The big two on the team are obviously Kevin Durant and Jeff Green. They are somewhat similar players — long, athletic and dripping with talent. Right now, Durant is the better fantasy player but Green isn’t too far behind. Durant is the better scorer and has better percentage but Green gets more rebounds, assists and steals.

Other than Durant and Green, there aren’t too many players to be excited about in the fantasy world. Russell Westbrook is starting now and he has shown some glimpses — although he’s extremely streaky at this point. His low shooting percentages and relatively high amount of turnovers aren’t very good for fantasy basketball.

The remaining players on the team are almost all underperforming. There used to be a time when players like Chris Wilcox, Earl Watson, Nick Collison and Damien Wilkins were worthwhile fantasy players, but right now that simply isn’t the case. Of those players, Only Collison is showing life as of right now. However, keep a close eye on the Thunder because players can come out of nowhere and go under the radar when they are playing for the worst team in the NBA.

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A few stories around the team indicate that the players had quit on Carlesimo and weren’t giving a good enough effort. New coach Scott Brooks will try to turn that around and make the Thunder at least a respectable basketball team.

As far as fantasy basketball is concerned, there were a few subtle difference right away with Brooks in charge. First of all, Damien Wilkins got his first start of the season as Brooks decided to go small. Wilkins was put in at shooting guard with Kevin Durant moving to small forward, Jeff Green moving to power forward and Nick Collison moving to center. Previously, Carlesimo had been using Johan Petro and Robert Swift at center. Under Brooks, neither Petro nor Swift played.

Chris Wilcox also appears to be part of Brooks’ plan. Wilcox played a season-high number of minutes of the bench. Joe Smith also had a healthy role as the team’s backup center. The point guard situation continues to be Earl Watson in the starting lineup backed up by Russell Westbrook.

All told, it appears as if Brooks will go smaller and faster than Carlesimo. That could lead to more shot attempts for Durant and should help the fantasy values of players such as Wilkins, Collison and Wilcox. Green should also be called upon to grab more rebounds and block a few shots.

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5. Charlotte Bobcats
Larry Brown will turn around the Bobcats. That said, it likely isn’t a one year project. Expect a few headaches this year until LB can get the team playing the way he wants.

4. Memphis Grizzlies
The Grizzlies are starting to assemble a nice amount of talent. If Pau Gasol’s brother pans out, the Grizzlies could surprise.

3. Oklahoma City Thunder
The former Seattle Supersonics still won’t be ready for the big time. However, with a future Big Three of Kevin Garnett, Jeff Green and Russell Westbrook, the future is bright in Oklahoma.

2. Minnesota Timberwolves
The Timberwolves are still reeling from the Kevin Garnett trade. Although they have good talent, that talent isn’t going to provide many wins this year.

1. New Jersey Nets
The Nets don’t seem too concerned with winning basketball games. The summer of 2010 and a shot at LeBron James can’t come soon enough for New Jersey.

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Al Thornton, Los Angeles Clippers
The habitually banged up Clippers will lean heavily on Al Thornton as the season wears on. A pure scorer, Thornton can put the ball in the basket from a number of spots on the court. There’s no reason why he eventually can’t average 15+ points per game.

Thaddeus Young, Philadelphia 76ers
Although Young is, well, young, he’s already playing important minutes for the Sixers. As the season wears on, those minutes should increase more and more. Although he doesn’t have huge potential this season, his potential down the line is impressive.

Jeff Green, Seattle Supersonics
Known as the other rookie in Seattle, Jeff Green has had an up and down season – as is to be expected. However, when he’s playing well he can be a valuable piece on a fantasy basketball team. He can do a bit of everything and will continue to improve.

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Kevin Durant
Durant has looked pretty good in his first two games. He’s not going to do much other than score but there’s no reason why he can’t average 18 to 22 points this season.

Chris Wilcox
Wilcox seems to really be playing well this season. He’s more involved and is playing better defense. He looks like a very good fantasy player this season.

Damien Wilkins
Wilkins was overlooked by most fantasy owners, but it appears he may be second in line next to Durant as far as scoring goes for the Sonics. He’s always had a lot of natural talent and if he can start to live up to his talent, he could become a very nice fantasy player.

Nick Collison
Collison is putting up nice numbers right now as the starting center. However, be aware that Robert Swift is out injured. When Swift returns, he could take over the starting center spot.

Earl Watson
Watson appears to have won the starting point guard job. So far he’s been decent, but hasn’t really separated himself as the clear cut point guard for the team yet.

Delonte West
Always a fantasy favorite, West is off to a relatively slow start this season. The good news is it appears as if he’s the backup point guard. The bad news is his minutes will probably remain erratic.

Jeff Green
Green was the fifth pick of the draft but he doesn’t look quite ready this year. He could be a year or two away from being an everyday contributor. In dynasty formats, he’s a good player to target.

Wally Szczerbiak
Szczerbiak doesn’t look to be a huge part of this team at all. In fact, he’s not rosterable in most fantasy formats.

Luke Ridnour
Ridnour appears to be the odd man out for the Sonics. He’s currently third on the point guard depth charts. If you drafted him, it could be time to start looking elsewhere.

Check out NBA TV’s Sonics Preview …

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