
  Speaker 1: We seen Ace Bailey last season. He started off slow.
• 15:27
  Speaker 1: And by all-star break, if he was still on your
• 15:30
  Speaker 1: waiver wire and you grabbed him, you didn't drop him
• 15:32
  Speaker 1: ever again. So it could always go your favor. It's
• 15:36
  Speaker 1: all about timing. So make sure y'all watch for them rookies.
• 15:41
  Speaker 1: Understand opportunity over hype. I get it. They cold. That
• 15:45
  Speaker 1: don't matter. look at what the numbers tell you. That's
• 15:49
  Speaker 1: why we say numbers over narrative, you know, for redraft, uh,
• 15:54
  Speaker 1: for redraft fantasy, you know what I mean? You always
• 15:56
  Speaker 1: want to pay attention to what you, what you're going
• 15:58
  Speaker 1: to do. Uh, how many meetings are you starting opportunity? Well, what,
• 16:03
  Speaker 1: you know, what, what, what that's going to look like
• 16:06
  Speaker 1: for you in a redraft, obviously in, uh, dynasty leagues, you,
• 16:11
  Speaker 1: you don't care about that at this moment because you
• 16:13
  Speaker 1: want the talent, you know? So, And that's why I
• 16:17
  Speaker 1: said Cam and Caleb Wilson. And speaking of Cam, 22
• 16:20
  Speaker 1: and a half, 10, four, and one at Duke. So
• 16:23
  Speaker 1: shot 55% from the field. So, yeah, yeah, that's who
• 16:29
  Speaker 1: I would get out of all the rookies. That's who
• 16:32
  Speaker 1: I would get. So, yeah, I think he the most
• 16:34
  Speaker 1: fantasy friendly, but that's me. So that's what I'm watching for.
• 16:38
  Speaker 1: I'm watching for them during preseason. I'm watching to see
• 16:41
  Speaker 1: what the roles are like. You know, it ain't necessarily
• 16:46
  Speaker 1: about box scores. You know what I'm saying? It's about
• 16:50
  Speaker 1: how they got going, how they got their looks. Did
• 16:52
  Speaker 1: they look comfortable? Are they, you know, are they in
• 16:57
  Speaker 1: the right spot? You know what I mean? Like who started?
• 17:00
  Speaker 1: And then for the rookies, you know, the youngsters, if
• 17:03
  Speaker 1: they in the game, like, you know, what did it
• 17:06
  Speaker 1: look like if they had to take a shot to,
• 17:09
  Speaker 1: what did they look like in pressure situations? I want
• 17:12
  Speaker 1: to know what that's looking like. Touches. Opportunities matter. Numbers
• 17:16
  Speaker 1: over and over. So look, I appreciate y'all. Look, that's
• 17:21
  Speaker 1: been this episode. You know what I mean? We doing
• 17:24
  Speaker 1: the fantasy landscape of what changed. I gave y'all LeBron
• 17:29
  Speaker 1: and all the people he affected on the Philadelphia 76ers,
• 17:32
  Speaker 1: as well as the people he affected on the Lakers
• 17:34
  Speaker 1: by leaving. I gave you Giannis Antetokounmpo. I believe, you know,
• 17:39
  Speaker 1: that's going to change the landscape, not only for him,
• 17:42
  Speaker 1: but for a lot of people with Miami. And LaMelo
• 17:45
  Speaker 1: Ball for Minnesota, same thing. The landscape for him has
• 17:50
  Speaker 1: changed a lot, but not only just for him, changed
• 17:53
  Speaker 1: for a lot of people. And then Luka Doncic, you know,
• 17:56
  Speaker 1: that changed for a lot of people on the Lakers.
• 17:59
  Speaker 1: And I think that changed drastically for Luka. And it's
• 18:02
  Speaker 1: crazy because he already ran a lot of the offense.
• 18:05
  Speaker 1: So imagine him having even more opportunities. Get y'all some rookies.
• 18:11
  Speaker 1: You know what I'm saying? We ran it down real
• 18:13
  Speaker 1: little quick. Appreciate you. You found this helpful. Tap into
• 18:18
  Speaker 1: my fantasy basketball content, 2026-2027 playlist on my channel. And
• 18:24
  Speaker 1: more info, check out my videos I've done on the
• 18:28
  Speaker 1: Believe in Fantasy Basketball channel as well.