2017-18 fantasy basketball preview: Oklahoma City Thunder

Over the coming weeks, we at FanSided will do a team-by-team breakdown of each NBA franchise’s fantasy prospects for the 2017-18 season. Let’s continue today with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Russell Westbrook may not have finished the 2016-17 season as the top-ranked player in nine-category fantasy basketball leagues, but no player was more singularly devastating if you owned him (or terrifying if you were going against him). Fresh off averaging the first season-long triple-double in more than 50 years, what does the league’s reigning MVP have in store for an encore?

Thanks to the Oklahoma City Thunder’s offseason moves, Westbrook may have trouble replicating his league-winning impact from last season. Rather than playing alongside a marginalized Victor Oladipo in the backcourt, he’ll now have an All-Star teammate in the form of Paul George and a grizzled veteran in Patrick Patterson accompanying Steven Adams in the frontcourt. While OKC likely boosted its chances of a deep playoff run with its roster makeover, Westbrook should have less on his plate offensively this season.

Luckily, we’ve seen Westbrook partner with a high-usage, high-volume scoring forward in years past, which makes it easier to project his output in 2017-18. The same can’t be said for George, who spent the past few years alongside mid-tier point guards such as George Hill and Jeff Teague. While George finished among the top 15 in per-game fantasy value last year, it’s an open question whether he can repeat that feat this coming season.

Which Thunder players should fantasy owners target with early-, mid- and late-round picks, and who should be left on the waiver wire? Let’s take a look.

Early-round picks

Russell Westbrook, PG: If you’re in an eight-category league, Westbrook should be one of the first few players off the board. In nine-category leagues (where turnovers count), however, he’s more of a mid- to late first-round option. While Westbrook averaged an eye-popping 31.6 points on 42.5 percent shooting, 10.7 rebounds, 10.4 assists, 2.5 triples and 1.6 steals last season, he also coughed the ball up a whopping 5.4 times per game, trailing only James Harden. Having George in the fold may help him slightly cut down on those giveaways and boost his field-goal percentage, but his other counting stats could dip accordingly. In nine-category formats, he should be the second point guard off the board behind Stephen Curry, but owners willing to punt that category (or those in eight-category leagues) should grab him within the top three overall picks.

Paul George, SF: The broken leg George suffered during a Team USA scrimmage in the summer of 2014 is all but a distant memory. This past season, the Fresno State product went off for a career-high 23.7 points on 46.1 percent shooting, 6.6 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 2.6 triples and 1.6 steals to finish as the 15th-ranked player on a per-game basis in nine-category leagues. With no other reliable scorers in Oklahoma City outside of Westbrook, George should continue feasting as a primary offensive option in 2017-18. A slight downtick in scoring is possible, but having Westbrook feed him the ball could help boost his field-goal percentage. As such, George is still a safe mid- to late second-round pick.

Mid-round picks

N/A

Late-round picks

Steven Adams, C: After a dominant showing in the 2015-16 playoffs, Adams appeared poised for a breakout 2016-17 campaign. While he did average a career-high 11.3 points on 57.1 percent shooting, 7.7 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.0 blocks in 29.9 minutes per game, his 98th-ranked finish on a per-game basis in nine-category leagues was a full round lower than his expert consensus ranking (87th) heading into the year. With Westbrook and George gobbling up a majority of Oklahoma City’s offensive touches, Adams can get back to focusing on defense while serving as a complementary scoring option. He’s a fine second- or third-string center if you need help with rebounds, blocks or field-goal percentage, but he’ll have a tough time living up to his average draft position of 85.6 in early ESPN.com leagues.

Enes Kanter, C: Despite averaging roughly 21 minutes per game over each of the past two years, Kanter has managed to churn out late-round fantasy value courtesy of his eye-popping per-minute production. Last season, he finished as the 128th-ranked player in nine-category leagues after averaging 14.3 points on 54.5 percent shooting and 6.7 rebounds in 21.3 minutes, but those are the only three categories in which he’ll help a fantasy squad. On the bright side for owners in rotisserie leagues, Kanter is an above-average free-throw shooter—he knocked down 78.6 percent of his freebies last year—so unlike a number of his 7-foot compatriots, he won’t hurt you in that category.

Andre Roberson, SF: Roberson is about as unsexy as they come for fantasy purposes, but he posted top-150 value last season while averaging just 6.6 points per game. Defensive counting stats fueled Roberson’s fantasy relevance, as he averaged 1.2 steals and 1.0 blocks while turning the ball over only 0.6 times per game. The Colorado product has no shortage of teammates gunning for his minutes — including Terrance Ferguson, the Thunder’s first-round pick this year — but the team didn’t hand him a three-year, $30 million contract to ride the bench. If you’re in need of a late-round steals specialist, Roberson fits the bill, but don’t expect much in terms of scoring or 3-pointers.

Waiver-wire fodder

Raymond Felton, PG

Semaj Christon, PG

Alex Abrines, SG

Terrance Ferguson, SG

Kyle Singler, SF

Doug McDermott, SF

Jerami Grant, SF

Josh Huestis, SF

Patrick Patterson, PF

Nick Collison, PF

Dakari Johnson, C

Next: What each NBA coach would be doing if he wasn’t an NBA coach

Sleepers/Busts

Sleeper: Andre Roberson

Bust: Steven Adams

Other team breakdowns

All average draft position info via FantasyPros. All rankings via Basketball Monster are based on nine-category leagues.

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