PG Brandon Jennings, Milwaukee Bucks
Wow. Brandon Jennings has gone from a quiet season in Europe to a monster first few weeks in the NBA. He’s currently averaging 20.7 points and 5.2 assists in 32.7 minutes per game.

SG Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors
Although he hasn’t been the scoring machine that he was billed as coming out of college, Stephen Curry is impressing with his all-around game. He’s hitting three-pointers and he’s averaging 5.4 assists to go with his 8.7 points.

SF Omri Casspi, Sacramento Kings
Omri Casspi has the makings of a fantasy basketball beast. He’s capable of scoring, hitting threes, grabbing rebounds and adding bonus tallies in blocks and steals.

PF DeJuan Blair, San Antonio Spurs
When DeJuan Blair gets minutes, he has produced. He’s scoring, rebounding and shooting for a high percentage so far in his young career.

C Taj Gibson, Chicago Bulls
A hustle player first and foremost, Taj Gibson can also score a little bit in addition to rebounding and blocking a few shots.

Stephen Curry is starting to show why he was so success in college (Image: Zuma Press)

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1. Blake Griffin, Los Angeles Clippers
Griffin is very talented and a great athlete on top of that. He’s also entering a situation in need of a superstar. As long as the Clippers trade a few bigs to make room for him, Griffin should be very good his rookie year.

2. James Harden, Oklahoma City Thunder
Next to Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant and Jeff Green, Harden will fit right in. He’ll likely start at shooting guard right away and provide the team with yet another young building block. For fantasy purposes, Harden should provide scoring, efficiency and good assist numbers.

3. Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors
No matter if he ends up with the Warriors or if he’ll be traded to the Suns (like the rumors indicate), Curry will land in a very good situation. Both of those teams like to run and shoot … and that fits right in with Curry’s game.

4. Tyreke Evans, Sacramento Kings
If Evans can win the point guard job in Sacramento, he could have fantasy value right away. It’s not a lock that he can play PG at the NBA level, so stay tuned.

5. Hasheem Thabeet, Memphis Grizzlies
Thabeet is raw and might not be able to play many minutes in the NBA yet but his shotblocking could make him valuable right away in the 2009-2010 fantasy basketball season.’

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Here is a list of five rookies who won’t be ready to live up to their potential:

Ricky Rubio
Yes, Rubio has a massive amount of potential. But he’s only 18 right now and will need a year or two to adjust. As a rookie, he’ll probably average around eight points and six assists.

Jrue Holiday
Last year, Russell Westbrook came out of UCLA and was a good fantasy basketball player. Don’t expect the same out of Holiday. Like Rubio, he’ll need a year or two.

DeMar DeRozan
Perhaps the rawest top prospect in the draft, DeRozan is definitely a project. He has the size and athleticism to be a star but he still has a lot of learning to do.

B.J. Mullens
Mullins has very good size and is one of the better center prospects in the draft. That said, he’s a player you can safely ignore in fantasy basketball for the 2009-10 season.

Brandon Jennings
This past season in Europe, Jennings showed a lot of promise. But he also proved he wasn’t ready for the spotlight. Don’t expect that to change next year right out of the gates.

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OJ Mayo, Memphis Grizzlies
Enjoying a rock solid fantasy basketball season, OJ Mayo will likely be a fantasy powerhouse for the next decade. He can score, shoot good percentages and the rest of his game is slowly but surely catching up. He could move as high as the second round of fantasy drafts next season.

Michael Beasley, Miami Heat
Although he’s not getting the consistent playing time Rose and Mayo are getting, Beasley has still be productive. He can score, rebound and he’s even blocking a few shots. Once he gets comfortable, he has a very high fantasy basketball ceiling.

Rudy Fernandez, Portland Trail Blazers
He’s not great at any one category but Rudy Fernandez helps out in a multitude of areas. He can put the ball in the basket, help you with his three-point accuracy and in other traditional categories such as assists and rebounds.

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2. OJ Mayo, Memphis Grizzlies
While the Grizzlies aren’t that good, OJ Mayo is putting on a show. He’s proving to be a very good scorer on the NBA level. Surprisingly his shooting percentages are healthy and he’s doing a good job of not turning the ball over too much. Overall, Mayo is adjusting very quickly to the NBA level.

3. Michael Beasley, Miami Heat
The Heat coaching staff has been hard on Michael Beasley — benching him for poor play. But when he’s on the court, Beasley’s natural talent shines through. He can score and rebound effortlessly and he’s destined to get better as the season progresses.

4. Greg Oden, Portland Trail Blazers
After a slow start to the season, Greg Oden is coming into his own. He’s still not starting but that is only a matter of time. Once he does, he’ll be a double-double machine for the next 15 years — as long as he stays healthy.

5. Rudy Fernandez, Portland Trail Blazers
Rudy Fernandez is the Blazers’ energy player off the bench. For your fantasy team, Fernandez can do a little bit of everything. If his minutes go up, he could really turn into a fantasy force by the end of his rookie campaign.

