X
Lost password?

Don't have an account?
Gain Access Now

X

Receive free daily analysis

NFL
NBA
NHL
NASCAR
CFB
MLB
MMA
PGA
ESPORTS
BETTING

Already have an account? Log In

X

Forgot Password


POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Daily Stats & Leaders
All Pitcher Matchups
Compare Any Players
Compare Any Players
Rookies & Call-Ups
24x7 News and Alerts

The Golden Four: Kevin Durant and the Warriors

In case you didn't get the news that shook the NBA world to its foundation, Kevin Durant signed a two-year, $54 million dollar contract with the 2015-2016 Western Conference Champion Golden State Warriors. This places KD in the NBA's best offense, under coach Steve Kerr, and alongside an existing trio of superstars in Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green.

This means that the NBA's 12th leading scorer Thompson (22.1 points per game), the leagues leading scorer Curry (30.1 points per game), and Green who was second in the NBA in triple-doubles with 13--who all were just on the team that went 73-9 by scoring 114.9 points per game--will now be teaming up with the guy who was third in the NBA in scoring last year with 28.2 points per contest and is a former MVP and scoring champion in his own right.

While Durant's move to Golden State has triggered a lot of emotional and heated reactions, it is also important to focus on the Fantasy Basketball implications of this blockbuster move. How will the Warriors look different without key players like Andrew Bogut, Harrison Barnes, and Festus Ezeli? How will three elite scorers be affected by playing with each other? Will the other Warrior role players be completely marginalized by the star power? Let's dive in and analyze how Kevin Durant's new contract affects Fantasy Basketball for the Golden State Warriors.

 

Kevin Durant's Effect on the Other Golden State Stars

First and foremost, the amount of points that need to be accounted for in 48 minutes is a little overwhelming. As well as leading the NBA in scoring last season the Warriors were first in team assists per game with 28.9.  All this came very efficiently, as they were only third in field goal attempts per contest at 87.3 on average. Last year, Kevin Durant's Thunder also filled up the stat sheet as they scored 110.2 points per game which was second in the league. He led the team in FGA per game at 19.2 and only really shared the scoring load with Russell Westbrook who scored 23.5 points per game in 18.1 shot attempts. Durant accounted for approximately 22% of his team's shot attempts last season and 26% of its points. Last year in Oakland, Curry made up 23% of his team's shot attempts and scored 26.2% of their points while Thompson shot 19.8% of the team's field goals and scored 19.2% of the points.

They might be the "Splash Brothers" but the two superstars on this roster are Durant and Curry. While it is very reasonable for Fantasy Basketball Managers to expect Steph and KD to be the NBA's highest scoring duo and both mostly maintain high scoring averages, it is unrealistic to expect Klay Thompson to finish 12th in scoring again. There are only so many minutes in a game and shot attempts to go around. If one player's scoring is going to suffer noticeably due to Durant signing with Golden State, it will be Klay Thompson.

Draymond Green and Stephen Curry averaged 7.4 and 6.7 assists and combined to produce about 49% of their team's assists each game. With Durant around, Green won't be asked to score as often as he was last season (though he'll still get his share of transition points and wide open looks), but he now has a much greater opportunity for assists. He is a great passer to begin with, now imagine him with Klay Thompson on the wing and two scoring champions on the floor calling for the ball. Every pass he makes is statistically likely to result in a made shot. As for Curry, this means an increase in his assist volume too. When he is running the point, his options for passing are going to look a whole lot nicer -- instead of those wide-open bricks that result from his passes to Harrison Barnes, he's going to be hitting Kevin Durant. It is as simple as that. He is the point guard running a team with yet another fantastic scoring threat that isn't him. That is good news for Fantasy Basketball Managers looking to get more passing figures out of Curry.

Durant was also able to average a career high 5.0 assists per game last season while paired with Russell Westbrook. Durant's assists figures are a little less of a sure thing. On one hand the increased offensive pace and pass-happy company he will be keeping on the floor might cause his assists numbers to rise in ratio with the Warrior's offense. On the other hand, Durant's assists totals may drop solely because he is going to be receiving the ball from Curry who may see his assists sky rocket. The most likely scenario is that his assists drop. Curry and Green will be the ones responsible for dropping dimes, while Durant will focus on scoring when on offense since he is no longer on a team that is so dependent on his 50% share of every possession like the Thunder were.

 

The Rest of the Warriors Roster

The good news is, not a whole lot of other statistics should be too greatly affected. Several Warriors from last season are skipping town like Andrew Bogut, Festus Ezeli, and Harrison Barnes. Those three players combined for 24.1 points, 17.5 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 1.5 steals, and 2.9 blocks in 68.3 minutes per game. Of course, Durant will be eating the minutes that Barnes played and then some, and grabbing rebounds Barnes would've otherwise had. The Warriors have also signed big men Zaza Pachulia and David West who last year combined for 15.7 points, 13.4 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.4 steals, and just one block in 44.4 minutes per game between the pair of 6-11 and 6-9 bigs. That makes up for a lot of rebounding that was lost, but leaves a lot to be desired in paint defense where Bogut has been a dominating force his entire 11-year career.

