The Game In Tendrils: Durant Moves To SF

In case you missed it, Kevin Durant is thankfully, mercifully, finally going to start at SF (where he's already eligible in practically every league because even Yahoo! is smarter than P.J. Carlesimo.) This is legitimate news in fantasy, where we should see minor- but valuable- rises in his production in some key categories.

First, playing the 3 means spending more time near the rim on a lot of plays. His often criticized lack of rebounding should give way to higher numbers (I'm guessing about 1.5 more per on the season) as he finds himself actually in position to use those long arms in the scrum for loose boards and some putbacks. The same translates to defense, where he'll get more opportunities to block shots- not something he'll be a league leader in, but he could very well chip in better than one in every other game as he continues to develop his strength under an NBA training regimen. I also think his assists will rise with more opportunity to pass out of drives to open shooters. 3 a game would be a nice start this year.

But where Durant may eventually prove most valuable to fantasy owners could be in his percentages. He's still going to be the first scoring option on the team, but his FG% will rise as he attempts fewer shots from long range (hope for 1 trey per) and his FT attempts rise as he plays more of the driving game he was so famous for at literally every level of organized ball he played before the NBA. This will come with basically the same points (slight bump at the absolute best), but make all the more valuable his FT%, where he has a chance to become a Caron Butler-like fantasy asset from the stripe while playing a position that's not always known for that strength.

And don't forget that Durant's move opens up more minutes at SG for Russell Westbrook too. Although interim Thunder coach Scott Brooks probably won't go too small too often with Durant and Westbrook starting beside Earl Watson, Jeff Green and Nick Collison/one of the other amusingly inadequate tall guys at center with the slower pace he prefers, anything that gets Westbroook more run is welcome among fantasy fans.