Tony Allen will begin the regular season as the starting small forward, the Memphis Commercial Appeal reports.

Allen will begin the regular season as the starting small forward, 92.9 ESPN in Memphis reports.

Analysis:

Allen and Courtney Lee played the majority of wing minutes during the playoffs versus the Thunder last season, so this announcement is not a huge surprise by any means. Despite Allen's limited range and overall inconsistency offensively, he has established himself as an elite perimeter defender in the NBA. This should help him continue to earn sufficient time at both shooting guard and small forward, but expectations should be tempered, as staying in front of your man defensively and forcing misses doesn't equate to fantasy stardom. Still, if he's able to earn close to 30 minutes per game he should be able to produce enough in the rebounding and steal categories to give him decent late-round value in deeper leagues.