2023 NBA Draft Class: Contract Seasons and Fantasy Upside
Contract years, bigger roles and young legs: that’s the cocktail fantasy managers chase when drafts hit the middle and late rounds. The 2023 NBA Draft class is walking straight into that storm.
Every first-rounder from that class is now eligible for an extension as they head into Year 4. Some have already cashed in, like Victor Wembanyama. Others are still waiting for their number to be called, playing with the knowledge that the next few months could define their financial future. That edge, that urgency, is exactly what can tilt a fantasy matchup in your favor.
Here are six names who could turn that contract-season energy into serious High Score upside.
Brandon Miller – Ready to own Charlotte
Currently ranked No. 42 on RotoWire’s top 150 overall points rankings
LaMelo Ball is gone. Miles Bridges is gone. What’s left in Charlotte is a vacuum of touches, and Brandon Miller is walking right into the center of it with Kon Knueppel alongside him.
Miller has already proved he can carry a scoring load, averaging over 20 points per game in each of his last two seasons. He’s only 23, still growing into his frame and his game, but the volume is about to spike. More shots. More on-ball reps. More responsibility.
That should drag his rebounds and assists up with it, not just his points. In a High Score format, where one or two explosive nights a week can swing standings, Miller fits perfectly. He has the profile of a player who can drop 35 with peripherals on a random Tuesday and bury an opponent.
If he hits his ceiling, he’s not just a nice pick in the fourth round range. He’s the No. 1 option on an ascending Hornets team and a potential fantasy star.
Keyonte George – Contract on the line in Utah
Currently ranked No. 60 on RotoWire’s top 150 overall points rankings
Keyonte George already had his breakout. Last season he averaged 23.6 points and 6.1 assists per game, seized the starting point guard job and never really let it go.
Now comes the contract question.
He’s eligible for a massive extension, talks have been reported, but the deal hasn’t landed yet. If that drags on, George steps into 2026-27 with all the motivation a 22-year-old lead guard needs: prove it again, and get paid.
Utah looks ready to push for the playoffs. That means heavy minutes for its floor general. With Jaren Jackson Jr., Darryn Peterson and Lauri Markkanen around him, George has real weapons to feed, and he’s already set a new career high in assists per game in each of his first three seasons. A fourth straight jump is firmly on the table.
Point guard is thin. A 22-year-old with clear volume, a secure role and room to grow, sitting there around the sixth round? That’s the kind of pick that can stabilize an entire roster.
Ausar Thompson – Defensive anchor searching for an offensive leap
Currently ranked No. 82 on RotoWire’s top 150 overall points rankings
Ausar Thompson watched his twin brother Amen cash in with a lucrative five-year extension in Houston. His own big payday hasn’t arrived yet.
That contrast can linger.
Ausar didn’t explode statistically the way Amen did last year, but Detroit’s situation quietly sets him up for a jump. The Pistons didn’t exactly flood the roster with scorers this offseason. Tobias Harris walked to San Antonio, John Collins came in, and that was the headline move.
Translation: the door is still open for Ausar to grab a bigger slice of the offense.
His defense already guarantees him minutes. He stays on the floor because he guards, competes and covers ground. If the offensive usage nudges up even slightly, the fantasy profile shifts. In High Score formats, where you don’t get punished for his lack of 3-pointers, the risk softens even more.
Around the eighth round, that’s where you hunt for upside. Thompson is exactly that: a bet on talent, opportunity and a player with every reason to push for more.
Jaime Jaquez Jr. – From Sixth Man spark to primary option in Milwaukee
Currently ranked No. 100 on RotoWire’s top 150 overall points rankings
Jaime Jaquez Jr. spent last season doing a little bit of everything for Miami. He came off the bench in 74 of 75 games, logged 28.3 minutes per night and finished second in the Kia NBA Sixth Man of the Year race. He rebounded, scored, cut, defended, made the extra pass. Classic glue guy.
Now the context has changed dramatically.
Traded to Milwaukee in the package for Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jaquez Jr. walks into a rebuilding situation with his clearest path yet to big numbers. He opens camp as the favorite to win the starting small forward job, and on a team that still needs someone to put the ball in the basket, his all-around game suddenly carries more weight.
This is the kind of role shift fantasy managers look for: bench weapon turned likely starter, on a roster that can’t hide from the fact it needs production from somewhere. Jaquez Jr. has already shown he can fill a box score. Now he finally has the platform to do it every night.
GG Jackson – Deep-league flier with real bite in Memphis
Currently unranked on RotoWire’s top 150 overall points rankings
GG Jackson doesn’t come with the first-round safety net. As a second-round pick from that loaded 2023 class, he’s heading toward unrestricted free agency after the 2026-27 season. That changes the stakes for him. Every game is a line on a résumé, not just a step in a team-controlled timeline.
Memphis, right now, is wide open.
The Grizzlies’ rotation heading into training camp has minutes there for the taking, and Jackson finished last season loudly. Over his final 23 games he averaged 17.9 points and 5.3 rebounds in just 25.7 minutes per night. Those are not empty numbers; that’s real scoring punch in limited run.
He’ll have to wrestle with Jerami Grant and Cameron Boozer for time at the forward spots, but there should be enough minutes to keep all three relevant. For standard leagues, Jackson is more of a name to monitor than a must-draft. In deeper formats, he’s exactly the sort of late flier who can turn into a staple if the rotation breaks his way.
Dereck Lively II – Forgotten big who could matter late
Currently unranked on RotoWire’s top 150 overall points rankings
Dereck Lively II has slipped off a lot of radars after appearing in only seven games last season. That’s how fantasy works: out of sight, out of mind.
Dallas, though, still needs him.
The Mavericks are set to split center minutes between Lively II and Daniel Gafford, and both have already built up a worrying injury history in Dallas. That uncertainty cuts both ways. It adds risk, but it also creates a clear path: whichever big stays healthy becomes the one you want as the season wears on.
In very deep leagues, Lively II deserves a look. In formats where field-goal percentage carries real weight, like category leagues, he becomes even more interesting as a late-round target. He won’t be a centerpiece, but as a final-pick swing on efficient big-man stats, he makes sense.
Contract seasons, unsettled extensions, new roles, open rotations. This 2023 class is stepping into a pivotal year, and fantasy managers willing to lean into that tension could find themselves holding the league-winners everyone else left on the board.
