Santi Aldama

The Memphis thesis died in July — he was sign-and-traded to Dallas in the six-team deal, so the "Ja's gone, the minutes finally loosen" story no longer applies. What travels: a skilled stretch-four kit (threes, boards, real passing for a big) and our 60-game read, which was always about health, not the depth chart — last year's 33-game tail was a Memphis shutdown, not a body failing. Dallas paid real money, and the dose looks real: both Mavericks rim-runners carry heavy injury files, and his stretch-big kit is the natural absorb — we read about 27 a night, a fringe-top-100 line. Deep-league add with a fast path to more if the center room stays banged up.

Santi Aldama enters 2026-27 at #104 on our board — Round 9 value in a standard 12-team draft, projected for 13.6 points, 6.6 rebounds and 3.0 assists in 27.4 minutes a night. The value is built on turnovers and rebounds, with scoring the soft spot in the profile. He's a natural fit for punt-scoring builds — take that category out of the equation and his value climbs. Availability is the swing factor — we expect about 60 games, which is priced into his draft value.