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JaVale McGee, Washington Wizards
With the Washington Wizards struggling to win games early in the season, there have been some whispers about moving JaVale McGee into the starting lineup. If that happens, he instantly becomes a fantasy viable center. But even if it doesn’t, McGee is starting to put up very nice numbers. We’ve been calling him a sleeper since preseason and he looks like he’s going to transform from a sleeper to the real thing pretty soon.

George Hill, San Antonio Spurs
Now that Tony Parker is out at least one month, rookie George Hill has taken over at point guard. While his first two starts haven’t been overly impressive, he’s going to get a good opportunity. As long as he keeps getting minutes, he’s a player who can help your fantasy basketball squad in points, assists, rebounds and steals. Overall, he’s still raw but the potential is definitely there.

Anthony Tolliver, San Antonio Spurs
A second Spur on this list, Anthony Tolliver is an unknown quantity with most NBA fans. But with the Spurs struggling to get production from the bigmen next to Tim Duncan, Tolliver has emerged as a legit option. It wouldn’t be too surprising if he eventually becomes a starter next to Duncan. Tolliver is a center who can hit three-pointers and hand out assists. Those unique talents for his position could make Tolliver an interesting fantasy basketball option.

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1. Derrick Rose, Chicago Bulls
Coming into the NBA, everyone knew Derrick Rose could pass the ball. What is surprising NBA scouts is his ability to score the ball. He uses his combination of quickness and strength to get to the rim and score against bigger defenders. Since he’s starting and already playing big minutes, he’s not only looking like a good fantasy basketball player but also the lead candidate for Rookie of the Year.

2. Michael Beasley, Miami Heat
Although he has struggled a bit in his first couple of games, the immense talent of Michael Beasley is obvious. He can score the basketball from everywhere on the court and can also be a beast on the boards. Once the Heat figure out how to share the ball, Beasley could blossom into an 18-point, 10-rebound player faster than originally thought.

3. Jason Thompson, Sacramento Kings
Jason Thompson has been the surprise of the 2008 NBA Draft class so far. He’s putting up great numbers off the bench for the Kings. If he keeps playing at his current level, he’ll find his way into the starting lineup before too much longer. It’d be smart to stash him away on a redraft league if you have the space. In a dynasty league, he’s a very good player to have.

4. Mario Chalmers, Miami Heat
Speaking of draft surprises, Mario Chalmers has gone from second round pick to starting point guard for the Heat. After an amazing first game against the Knicks, Chalmers has come back down to earth. But as long as he keeps starting, he’s going to be a useful fantasy player. Right now, he looks like a player who could give you about ten points, six assists, three rebounds and a couple of steals per game.

5. Kevin Love, Minnesota Timberwolves
Kevin Love hasn’t gotten the huge amount of playing time other rookies have received but he looks solid so far. Minutes will be the big question mark for Love as long as he’s coming off the bench. Keep an eye on him, however, because once he starts he will be able to put up good fantasy numbers.

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Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder
During summer league, Russell Westbrook looked amazing. While he hasn’t looked as amazing in preseason, he still is showing a lot of promise. He might not start getting a huge amount of minutes early on but by late in the 2008-09 fantasy basketball season, expect Westbrook to play around 30 minutes per game.

DJ Augustin, Charlotte Bobcats
In Charlotte, Larry Brown will undoubtedly be extremely hard on his point guards. With starter Raymond Felton truly being more of a shooting guard, you can expect DJ Augustin to get plenty of minutes at point guard. If Brown puts Felton into the dog house, Augustin would be next in line to start.

Mario Chalmers, Miami Heat
Even though Mario Chalmers was a second round pick, he fell into a perfect situation in Miami. He has a chance to start at point guard and play next to Dwyane Wade. While he’s not going to be a bigtime scorer at the NBA level, he’ll be able to get a healthy amount of assists and steals. He should also be able to knock down the NBA three-pointer.

Goran Dragic, Phoenix Suns
Another second round selection, the Suns are extremely high on Dragic. In fact, Suns management had him rated as one of the top handful of point guards in the entire 2008 NBA Draft. Although he’s playing behind Steve Nash, the fact that Phoenix runs a point guard oriented offense should help Dragic’s stats. Don’t expect points but Dragic should be able to do everything else.

George Hill, San Antonio Spurs
George Hill is the sleeper of the fantasy basketball rookie point guard prospects. Coming out of tiny IUPUI, Hill was drafted by the Spurs late in the first round. After struggling in summer league, Hill bounced back and played very well in preseason. He’s a guard in the Monta Ellis mold he can play the passing lanes on defense and knock down shots offensively. He’s currently dealing with an injured thumb but he could possibly be fantasy viable at some point during the 2008-09 fantasy basketball season.

Keep an eye on rookie point guard George Hill.

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