Fantasy Basketball: Top five free agent shooting guards starting with Bradley Beal

The dominoes are still falling ahead of the league calendar’s start date on July 1, and the shooting guard market is fairly saturated. Multiple All-Stars could test free agency this offseason and join new teams. Bradley Beal and Zach LaVine are the names Fantasy managers are watching the closest among shooting guards, but there are a few others worth keeping an eye on to build out a strong Fantasy roster for 2022-23.

We’ve ranked five of the top unrestricted free agents to target here:

1) Bradley Beal, Washington Wizards

Beal is viewed as a player who can take a contender to the next level and is expected to turn down his player option to pursue a long-term deal. He’s eligible for a five-year deal worth $245 million with the Wizards, but could still entertain other teams. Beal remains one of the league’s most lethal scorers and has averaged 29 points per game since John Wall’s departure. He might not boast the same upside playing with another star, but his improved playmaking skills will make him a top-tier asset wherever he ends up. A healthy Beal will crack the top five at this position no matter what.

• Top five FA point guards

2) Zach LaVine, Chicago Bulls

LaVine didn’t sign a hefty extension last season so Chicago could build a quality team around him, and he formed one of the best scoring duos in the NBA with DeMar DeRozan. He’ll face plenty of competition from other shooting guards on the rise — Devin Booker, Donovan Mitchell, Anthony Edwards and Jaylen Brown come to mind. LaVine might take a back seat to DeRozan again in 2022-23, but he has averaged 24.4 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 4.4 assists per game on efficient shooting since joining Chicago. 

3) Victor Oladipo, Miami Heat 

Oladipo showed flashes of his old self in the back half of the 2021-22 season after recovering from a serious quad injury. It’s not surprising that he’s expected to leave Miami with Tyler Herro and a host of other dynamic wings in the mix. Oladipo has averaged 18.4 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game as a starter and could approach those numbers again if he can prove that he’s ready to handle a normal workload again. He averaged 20.6 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 5.8 assists per game per 36 minutes in the few games he played last year.

4) Malik Monk, Los Angeles Lakers

The Charlotte Hornets fell out of love with Monk because of character issues in 2020-21 and let him walk, but he established himself as a legitimate asset in his first run with the Lakers. He set career-high numbers as a scorer and playmaker for a third consecutive season while improving his efficiency. Monk can score off the dribble and was among the league’s best from beyond the arc, so teams in need of offense will be lining up to sign the crafty combo guard. More shots could help him crack the top 20 among Fantasy shooting guards for a second straight year.

5) Bruce Brown, Brooklyn Nets 

Brown has steadily improved his offense over time and was an extremely valuable piece for Brooklyn during a tumultuous 2021-22 season. Kyrie Irving’s availability problems, Kevin Durant’s injury, and James Harden’s departure contributed to Brown’s impressive campaign. The 25-year-old wing averaged 11.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game as a starter while shooting 51.6 percent from the field and 41.6 from deep. Brown might not get the same open looks on a less talented offensive team, but his growth as a shooter could help him exceed expectations next season. Brown tallied 14.8 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 3.8 rebounds per game with the Nets in the playoffs and could become a strong addition to several teams.