Draft rooms are starting to settle into their familiar shapes, but the best values are not always the players falling furthest. In 12-team Yahoo formats, the stronger approach is to grab production that can survive a role change, then chase the minutes and category juice that tend to appear after the early rounds. As of Oct. 15, Tyrese Maxey headlines a group of targets whose average draft slots leave room for a profit.
Early-round scoring with room to grow
Maxey, carrying a 9.4 ADP, remains a comfortable first-round play even with Philadelphia’s new traffic around Joel Embiid. LeBron James and Jaylen Brown have joined the Sixers, creating understandable concerns about Maxey’s touch count, but his profile has held up beside another high-usage star before. He thrived alongside James Harden and still projects as Philadelphia’s lead scorer. In 70 games last season, Maxey posted 28.3 points, 4.1 rebounds, 6.6 assists and 3.1 made 3-pointers, while adding 2.7 combined steals and blocks on 46% shooting from the field, 37% from deep and 89% at the line. Even a modest reduction would leave him around 25 points, four boards and six assists with excellent efficiency. He is especially appealing from picks six through eight.
Austin Reaves has a similarly sturdy offensive floor in the second round. His 23.3 ADP comes with point guard, shooting guard and small forward eligibility, a useful edge once roster construction starts tightening. Reaves scored 23.3 points per game last season, with 4.7 rebounds and 5.5 assists on 49% shooting, while James was still in Los Angeles. With James now in Philadelphia, Reaves has a clearer runway for another scoring jump. The turnovers and defensive numbers may not match Maxey’s, but Reaves offers efficient points and secondary playmaking at a premium position mix.
LaMelo Ball’s health history keeps him available later than his talent would suggest, though his 25.4 ADP has already moved toward Round 2 over the past week. He played 72 games last season, then arrived in Minnesota to join the best team of his career. Ball produced 20.1 points, 7.1 assists, 1.2 steals and 3.8 threes in only 28 minutes per night for Charlotte, making 90% of his free throws. Field-goal swings and turnovers will remain part of the package, but the points, assists, triples, steals and foul shooting make up a category blend few guards can match. Minnesota’s reshaped identity has also brought visible energy from Ball, Anthony Edwards and the rest of the group.
Brandon Miller is positioned for an early workload in Charlotte at 43.5 ADP. Coby White is managing a calf issue and Kon Knueppel has a hamstring injury, while Miller has already moved beyond the shin contusion that cost him the preseason opener. Over his next three exhibition appearances, Miller averaged 16.3 points, 2.7 rebounds, three assists and two combined steals and blocks in 25.2 minutes. His usage rate was 31% in those games. Last season, he averaged 20.2 points and 3.1 threes while shooting 89% from the line. Even after the Hornets get healthier, Miller projects as their top option and has the kind of forward skill package that can drive a Most Improved Player case or push toward an All-Star conversation.
Atlanta center Onyeka Okongwu is a clean fifth-round stabilizer at an ADP of 55.1. He has played 74 games in each of the past two seasons and delivered 15.2 points, 7.6 rebounds and 3.1 assists last year, plus 1.1 steals, 1.1 blocks and 1.9 made threes per game. That is rare category coverage from a center, particularly one who does not damage percentage categories or turn the ball over at a high rate. For teams needing rebounds and defensive stats without sacrificing a reliable minute load, Okongwu fits the build.
Mid-round minutes, defensive stats and late guard value
Chicago’s Matas Buzelis is one of the more interesting frontcourt swings in Round 6, where his ADP sits at 64.4. In 29 minutes per game last season, Buzelis averaged 16.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.2 threes and 1.5 blocks. Few forwards can combine that block potential with perimeter volume. His offensive game still has room to expand, and Chicago’s up-tempo style should give his transition athleticism and two-way activity more chances to show.
Kel’el Ware may not immediately outrun Myles Turner for Milwaukee’s starting center job, but his 75.7 ADP leaves room for patience. Ware averaged 11.1 points, nine rebounds, 1.2 threes and 1.9 combined steals and blocks in just 22 minutes a night in Miami last season. That was near-double-double production from a reserve role. Milwaukee is now rebuilding following the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade, and Ware’s statistical ceiling rises if his playing time follows the changing direction of the roster.
Jaden McDaniels has brought an aggressive offensive edge to Minnesota’s preseason, making his 91.0 ADP worth attention. He has said he wants to reach All-Star status, and through four exhibitions he has averaged 14.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 2.5 threes in 20.7 minutes. The shooting line — 61% overall, 71% from three and 100% at the stripe — will come back to earth, but the bigger takeaway is his confidence with the ball and his willingness to score. McDaniels remains Minnesota’s stopper, and he could still approach one steal and one block nightly in the regular season. He is coming off a year in which he shot 51.5% from the field and 41.2% on threes, and he projects as the Timberwolves’ third offensive option while keeping turnovers low.
Memphis may have found its starting point guard in Ty Jerome, whose 104.9 ADP undersells both his efficiency and preseason role. Calf and ankle injuries restricted him to 15 games last season, but in 22.6 minutes per appearance he put up 19.7 points, 5.7 assists and 2.8 threes on 47/42/88 shooting. His previous breakout in Cleveland, during 2024-25, produced 12.5 points on 52% from the floor and 44% beyond the arc in fewer than 20 minutes a game. This preseason, Jerome opened as the starter and scored 12, 17, 16 and 17 points across four games. He went 22-for-43 from the field, handed out 17 assists and committed eight turnovers in roughly 18 minutes per outing. In nine-category leagues, that blend of shooting, assists and ball security can beat the draft cost by a wide margin.
Brandin Podziemski closes the value board at 114.3 ADP after agreeing to a five-year, $110 million extension with Golden State. He has averaged 5.1 rebounds in each of his first two seasons, an uncommon number for a guard, and he did not miss a game last season. The Warriors are expected to play smaller with Draymond Green at center while Kristaps Porziņģis remains far from a return. That setup should create more spacing, more perimeter attempts for Podziemski and a larger creation burden next to Stephen Curry. Golden State does not have many other dependable scoring outlets, so his shot volume has a chance to rise significantly.
In that same draft neighborhood, Toronto big Collin Murray-Boyles is also a viable target at a 110.0 ADP. The later rounds are where roster shape matters most, but this group offers enough shooting, rebounding, defensive production and potential minutes growth to keep a fantasy build from flattening out after the marquee names are gone.
