With all the talk of the lawsuit former Sonics owner, Howard Schulz has filed in an effort to bring the team back to Seattle, fans of the Oklahoma City Thunder have forgotten altogether that basketball season is slowly creeping onto the horizon. Heck, when you’re talking about a team that went 20 – 62 last year you can almost understand why. With the NBA and the city of Seattle on board it appears very likely the move will stay permanent, now the only question is will those same fans who packed Ford Arena to watch a playoff-contending Hornets team come out in the same droves to watch the team formerly known as the Super Sonics?
Now while there’s a new city, a new name, and the next stop being new jerseys, the player personnel affected by these changes remains pretty much the same. The Thunder are officially moving on to year two of the rebuilding process after trading out their two star players for a pair talented rookies last off-season. One of those rookies happens to be a sure-fire star in the NBA, a franchise player you can build a contender around.
On draft day no one in the building was happier than Kevin Durant when the name “Russell Westbrook” was called. Durant, who was there representing the team, had to have some say in whom the Thunder were going to choose. And you could tell by his ear-to-ear smile after their selection that he got his man. Westbrook, a talented combo-guard out of UCLA is exactly what the doctor ordered in Oklahoma City. He was one of the best players in the Orlando summer league and fills the hole of playmaker for a team that was in desperate need of one. Now with Durant, Westbrook and the improving Jeff Green to build around it looks like Oklahoma City landed itself a promising young team for the future.
Fantasy wise not much changes for this team. A week ago they traded away one time franchise point guard Luke Ridnour for a pair of veteran role players in an effort to make room for Westbrook. The additions of Joe Smith and Desmond Mason will be a decent boost to a team in need of a better front line. The main thing to consider here with a very similar roster is the progression of the young guys and the opportunities for the vets.
Depth Chart
PG Russell Westbrook / Earl Watson
SG Kevin Durant / Damien Wilkins
SF Jeff Green / Desmond Mason
PF Chris Wilcox / Joe Smith
C Nick Collison / Johan Petro
Value Picks
Kevin Durant His second half was a solid improvement over his first mostly because he raised his FG% more than seven points. He accomplished this by taking better shots and cutting down on his three point attempts by nearly two-thirds. He progressed slightly in points, rebounds and assists during this time as well. Factoring in that he’s had a whole off-season to lift weights in hopes of reaching his rebounding potential and that the team is adding a good young point guard, 23 PPG becomes a solid baseline for next season. Combine all that with last year’s average of nearly a steal and a block per game and you’ve got to feel he’s worthy of a look in the first five rounds.
Jeff Green The former Hoya also was better in the second half, improving in points, rebounds, assists and steals per game. He raised his scoring average in each of the last three months, nearly eclipsing 16 PPG as his minutes increased to 37 per contest in eight April games. Green was also lights out in Orlando this summer, averaging 22.8 points, 4 rebounds and 2 steals in four games. People said he looked in great shape and was aggressive going to the basket, which are two very good signs heading into next season.
Chris Wilcox When he came to the Sonics just before the trade deadline three years ago, Wilcox was an absolute beast, averaging about 14 and 8 on 60 percent shooting and 79 percent from the line. Since then…not quite so much. Because he entered the league back in ’02 it’s easy to forget Wilcox will only be 26 next season. However, in pretty much the same scenario as last year it’s tough to see his stats improving dramatically.
Nick Collison When given the minutes Collison is a poor-man’s Al Horford, averaging close to a double-double with a steal and a block. It is likely that with Wilcox and Joe Smith taking up time at power forward, Collison will be asked play a lot of center, where he should score slightly more and rebound slightly less. Bottom line is the soon to be 28-year-old is the last line of draftable fantasy big men before you reach waiver-wire material.
Free Agents / New Acquisitions
Joe Smith With the Thunder Smith should see between 20 – 25 MPG. Their front-court is pretty thin, especially at the center spot. Robert Swift is as a wild card and Johan Petro’s minutes and value increased at the end of last season. If those two start earning more court time it hurts Smith’s value.
Desmond Mason After last year’s return to Milwaukee, the only thing stopping Mason from his second second go round with a city is the team’s move to Oklahoma. With Durant, Green and Wilkins eating up most of the time at the wing positions, the only way Mason becomes valuable is if one of these guys goes down for an extended period of time.
Rookies
Russell Westbrook His sophomore numbers at UCLA (12.3 PPG, 4.3 APG, 1.6 SPG) were nothing to write home about, but after his play in Orlando, some international scouts were asking, “How was Derrick Rose drafted higher than this guy?” In his only four summer league games Westbrook averaged 16.5 points, 3.5 assists, and 1.8 steals per contest. With Earl Watson out with a thumb injury that will sideline him until the start of training camp, the dynamic young rookie could already have been given all the daylight he needs to take the starting job.
D.J. White As a senior at Indiana White averaged a very respectable 17.4 points, 10.3 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game, while shooting over 60 percent from the field. If given the time and space, White has enough game to be an effective offensive player in this league. Look for his time to come after the trade deadline, maybe after Joe Smith is moved?
Projected Stats
Russell Westbrook – 45 FG% / 75 FT% / 0.7 3PG / 10.5 PPG / 2.8 RPG / 4.2 APG / 0.8 SPG / 0.1 BPG / 1.6 TO
Kevin Durant – 45 FG% / 85 FT% / 0.7 3PG / 23.7 PPG / 5.0 RPG / 3.6 APG / 1.4 SPG / 1.2 BPG / 3.3 TO
Jeff Green – 44 FG% / 76 FT% 0.6 3PG / 14.3 PPG / 5.5 RPG / 1.8 APG / 0.8 SPG / 0.8 BPG / 2.2 TO
Chris Wilcox – 53 FG% / 67 FT% / 0.0 3PG / 14.0 PPG / 7.2 RPG / 1.2 APG / 0.6 SPG / 0.7 BPG / 1.9 TO
Nick Collison – 51 FG% / 74 FT% / 0.0 3PG / 10.4 PPG / 9.2 RPG / 1.4 APG / 0.7 SPG / 0.9 BPG / 1.6 TO
Earl Watson – 42 FG% / 75 FT% / 0.8 3PG / 10.2 PPG / 2.7 RPG / 6.3 APG / 1.2 SPG / 0.2 BPG / 2.1 TO
Damien Wilkins – 43 FG% / 81 FT% / 0.9 3PG / 9.5 PPG / 3.2 RPG / 1.8 APG / 0.8 SPG / 0.2 BPG / 1.3 TO
Joe Smith – 48 FG% / 80 FT% / 0.0 3PG / 8.8 PPG / 5.8 RPG / 0.8 APG / 0.4 SPG / 0.6 BPG / 0.9 TO
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