Brandon Jennings

Jennings' first campaign with the Pistons was a slight dip from his most productive years with the Bucks. Detroit's new point guard saw his scoring average drop for the second consecutive year, matching his career-low output of 15.5 points per game set during his rookie campaign. While never known as an efficient shooter, Jennings' struggles in that area worsened last year, as he shot just 37 percent from the floor, 34 percent from downtown, and a career-worst 75 percent from the free-throw line. Despite his struggles shooting, Jennings remained a solid source of three-pointers (1.9) and steals (1.3). He also improved his distribution skills, averaging a career-high 7.6 assists, which ranked seventh best in the league, and he posted a personal-best 2.83 assist-to-turnover ratio. Detroit brought in D.J. Augustin this offseason, but Jennings will enter the 2014-15 season as the Pistons' top floor general once again. He'll work under a new head coach Stan Van Gundy. Van Gundy did a great job installing a 1-in/4-out offense in Orlando, and he helped develop Jameer Nelson through the prime of Nelson's career. At 25 years old, Jennings still has room to develop and may not have hit his ceiling, as he has played primarily for defensive-minded coaches throughout his first five seasons. He'll always come with the risk of a poor field goal percentage, but Jennings offers plenty of productivity in other categories and overall upside to still be considered a solid No. 2 point guard in fantasy.

For the first month of free agency this summer, Brandon Jennings generated very little interest. The general consensus was that he'd be forced to play this season for the Bucks' qualifying offer and try again next summer. But Joe Dumars came to the rescue with a sign-and-trade deal that brought Jennings to Detroit as the Pistons' new floor general. The league-wide hesitation wasn't that surprising; Jennings is generally regarded as a flawed player, particularly where shot selection is concerned. The Pistons are betting that they can break him of some bad habits, and the presence of Chauncey Billups as a backup/mentor could certainly help. On the other hand, Jennings is at his best when he's able to use his quickness to break down a defense off the dribble and either get to the basket or create a shot for a teammate. This year's Pistons may not have enough shooters to create space for his drives, which could just lead to more bad long-range shots from Jennings and new teammate Josh Smith. But if rookie Kentavious Caldwell-Pope or Italian import Gigi Datome can provide the spacing Jennings needs to thrive, this could be his breakout year.

One might think that the addition of a volume scorer like Monta Ellis would have hurt the production of a volume scorer like Brandon Jennings, but in their first half-season together in Milwaukee, that didn't seem to be the case. In fact, Ellis' presence--after the mid-season trade that sent Andrew Bogut to Golden State--seemed to take some of the pressure off Jennings, helping him be more efficient. Jennings finished the season with career-high averages in scoring (19.1 ppg) and shooting (41.8 percent from the floor). This will be a crucial season for Jennings; he'll be a restricted free agent next summer, and he's already started making noise about big-money contracts. With another strong performance, he could put himself in line for a very lucrative RFA offer.

Jennings - and the Bucks in general – followed up a very promising 2009-10 season with a wash-out last year. He finished the year with a slight increase in his scoring, steal, shooting and rebounding averages, but drops in his assists and three-point shooting – and outside shooting wasn’t a strength to begin with. Injuries were a major factor in Jennings’ disappointing sophomore campaign; a foot problem forced him to the sidelines for about six weeks. He’ll have more competition for playing time this season, as the Bucks brought in point guards Beno Udrih and Shaun Livingston on draft day, but that may not hurt Jennings’ overall production that much. It wouldn’t be surprising if coach Scott Skiles plays Jennings off the ball at times while Udrih runs the point.

Nine teams passed on Jennings in the 2009 NBA Draft; instead of playing college ball, Jennings chose to wait out the NBA age limit by playing a professional season in Italy, and many teams had a hard time evaluating his potential. It didn't take long for him to show his stuff… on November 14, in just his seventh game in the league, Jennings dropped 55 points on the Golden State Warriors, thanks in part to lights-out (7-of-8) three-point shooting. That outburst – and the surrounding hype, and Milwaukee's surprisingly strong play – obscured the remainder of Jennings' season, which was marked by exactly the sort of inconsistency you'd expect from a player that has tremendous athletic ability but very little experience above the high school/AAU level. In fact, it was Luke Ridnour and not Jennings running the team at key moments down the stretch. Jennings won't have Ridnour as a crutch this season; the veteran point guard is now a Minnesota Timberwolf. But he does have a year's worth of NBA experience and a deep, veteran roster that should aid in his continued development. Still, if playing in a league that counts turnovers, slide Jennings down a spot or two on your draft card.

Jennings opted to play in Europe in 2008 instead of going to college. He’s an exceptional athlete, but is still very young and will need time to improve his skills. The loss of Ramon Sessions leaves the door open for Jennings to assume a starting role at some point during the season. The Bucks aren’t going to be a powerhouse, so don’t expect a lot out of him this season.