Draft rooms are tightening as opening night nears, and four players have made noticeable moves up Yahoo’s preseason average draft position board. Health, expanded usage and unsettled rotations are driving the climb, with Dejounte Murray leading the group after his return from an Achilles tear.
Quick scan
- Dejounte Murray: ADP improved from 67.8 to 64.1 with New Orleans.
- Ryan Rollins: ADP rose from 75.2 to 71.5 after Milwaukee moved Giannis Antetokounmpo.
- Ausar Thompson: ADP jumped from 84.4 to 77.6 following Detroit’s stated plan to increase his minutes.
- Jerami Grant: ADP moved from 116.4 to 105.5 as Memphis sorts through an open rotation.
Murray appeared in only 14 games last season while working back from a torn Achilles, but the Pelicans point guard looked ready for the 2026-27 runway in the preseason opener. He played 19 minutes, an early indication that his health is no longer keeping him off the floor.
His recent availability is the reason his price remains in the mid-60s. Over the past six seasons, Murray has produced 19.0 points, 6.3 rebounds, 6.8 assists and 1.7 steals per game, numbers that would return strong value around his current draft slot.
In Milwaukee, Rollins is walking into a far different possession map after Antetokounmpo’s trade to Miami. Tyler Herro arrived in the return package, but the Bucks still have more room for Rollins to handle the ball and push his offensive workload.
Rollins broke through as Milwaukee’s starting point guard after Damian Lillard left, posting 17.3 points, 4.6 rebounds, 5.6 assists and 1.5 steals per game in 2025-26. His usage rate climbed to 27.3 percent when Antetokounmpo sat last season, a number fantasy managers are watching closely as the new rotation takes shape.
Thompson’s rise comes from a cleaner minutes forecast in Detroit. The Pistons signed him to a long-term contract during the summer, and coach J.B. Bickerstaff has indicated that the club wants the wing on the court more often after he averaged 26 minutes last year.
The defensive payoff is clear if Thompson reaches a 30-minute role. In 40 games with at least 28 minutes last season, he averaged 11.1 points, 6.9 boards, 3.8 assists, 2.2 steals and 1.4 blocks, providing the kind of stocks production that can swing a category roster.
Grant is the most unusual name among the climbers, but Memphis has enough rotation uncertainty to make a late-round bet understandable. The Grizzlies have jobs to settle, while Grant arrives as one of the roster’s established veterans.
Grant took at least 12 shots per game in each of his four seasons in Portland. Memphis has not yet clarified exactly where his minutes and touches will land, but an ADP just beyond 100 leaves room for a useful return if he claims a steady scoring role.
