After years of rumors, the Sacramento Kings finally traded DeMarcus Cousins last weekend. The move to the New Orleans Pelicans teams him with Anthony Davis, while also leaving behind an opportunity for some of those that remain in Sacramento.
Willie Cauley-Stein did not start Thursday night against the Denver Nuggets, for some reason known only to Kings’ head coach Dave Joerger, but he did score a career-high 29 points (14-for-22 from the floor) with 10 rebounds over a season-high 35 minutes. His per-36 minute numbers this season (16.7 points, 7.7 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 1.3 blocks, 1.3 steals) points to some upside, as does a 20.1 percent usage rate in a certain way, but Cousins was obviously taking up a lot of minutes and touches while Cauley-Stein could never find consistent playing time as a backup.
Cauley-Stein clearly won’t go 20 (points) and 10 (rebounds) every night, but 15 and 8 is perfectly reasonable with a few blocks, assists and steals sprinkled in. Going forward he’s on the DFS radar for sure, and with playing time no longer a limiting factor Cauley-Stein can be a factor in season-long fantasy leagues for the rest of the season. For those in any sort of dynasty fantasy basketball league, Cauley-Stein is an underappreciated asset with great upside.
Willie Cauley-Stein ESPN Ownership Rate (as of 2/23/17): 35%
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