Brandon Clarke

With Jaren Jackson and Steven Adams healthy and Kyle Anderson and Ziaire Williams getting time at forward last season, Clarke's role reduced in size. Clarke logged the fewest minutes of his career (19.5 MPG), though he still made strides. He set new career highs in field-goal percentage (64.4%), offensive rebounds (2.1) and blocks (1.1) per game. The fourth-year forward has shot well inside the paint, making 75 percent of his 233 attempts at the rim and 54 percent of his 152 shots from floater range (91st percentile for players classified as bigs). Clarke also made some strides creating for himself. In 2020-21, only 17 percent of his baskets were unassisted. Last season, that number climbed to a solid 29 percent. Assuming his development continues, Clarke has the potential to compose the best season of his career in 2022-23. Jackson broke his foot in late June and is expected to be out 4-6 months, meaning he may miss about half the season. And given his extensive injury history, Memphis may exercise caution bringing him back. That could thrust Clarke into a starting role, or at the very least, a sixth-man role. It should give managers a little pause that the Grizzlies have been hesitant to hand Clark big minutes in the past. In his 181 career games, he's seen 30-plus minutes only 10 times. The numbers are encouraging - 16.3 points on 59.5 percent from the field, 6.9 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.3 steals, 1.0 blocks - but the sample is concerningly small. Still, the situation and the potential upside make Clarke a warranted selection near the end of standard fantasy drafts. He ranked only 160th in per-game production last season, but he ranked as high as 106th as a rookie seeing 22.4 minutes. It's still important to remember that elevated workload and usage will likely only last as long as Jackson is sidelined.

After a strong rookie season, Clarke fell victim to the dreaded sophomore slump. His efficiency fell across the board, and he was a worse rebounder despite seeing more minutes. The result was Clarke's fantasy ranking dropping from 106th to 141st on a per-game basis due to his 10.3 points, 5.6 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.9 combined steals-plus-blocks. He continued to play a backup role behind the likes of Jaren Jackson, Jonas Valanciunas and Kyle Anderson. That shouldn't change this season, though Steven Adams has replaced Valanciunas. There's reason to be optimistic regarding Clarke's upside for those in dynasty and keeper leagues, but fantasy managers in redraft formats probably don't need to consider Clarke except in deep formats. His potential is heavily reliant on players ahead of him getting injured, which is never a good thing to bank on.

Clarke flashed big-time potential in his rookie season, averaging 12.1 points with 5.9 rebounds, 0.6 steals and 0.8 blocks despite making just four starts and averaging a modest 22.4 minutes. Stretch those stats out over 36 minutes and you get 19.4 points, 9.6 boards, 1.3 blocks and 0.9 steals -- the numbers of a fantasy star. There are few weaknesses in Clarke's game; he shot a remarkable 61.8 percent from the field as a rookie, posted a good-enough 75.9 free-throw percentage, and even proved to be a solid three-point shooter (35.9 percent). To start this season, Jaren Jackson won't be fully recovered from his torn meniscus, so Clarke should start at power forward until he returns. Given the upside Clarke showed as a rookie, he has strong potential as a fantasy sleeper and could get off to a hot start.

Clarke transferred to Gonzaga last season after two years with San Jose State, and he won the WCC Rookie of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year behind versatile play on both ends of the court. Over his last two collegiate seasons, Clarke put up 17.1 points, 8.6 rebounds and 2.1 assists on 64.0 percent shooting from the field. On top of the near double-double he averaged on offense, Clarke also posted a healthy 4.1 combined blocks/steals. He was a standout in the NCAA tournament, leading the Bulldogs on a deep run. The No. 21 overall pick in 2019 should be the primary backup at one of the frontcourt positions behind Jonas Valanciunas and Jaren Jackson, where he'll likely find a rotational role with minutes in the 20s. His rebounding, shooting and defensive numbers should provide him a high floor as a rookie on an up-and-coming Memphis team.