Spencer Hawes

Hawes will look to bounce back from a frustrating 2015-16 campaign, during which he appeared in 57 contests and averaged just 18.2 minutes per game, the second-lowest total since his rookie year. A nagging back injury limited Hawes' effectiveness and robbed him of 25 games, including 17 in a row between mid-February and late March. Upon his return, Hawes played sparingly down the stretch and was active for only five of Charlotte's seven playoff contests. The offseason departure of Al Jefferson will help alleviate the Hornets' logjam in the frontcourt, but the team signed Roy Hibbert as a free agent, adding more clutter to a rotation that already features Hawes, Cody Zeller, Marvin Williams and Frank Kaminsky. Both Kaminsky and Hawes will also see time at power forward, though Kaminsky, who's five years younger, will likely have the edge for picking up extra minutes. While Hawes has proven to be a productive big man when playing a full complement of minutes -- he averaged 13.2 points, 8.3 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.2 blocks in 30.9 minutes per game in 2013-14 -- he's simply not in line for a substantial enough role to warrant significant fantasy value in most leagues.

In his eighth season, Hawes had averages of 5.8 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 0.3 steals, and 0.7 blocks in 18 minutes per game through 73 regular season games with the Clippers. He shot 39 percent from the field, 31 percent from beyond the arc, and 65 percent from the free-throw line. Hawes' points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks, and minutes per game were all the lowest since his rookie season, and his field goal-percentage was the worst of his career. It has to be a welcome change of scenery for a 27-year-old big man that mostly fell out of the Clippers' playoff rotation, with averages of 2.9 points, 1.6 rebounds, 0.6 assists, 0.3 steals, and 0.4 blocks in seven minutes per game while appearing in only eight of the team's 14 contests. Hawes is likely to enter the 2015-16 season as Al Jefferson's primary backup at center.

Hawes was fantastic for fantasy owners last season, spending the first half of the season with the Philadelphia 76ers before being traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers. As a free agent this offseason, he signed with the Los Angeles Clippers. Hawes is a 7-footer with three-point range, providing a unique skill set at the center position, which helped him average 13.2 points (46% FG, 42% 3Pt), 8.3 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.6 three-pointers, and 1.2 blocks in 31 minutes per game through 80 games last season. He's projected to be the primary big man off the bench for the Clippers, and he'll likely see time backing up Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan. Hawes' minutes should remain around his career average of 25 minutes per game, which will be less than minutes then he played last season, decreasing his fantasy value somewhat significantly.

Originally expected to have his playing time cut back due to the arrival of Andrew Bynum, Hawes ended up locked into a prominent role for the Sixers for the entire 2012-13 campaign. He split time almost evenly between the starting lineup and working as a reserve, finishing the year with averages of 11.0 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in 27 minutes per game. The Sixers are in full-blown rebuild mode after the offseason trade of Jrue Holiday, and Hawes doesn't figure to be a big part of the team's long-term plans. The prize piece of the Holiday deal was Nerlens Noel, who will assume some of Hawes minutes once healthy. While Hawes is tentatively expected to start at center for the Sixers at the beginning of the season, the team could easily opt to hand over more and more minutes to young options like Noel, Lavoy Allen and Arnett Moultrie as the season wears on.

After a solid start to his 2011-12 campaign, it finally looked like Hawes was going to breakout and live up to some of the promise he showed earlier in his career in Sacramento. Through the first 14 games of the season, Hawes cemented himself as the Sixers’ starting center while averaging 10.5 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in 27 minutes per contest. That quick start was quickly derailed by injuries, as Hawes missed a total of 29 games with a lingering Achilles injury. His playing time dropped slightly upon his return, resulting in just 23 minutes per game over the final 23 tilts of the season. Hawes’ per-minute production remained similar, but he was a victim of his own battles with health and the Sixers’ deep rotation. Philadelphia acquired center Andrew Bynum this offseason, which will slide Hawes over to power forward. The Sixers have a bunch of new faces in the frontcourt, but that probably won’t stop coach Doug Collins with running out a deep rotation once again. Hawes is healthy and has double-double potential, but he’ll be hard-pressed to be given enough run for a full-fledged breakout, even if he does start at power forward at the beginning of the season.

The seven-footer is expected to be the Sixers starting center again this season. He struggled with his consistency and toughness last season , averaging 7.2 points, 5.7 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and .88 blocks per game. He was the 10th overall pick in 2008, and they are 14-6 when he scores in double figures. As for fantasy value, Hawes should be considered a late option for a starting center.

Hawes regressed during his third year in the league last season, as he saw his ppg (10.0) and rpg (6.1) both drop. His playing time was a bit erratic, but the Kings definitely gave him ample opportunity to prove himself, and his poor play on defense was a real problem. Although he's a good passer and at age 22, there's plenty of time for improvement, Sacramento traded Hawes (and Andres Nocioni) during the offseason to Philadelphia for Samuel Dalembert. New 76ers coach Doug Collins is thinking about starting Elton Brand at center, so Hawes may come off the bench in 2010-11, which would really limit his fantasy value. But if Brand continues to decline and/or Thaddeus Young proves incapable of playing power forward, Hawes could turn into a nice sleeper.

Hawes will enter his third season in the NBA as the Kings’ starting center. He started a series of games early last season as an injury replacement for Brad Miller but was finally given the starting center job when Miller was traded to the Bulls in February. Hawes is a skilled big man with above average passing ability. His shooting percentages steadily rose as the season progressed last year, but his love of the outside shot often drove him to push up ill-advised attempts from beyond his range. Hawes possesses the rare combination of shot blocking and three-point shooting skills, but his game lacks polish and discipline. Hawes doesn’t play on the block enough, choosing to spend too much time on the perimeter, limiting his efficiency as a scorer. He picks up fouls too easily and will often lose playing time because of it. He’s an average free throw shooter (66 percent), but that should improve with time. Hawes will have a new head coach (Paul Westphal) and most likely a new starting point guard (Tyreke Evans) this year. Westphal is considered an offensive minded coach, and Evans is an attacker which should draw defenders away from Hawes, creating easy scoring opportunities on dishes and put-backs.

The 10th pick in the 2007 draft, Hawes should get much more playing time this season. He's a problem defensively, but Hawes can score and is one of the best passing big men in the game already. He could see significant action if Sacramento continues to rebuild and trades Brad Miller midseason. If given the opportunity, Hawes would be an asset in field goal percentage and blocks, as he averaged 2.2 swats per 48 minutes during his rookie campaign. Additionally, he's capable of racking up assist numbers that are rare for someone center-eligible.

The 7-foot, 250-pounder out of the University of Washington was the team’s first-round pick (10th overall) in the June draft. Physically, he will remind many of recent Kings centers, most notably Miller and Vlade Divac. His athleticism lacks flair, but his fundamentals are first-rate. He’s adept at using either hand scoring in the blocks, passes well, and can shoot accurately out to the three-point line. At 19, there isn’t much expected of him initially. Physically, he’s not ready, but he should post numbers similar to Miller’s in the future. Target him in the late rounds of keeper leagues.