Norman Powell

A mid-season trade sent Powell from Toronto to Portland, but that did not stop the UCLA product from having the best fantasy season of his career. Across 69 total games (the final 27 came with Portland), Powell averaged a career-high 18.6 points to go with 2.5 three-pointers (also a career best), 3.1 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.2 steals. One of the most reliable players in fantasy over the last two seasons, Powell should again be set for a productive 2021-22 campaign. He'll open the season as the unquestioned starter at small forward, where he'll have a chance to approach 35 minutes per game (he averaged 34.4 MPG post-trade last season). The 28-year-old, who signed a lucrative extension in the offseason, can be counted upon for scoring, three-pointers and steals production.

Coming off a breakout season that included several big-time performances in the playoffs, Powell's arrow is pointing up as we enter the 2020-21 campaign. He nearly doubled his previous career high in points per game to 16.0 despite coming off the bench for half of his 52 regular-season appearances, and fantasy managers certainly enjoyed Powell's sharp shooting numbers (a 49.5 field-goal percentage, 39.9 percent from long range and 84.3 percent from the line) as well as his 1.2 steals per game. Despite missing a couple long stretches with shoulder and finger injuries, Powell established himself as a vital player for the Raptors. With both Serge Ibaka and Marc Gasol departing in free agency, Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby may have to spend more time at power forward. That would open up more opportunities for Powell to see action, so an uptick in minutes and usage could be on the horizon in 2020-21. This is a great chance for Powell to crack the top 100 in fantasy.

Powell finished his fourth NBA season notching career highs in points (8.6), rebounds (2.3), assists (1.5), threes (1.1) and field goal percentage (48.6). He also played a career-high 18.8 minutes per contest, appearing in 60 games. Powell was good from the foul line (82.7 percent) and from deep (40.0 percent), though the increased efficiency doesn't move the needle much on his overall fantasy value. He's the preseason favorite to be the starter at shooting guard in 2019-20, but that role is far from secure as he'll compete with Fred VanVleet for it. VanVleet had a career year in 2018-19, capped off by a strong showing in the Finals. He averaged 24.6 minutes in the playoffs compared to 15.9 minutes for Powell, and VanVleet's 27.5 minutes per game in the regular season were significantly more than Powell's 18.8. Powell has yet to show consistency on either end of the floor and has not played 20 minutes a game in his career. The absence of Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green should free up opportunities for him, but Powell will be a player to avoid outside of deep leagues this season.

Powell was a minor reserve on the wing for much of the 2017-18 season and averaged just 15.2 minutes, which was down from 18.0 a year prior. That translated to 5.5 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game, while shooting 40.1 percent from the field and a brutal 28.5 percent from deep. Powell was essentially safe to avoid for Fantasy purposes and that shouldn't change heading into the upcoming campaign. The Raptors dealt DeMar DeRozan to the Spurs in a trade that brought both Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green Toronto. That's two more talented bodies on the wing that will be well ahead of Powell. In addition, C.J. Miles, Delon Wright and OG Anunoby are all expected to see time at either shooting guard or small forward, which leaves only a handful of minutes for 25-year-old. Despite the role, Powell was extended a four-year, $42 million contract last offseason, so he'll be getting paid much more than his workload might suggest.

Powell found himself being integrated into the rotation more and more in his second NBA season, playing in a career-high 76 games, while averaging 8.4 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.1 assists across 18.0 minutes. Those marked improvements across the board for the 24-year-old wing, although he did shoot just 32.4 percent from the three-point line, which was a significant decrease from the 40.4 percent he shot during his rookie campaign. While he spent the majority of his time on the floor backing up DeMar DeRozan at shooting guard, the ineffective play of DeMarre Carroll prompted the Raptors to experiment more with Powell at small forward. He was solid overall following the switch and had somewhat of a coming out party in the playoffs, averaging 11.7 points, 3.1 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.7 three-pointers across 25.3 minutes in nine games against the Bucks and Cavaliers. His strong play allowed the Raptors to part ways with Carroll in the offseason, as he was dealt to the Nets in what was essentially a salary dump. However, Toronto did opt to bring in C.J. Miles on a three-year, $25 million contract, which still complicates Powell's role a bit. The two are expected to battle for rights to the starting small forward role during training camp, meaning the results of that competition are going to have a large impact on Powell's potential as a Fantasy prospect. Still, whether he's given a spot in the top unit or not, Powell's youth and impressive play in the 2016-17 playoffs should mean a decent bump in minutes from the 18.0 he averaged as a sophomore.

After playing four years at UCLA, Powell was drafted by the Raptors with the 46th pick in the 2015 NBA Draft. The 6-4, 22-year-old shooting guard showed how important experience can be in a transition to the NBA by his strong play at the Las Vegas Summer League, where he was the only rookie player to earn First Team honors, averaging 18.2 points, 1.0 three-pointer, 4.2 rebounds, 1.5 steals, and 1.5 blocks in 26 minutes per game while shooting 51 percent from the field, 44 percent from three, and 71 percent from the line. The Raptors have Kyle Lowry, DeMar DeRozan, Cory Joseph, and Terrence Ross in line to get most of the backcourt minutes, but Ross has struggled to put everything together despite having a lot of opportunities over the last two seasons, and that could open the door for Powell to have a meaningful backup role in his rookie season. Don't count on him to be of use in most standard leagues, but Powell could be an interesting stash in dynasty formats that have non-active spots to stash players in.