15. Fred VanVleet
With Lowry gone, Fred Van Vleet finally becomes the full-time point guard for the Toronto Raptors. He struggled with efficiency last year, but outside of that, he’s the complete package at the point guard position. Sure he’s a little undersized but he’s still a plus defender. It will be interesting what a core of he and Pascal Siakim can do for the Raptors this year in a loaded Eastern Conference.
14. Malcolm Brogdon
Malcolm Brogdon is coming off a career season in scoring the ball. He should have been in the All-Star conversation based on his production. The question is can he be a part of the solution to correcting the woes with the Indiana Pacers? He’s been a part of winning situations in the past, but can he do it again while being a 20-point per game scorer? This season will answer those questions.
13. Ja Morant
Ja Morant is one of the most exciting point guards in the NBA. Outside of Russell Westbrook, he’s arguably the most athletic player at the position. The one area of his game that he needs to improve in order to take the next step of being a top-10 point guard is improving his outside shot. If he does that, then he can be something special for the Memphis Grizzlies.
12. De’Aaron Fox
Honesty, it’s hard to know what the Sacramento Kings are doing with the point guard position. They have De’Aaron Fox who’s a two-way player at the position and is arguably the fastest player in the NBA. Yet, the team has invested the last two first round picks in players that can also play the point guard position in Tyrese Haliburton and Davion Mitchell. For now, Fox is the starter as he should be, but it’s unclear if he’s in the team’s long term plans.
11. LaMelo Ball
It was so tempting to having LaMelo Ball in the top-10 of these rankings, but he’s just not there yet. He still needs to improve as a defender and could improve on his overall decision-making, but make no mistake that he’s a special player for the Charlotte Hornets. Based on how much growth he has this upcoming season, he could jump into the top-eight at his position.