Adreian Payne

After a disappointing start to his rookie season with Atlanta, Payne was dealt to Minnesota for a future first-round pick in the middle of the 2014-15 season. In 32 games between the Hawks and Timberwolves, Payne posted averages of 6.7 points, 5.1 rebounds, 0.9 assists, 0.6 steals, and 0.3 blocks in 23 minutes of work per contest. Payne is more of a stretch-four than a banger, but he will need to get his efficiency up (41 percent from the field in 2014-15) in order to carve out a consistent role on the team. For now, he will be in competition with Antony Bennett, Gorgui Dieng, and Nikola Pekovic for backup minutes at power forward and center, which caps his upside until the rotation begins to shake out. Even assuming that Payne becomes a primary backup, he is not likely to see enough run to make his way into standard league relevancy and is even questionable in deeper leagues. It is worth watching to see how his position battle plays out, but Payne shouldn't be worth investing much into early in the season.

Atlanta selected Michigan State forward Adreian Payne with the 15th-overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft. Payne projects as a stretch power forward in the pros. He has good size (6-9, 215 lbs) and a nice touch from outside (42 percent on three-pointers in college). Payne had a decent run in the Las Vegas Summer League, averaging 12.5 points and 7.0 boards through six games, but wasn't particularly efficient (38% from the field, 30% from three, 3.5 turnovers per game). As a rookie, he'll likely be buried behind Paul Millsap and Pero Antic on the depth chart. Payne's true opportunity could come if Millsap leaves as a free agent after this season.