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.’

Post from: Expert Fantasy

1. Blake Griffin
Not only is Blake Griffin going to be the first pick in the draft, he’s going to be the first rookie chosen in 2009-2010 fantasy basketball drafts. There’s a good chance that he could be productive right from the beginning.

2. James Harden
The player most ready to come into the NBA and put points on the board appears to be James Harden. With that in mind, he’ll be valuable in the fantasy basketball world.

3. Stephen Curry
Like Harden, Stephen Curry can score the ball. If he lands on a team like the New York Knicks or the Golden State Warriors, Curry could easily stuff the stat sheet.

4. Hasheem Thabeet
Although Hasheem Thabeet is undoubtedly raw, his shot blocking and rebounding should make him valuable as a rookie. His value really depends on how much playing time he gets. For fantasy purposes, he’ll need to be a starter to have consistent value.

5. Ty Lawson
While Ty Lawson could easily fall out of the lottery, he’s probably the point guard most likely to be ready from Day 1. That could make him valuable in 2010 fantasy basketball.

Post from: Expert Fantasy

When it comes to his NBA potential, the first thing scouts marvel at is his shot-blocking ability. In his three years at Connecticut, he averaged 3.8, 4.5 and 4.2 blocks per game, respectively. In his junior season, his 10.8 rebounds per game average was also very impressive.

Expect whichever team that drafts him to use him as a defensive center in the mold of Dikembe Mutombo. Thabeet is a relatively safe pick because he’s sure to at the very least be a quality option when it comes to protecting the basket.

Offensively, he’s definitely raw. He averaged 13.6 points per game on 64% shooting from the field last year but most of that success was due to his height alone. In the NBA, he’ll have to learn how to finish near the basket around strong players who he won’t be able to overwhelm.

All in all, Thabeet should become a solid center in the NBA. He doesn’t have huge potential and could get off to a slow start due to being a raw player, but his defensive ability could prove to be invaluable.

Post from: Expert Fantasy