Fantasy Review For 2018/19 Season:
Quite successful season led to another disappointing playoff performance and to somehow successful offseason. Thunder got an escape from the jail card from Kawhi Leonard and the Clippers and were able to turn a team with a capped upside into a huge pile of future assets and some quality fill-in veterans, all in one summer.
Changes in the offseason
Lost =Paul George, Russell Westbrook, Jerami Grant
Added = Chris Paul, Danilo Gallinari, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Darius Bazley , Mike Muscala,
Projected Depth Chart:
| PG | SG | SF | PF | C |
| Chris Paul | Shai Gilgeous Alexander | Terrance Ferguson | Danilo Gallinari | Steven Adams |
| Dennis Schroder | Hamidou Diallo | Andre Roberson | Mike Muscala | Nerlens Noel |
| Jawun Evans | Markel Brown | Deonte Burton | Darius Bazley | Justin Patton |
Positional Battles: Small Forward
Their roster lacks any depth at all, with four clear cut starters, obvious Sixth man in Dennis Schroder and the rest: a bunch of players that are barely at the NBA level. From this group, one player got to start at the wing position and as for now, its almost impossible to predict the fifth starter. Billy Donovan will not only choose between Ferguson, Roberson and Bazley, but he also faces other possibilities, such as moving SGA or Gallinari out of position, therefor starting Schroder, Muscala or even Diallo as the other starter. This rotation is a mess and contains only four draftable players for standard leagues.
Fantasy Relevant in standard leagues:
42,8 FG%, 86 FT%, 2,2 3PM, 17,6 PTS, 4,7 REB, 9,7 AST, 2 STL, 0,1 BL, 2,7 TO
We all know who Chris Paul is. At the age of 34 he still is an elite (but injury prone) fantasy point guard, who even playing alongside James Harden in iso-heavy offense managed to deliver over 8 assists with 2 steals and some decent shooting. Now, as he becomes again the primary playmaker in his team, the common expectation is him getting back to top20, even 15 on per game basis. I am not that optimistic. Last season he recorded a significant drop in efficiency with lowest FG% of his career, for the first time since his sophomore season becoming negative contributor in the category. Also, he had lowest FTA of his career, what limits his positive impact on FT%, and could only get worse with him getting older. He could still be the best fantasy combo of assists, steals and turnovers, but the recent decline in his game significantly limits his upside, not to mention health concerns and the pending risk of being traded to the more loaded team.
49,2 FG%, 82,5 FT%, 1,4 3PM, 17,5 PTS, 4,1 REB, 5,1 AST, 1,7 STL, 0,7 BL, 2,8 TO
After stunning rookie season, this “Jerry West lottery pick”™ is now poised for breakout season. His personal development is the single most important thing for the Thunder in this upcoming season. His best case fantasy scenario this season is as good as top30 9cat player, and worse case is still somewhere in top70-80 due to elite defensive numbers with great efficiency for a guard.
58,8 FG%, 50,0 FT%, 0 3PM, 13,9 PTS, 10,5 REB, 1,9 AST, 1,2 STL, 0,9 BL, 1,7 TO
Adams is an extremely unbalanced player, a one trick pony with his top-notch FG% and very little of everything else. After Russell Westbrook departure there is some expectation of him making a significant leap in defensive rebounds department, but even if you believe in that, he is basically a two-cat guy, with only two other positive categories – steal and blocks, and one huge flaw in free throw percentage. In fact, he was the second worst free throw contributor in the entire league last season, only behind Hassan Whiteside. If you are drafting him, you almost have to punt FT%, simple as that.
42,4 FG%, 87,8 FT%, 2,8 3PM, 24,4 PTS, 5,6 REB, 2,8 AST, 0,6 STL, 1,2 BL, 1,8 TO
When healthy, Italian stud is one of 30 best players on a per game basis in fantasy basketball. Whats more in Thunder he might face the most shooting opportunities of his entire career. Somebody has to finish possessions and while there are four good NBA players in OKC’s starting five, only Gallinari is a natural high-usage guy. Obviously, picking him in second to third round is too big of a risk due to his low durability – in his 11 NBA seasons, only twice did he play in more than 68 games, last time, 7 years ago. He should be drafted in that 50 to 70 range with a nice draft steal opportunity.
Could be useful with trades/injuries:
Dennis Schroder, Nerlens Noel, Hamidou Diallo
Just don’t bother with:
Their small forward crop. While one of them would ultimately have to start their role and skills will be too limited.
Don’t forget to check the rest of the Oklahoma City Thunder fantasy basketball projections..
Posted in Teams preview