Bismack Biyombo

After signing a four-year, $72 million contract with the Magic in the summer of 2016, Biyombo quickly proved to be a bust and found himself traded to Charlotte two years later. Despite having to foot the bill on his massive salary the past two years, Charlotte apparently wasn't deterred from extending Biyombo to a one-year deal for the upcoming season. Biyombo should fill a depth role at center in 2020-21 after averaging 7.4 points, 5.8 rebounds and 0.9 blocks in 19.4 minutes over 53 appearances last season. He'll only be fantasy-relevant in deep leagues for managers in need of rebounds, blocks and field-goal percentage.

Biyombo's 2018-19 campaign was a fairly forgettable one, as the big man appeared in just 54 games over the course of the regular season, which is the lowest amount of his eight-year career. Additionally, Biyombo also saw his fewest minutes per game (14.5) and points per game (4.4) averages since his 2014-15 season, which oddly enough was the final season in his first tenure with Charlotte. Most notably, Biyombo failed to average at least one blocked shot per game for the first time in his career. Now, entering his ninth NBA season, Biyombo will be fighting with the likes of Willy Hernangomez for minutes off the bench behind likely starter Cody Zeller. Zeller has failed to stay healthy in each of his last two seasons, appearing in just 82 total games over the last two years, so starter's minutes could be up for grabs for Biyombo should Zeller again struggle to stay on the floor. However, even in the 32 starts Biyombo made at center last season, he still averaged just 5.6 points and 5.8 rebounds across 18.5 minutes per game.

Biyombo has spent the past two campaigns as a reliable member of the Magic’s frontcourt, missing only one game and drawing 52 starts. The result was 5.8 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.1 blocks across 20.2 minutes per contest while shooting 52.4 percent from the field. However, with the Magic drafting center Mohamed Bamba with the sixth overall pick in the 2018 Draft, plus the continued presence of starter Nikola Vucevic, there was little need to retain Biyombo. As a result, he was traded to the Hornets, who have a bit of a void at center due to the departure of Dwight Howard after one season. Cody Zeller will presumably start at the position, but hasn't seen more than 28 minutes per game as a starter in his career. Assuming that’s the case this season, about 20 minutes are on the table for reserves Frank Kaminsky, Willy Hernangomez and Biyombo. Come training camp, it may end up being an open competition for a backup role. The situation could also be fluid throughout the campaign. Regardless, it seems unlikely Biyombo will garner enough run to be Fantasy relevant in standard formats.

Biyombo spent the majority of last season backing up starting center Nikola Vucevic for the Magic, posting 5.4 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.1 blocks across 19.0 minutes per game when he came off the bench. However, Biyombo also drew 27 starts when through a combination of Vucevic being injured and coach Frank Vogel switching up his rotation due to the team struggling. In those starts, the 6-foot-9 center provided 7.1 points, 8.1 boards, 1.3 assists and 1.2 blocks across 28.5 minutes per contest. Largely a rebounding and shot-blocking presence, Biyombo’s lack of offensive talent will likely continue to limit him as a Fantasy option, regardless of his workload. With Vucevic still under contract for next season and Biyombo putting together underwhelming performances in his nearly two-dozen starts, it seems doubtful coach Vogel will increase Biyombo’s role heading into the 2017-18 campaign. Though Biyombo has significant name recognition due to his impactful playoffs with the Raptors in 2015-16, the fact remains at this point that he’s still a reserve center struggling to find a workload conducive to consistent Fantasy production. He’s certainly still useful in some formats – especially deeper, categorical leagues and DFS when he’s in line to draw a start – but there’s probably no reason to chomp at the bit to secure him in standard year-long formats.

After spending four up-and-down seasons with Charlotte, Biyombo inked a two-year, $6 million deal with Toronto in the offseason, providing the Raptors with the rim protector off the bench that they've been lacking in recent years. The 23-year-old played 64 games for the Hornets last season, averaging 19 minutes, 4.8 points, 6.4 rebounds, 0.3 assists, 0.3 steals, and 1.5 blocks while shooting 54 percent from the floor and a career-best 58 percent from the free-throw line, and while he should be a good fit on an athletic Raptors roster as an undersized big man, it's unlikely that Biyombo will see an increase in court time at center behind Jonas Valanciunas and his $64 million contract extension. However, coach Dwane Casey is averse to playing Valanciunas against smaller lineups, and starting power forward Patrick Patterson is by no means a lock in that role, so Biyombo's strong defensive profile could play in his favor as Casey establishes his rotations this season.

A 2011 lottery pick, Biyombo figured to be a project, and although he had by far his most efficient season last year, it appears to be now or never for the 22-year-old. After starting 106 games over his first two seasons, Biyombo took a backseat last season with Al Jefferson in the fold and averaged a mere 14 minutes per game. Because of that, he posted career lows of 2.9 points and 4.8 rebounds, but his advanced numbers tell a different story. Virtually all of his advanced stats were drastically improved including his true shooting percentage (60.6) and his rebound rate (19.3). Of course, with his limited minutes last season — and more importantly, likely this season as well unless he shows drastic improvements — Biyombo is a weak fantasy option in most leagues.

While Biyombo is praised for his ability to play lockdown defense, his offense is not quite there. He averaged 4.8 points and 0.4 assists per game during the 2012-13 season. He may end up being one of the bigger draft busts of the last three seasons.

Despite being a lottery pick in 2011, Biyombo was considered a long-term project. The athletic big man was considered a good rebounder and potentially great shot blocker, but he needed a lot of work on the offensive side of the ball. After a horrible start to the season, Charlotte opted to throw Biyombo to the fire rather than usher him along slowly. He had plenty of bumps along the way, but after joining the starting five in February, Biyombo started to flash his upside. In 41 starts, Biyombo averaged 6.4 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.0 blocks in 29 minutes per game. Charlotte deployed Biyombo primarily as a center. While he’s undersized (6-9, 240) for the position, his athleticism and 7-7 wingspan help him matchup against bigger players. The Bobcats are still extremely thin in the frontcourt, which will allow Biyombo plenty of time to play through his growing pains this season. Don’t expect much production on the offensive side of the ball, but Biyombo will be an immediate help in the blocks department while possessing the upside for more.

Biyombo is an athletic young rebounder and shot-blocker who was drafted with the seventh overall pick in the draft by Sacramento, but eventually traded to Charlotte on draft day. Biyombo has been playing professional basketball overseas since 2009 and is currently under contract with a Spanish team, Fuenlabrada. At this point, he has been unable to secure a release from his Spanish team, making it unlikely that he’ll play in the NBA this season.