Richard Jefferson

Jefferson signed on with the Cavaliers for the veteran's minimum last summer and emerged as a key contributor off the bench. The 35-year-old averaged just 5.5 points and 1.7 rebounds per game, but provided versatility on both ends, particularly during Cleveland's postseason run. Jefferson initially announced his retirement following the Cavs' Game 7 victory over the Warriors in the NBA Finals, but later recanted the decision and re-signed on a two-year deal, which includes a player option for 2017-18. Jefferson figures to fill a similar role for the Cavs during the upcoming season, though the addition of Mike Dunleavy, an inferior defender but better three-point shooter, could cut into Jefferson's workload. Regardless, Jefferson's fantasy value will be fairly limited as he enters his age-36 season.

In his first two seasons in the NBA, Jefferson played in the Finals with the Nets. Those Jason Kidd-led teams were not able to win the championship, but the 6-7 forward must have thought that getting to the Finals was not such a big deal. The 14-year veteran hopes to get back to the end of the playoffs with the Cavaliers after becoming a Western Conference vagabond over the second half of his career. Jefferson played his first seven years in New Jersey, then went to Milwaukee, San Antonio, Golden State, Utah, and – last season – Dallas. He played a career-low 17 minutes in 74 games (18 starts) with the Mavericks. Jefferson hit an impressive 43 percent of his three-pointers, but there wasn't much else to see from the 35-year-old. He averaged just 5.8 points (44 percent from the field, 68 percent from the line), 0.9 three-pointers, 2.5 rebounds, 0.8 assists, 0.4 steals, and 0.1 blocks. There is some concern that he could fall into the hole that swallowed Shawn Marion last season. Jefferson should get some minutes in relief of LeBron James and may be able to hit some three-pointers for the Cavaliers.

Richard Jefferson is entering his 14th season in the NBA. Jefferson spent last season with the Jazz, where he averaged 10.1 points, 2.7 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 0.7 steals, and 0.2 blocks in 27 minutes per game. He played in all 82 games for the third time in his career and shot 45 percent from the field on 8.0 attempts per game and 74 percent from the free-throw line on 2.0 attempts per game. Jefferson signed a league-minimum deal with Dallas in the offseason to fill the role vacated by former teammate Vince Carter. Like Carter, Jefferson is a former All-Star looking to finish his career in a reduced role. He's another shooter (38 percent from behind the arc for his career) in a Dallas arsenal that includes Dirk Nowitzki and Chandler Parsons. He may not see the same number of minutes he was allocated in Utah, but he should be a nice addition to a second unit that may include Devin Harris, Brandan Wright, and Al-Farouq Aminu. However, a reduction in minutes would mean that sustaining last season's surprising uptick in minutes unlikely. With his career winding down, Jefferson simply isn't the fantasy weapon he was during his prime.

It wasn't that long ago that Jefferson was averaging 19.6 points per game for Milwaukee, and the drop-off in production over the past five years has been staggering. Various injuries (and age) have limited his athleticism, and now his contract is more relevant to teams than his production.

Jefferson finds himself on the wrong team at the wrong time. Entering this season at age 32 after a relatively distinguished NBA career, the 11-year veteran is on a team looking to develop its youthful core. Where Jefferson fits will sort itself out in the preseason, but he might serve as a bridge until first-round pick Harrison Barnes is ready.

The Spurs were considering using their amnesty provision on Jefferson, but they decided to keep him around for another year. Jefferson had a rough season in 2010-11, averaging only 11.0 points and 3.8 rebounds a game. The one bright side for Jefferson is that he averaged a career-high 1.7 three-pointers per game. Still, given his limited role in the offense, he’s going to have marginal fantasy value.

Just two seasons ago-his last with New Jersey- Jefferson was a fantasy must-have, playing close to 39 minutes and scoring 22.6 points per game. His value dropped with his trip to Milwaukee, but he was still about a top-100 player there. All that figured to change with his move to San Antonio, and it did. Jefferson wan unrosterable for the better part of the season, nor does that figure to change much this year.

Jefferson relocated to San Antonio this offseason, which is likely to negatively impact his fantasy value unless he modifies his game. Jefferson had become a bit of a one-trick pony of late, scoring at a good clip (19.6 ppg) but without the associated rebounds and assists that had once been a key part of his game. In San Antonio, Jefferson is likely to be at best the fourth option on offense which means that his scoring should take a big hit. His biggest avenue for potential fantasy contribution is in threes, where he is coming off of a career-best 1.4 treys/game last season. Jefferson should see plenty of wide-open looks from downtown by playing off of Tim Duncan’s post play and Tony Parker/Manu Ginobili penetration. If Jefferson knocks down the trey at anywhere near the 40 percent clip that he shot a year ago he could find his value as a scoring/shooting role player, which may even be more valuable than the pure scorer that he has been in recent years.

Jefferson’s critics have long suggested that RJ’s production was far too dependent upon setups from Jason Kidd. After this season, we’ll have a pretty good idea if they were right. Jefferson arrives in Wisconsin coming off a remarkably healthy (82 games played) season and a new career-high in scoring average (22.6). But it was empty scoring… his other numbers suffered badly, with rebounding (4.2) at a six-year low. This year, with Scott Skiles calling the plays, we’re expecting Jefferson to be one of the Bucks’ top options on offense and a renewed focus on defense and rebounding, which should lead to improvement in boards and steals. But Ramon Sessions is a pretty significant step down from Kidd, so Jefferson will probably have to work a bit harder for his points.

Jefferson was one of 2006-07’s biggest fantasy busts, as ankle injuries made Jersey’s "big three" into a "big two" for 27 games. After another summer of trade rumors, the Nets decided not to move Jefferson for a power forward and re-signed Vince Carter for another run with Jason Kidd. Assuming all three are healthy this year, Jefferson is an excellent candidate for a bounce-back year – and one you might be able to nab in a late round. Look for good scoring with solid percentages and the occasional three from Jefferson this year.

Jefferson proved last year that quality, not quantity is the key to being an efficient and effective fantasy player. He only averaged 12.9 field goal attempts last year (teammate Vince Carter averaged 19.2 attempts), but still scored 19.5 points a night on 49.3% shooting from the field. Plain and simple, he makes the most of his scoring opportunities and, with Jason Kidd at the point, Jefferson gets a lot of his points in transition. He also got to the line 7.4 times per night last season and made 81% of his free throws. He needs to improve on his steals (0.8 spg last year) and assists (3.8 apg last year), to move into the top echelon of fantasy players, but if you want consistent, steady play, look for Jefferson in the middle rounds of your draft.

Jefferson was ready for a big season last year before going down with a season ending injury in the very same game the Nets brought in Vince Carter. Now healthy, Jefferson looks to provide the third threat that the Nets were looking for in the Kidd/Carter/Jefferson trio. Look for big minutes and solid all around numbers from Jefferson this year.

The Nets have decided to rebuild in the off-season, trading away both Kerry Kittles and Kenyon Martin for just future draft picks. The departure of those two players should give Jefferson all the shot attempts he needs to score 23-25 points per game, but those extra opportunities will come at the cost of his field goal percentage. Moreover, Jason Kidd’s injury will hurt Jefferson early on, as he won't receive the ball in optimal position to score, and the Nets won't be as likely to get out on the break. Still, Jefferson will play huge minutes and take plenty of shots, so his scoring, (and probably his rebound) numbers should be up.

Jefferson fits perfectly in the Nets' up-tempo offense and will continue to excel playing alongside Jason Kidd. In his second year as the Nets' starting small forward, expect his 15 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, one steal, and .5 blocks to improve slightly.