Major role players Shaun Livingston and Andre Iguodala, who combined for 13.3 points, 6.2 rebounds, 6.4 assists, 1.8 steals, 0.6 blocks, and 46.1 minutes per game, will also be sticking around. They unfortunately also combine for 62.46 years old and were each selected in the 2004 NBA Draft. The veterans may be getting a little bit too far up there in age to count on for consistent fantasy production, as they take it easy in the regular season to save themselves for key roles in the Warriors playoff run. The team has also lost more minor players like Brandon Rush and Leandro Barbosa while Ian Clark juggles offers from several interested clubs. The other two players that have a slight chance of returning to the Bay are Marreese Speights and Anderson Varejao who together only took up 20.1 minutes in their combined 94 games, but still produced some nice averages in those precious few minutes with 5.6 rebounds and 0.7 blocks which is on pace to combine for 20 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per 36 minutes. However, it will be a challenge for the Warriors to resign either.

Even though the Warriors are also letting go of former Tarheel star James Michael McAdoo, the hue roster shakeup could be a huge opportunity for some of the Warriors youngest talent. Kevon Looney is a 6-9, 220 lbs. forward who was drafted by Golden State in 2015 out of UCLA. Last season due to injury he was able to play in just five games and averaged just 1.8 points and 2.0 rebounds in 4.2 minutes per game. In his only season as a Bruin he averaged 11.9 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 1.3 steals per game and also shot 41.5% from beyond the arc. With Ezeli, Bogut, Varejao, and Barnes on the way out, this could be a great opportunity for Looney to find a bigger role. The Warriors also acquired three rookies this off-season: Center Damion Jones from Vanderbilt whom they drafted 30th overall, second rounder Patrick McCaw out of UNLV, and undrafted free agent Robert Carter Jr. out of Maryland.

Damian Jones is a 6-10, 248 lbs. stud who performed nicely at Vandy for three years. He averaged 1.7 blocks and 6.4 rebounds in his college career and is a good candidate to take a nice defensive role from the get-go. Patrick McCaw is a big guard at 6-6 who was actually drafted 43rd by the Milwaukee Bucks, but was purchased by Golden State for $2.4 million. In his sophomore season as a Runnin Rebel he averaged 14.7 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 3.9 assists per game while shooting 68 for 186 from three-point range for a percentage of 36.6%. Most impressively, he was a defensive menace on the perimeter with 2.5 steals per game. Robert Carter Jr. didn't do much "Warrior Like" scoring in college for Georgia Tech and Maryland; for his career he averaged just 11.2 points per game and shot a mediocre 29.7% from long distance. The 6-9, 240 lbs. forward did however average 7.2 rebounds per game for his career and averaged 1.0 and 1.1 blocks per game as a Yellow Jacket before reaching 1.3 defensive swats per contest in his only year as a Terrapin.

The Warriors were clearly looking to replace size, rebounding, and defense with their moves in this rookie class. Jones can be a key defensive contributor from day one of his rookie season, as Pachulia can be horrendous in that area. McCaw also looks to have some safety in his roster spot given that the Warriors were willing to buy his contract rights for $2.4 million. He looks to be an obvious low key role player who can offer long range shooting and perimeter defense in limited minutes. Carter Jr. has an outside chance to make the team. After all, it's a competitive roster. If he does make the cut, he will also serve as a limited role player with the objective of rebounding and blocking shots, not much else given his poor shooting. Much of whether these players will get a good chance to produce and whether Carter makes the team will depend on whether Golden State is successful in resigning guys like Speights or Varejao.

There have even been juicy rumors that all-time NBA leader in made three-pointers, Ray Allen, would like to make a comeback with the Warriors at age 41. As ridiculous or unlikely as that sounds, it warrants some giddy excitement considering Allen's career 3PT percentage of 45.2%.  While Reggie Miller might disagree, signing Allen would give the Warriors a legitimate claim to having the three greatest three point shooters of all time.

So why go through all of these roster shifts just for Fantasy Basketball? We analyze every move because the Warriors added the 2014 MVP to a lineup that already scores at an unprecedented rate. That signing catalyzed key role players to sign with other teams and leave many statistical categories empty. While KD may eat up some of the rebounds that are up for grabs and block a few of the shots that may have otherwise been blocked by Bogut (it wouldn't surprise me if he was watching LeBron James in the Finals and came away eager to put up his own series of highlight chase-down swats), there is plenty of room for a new crop of category specific role players to emerge. Pachulia and West may be also grabbing rebounds, but they are lousy as far as post-defense goes. While blocked shots aren't necessarily up for grabs, the Warriors will be sitting ducks on defense when Zaza is on the floor which means defensive specialists like Damion Jones could be getting a lot of minutes.

With the reduction in total role players and the addition of a superstar, the statistics may be less evenly spread among the roster. Curry, Green, Iguodala and Livingston with Durant's 1.2 career steals per game means the Warrior perimeter defense will be even more stifling than it was. Durant and Green's combined length at forward may increase the amount of team steals by a noticeable margin. It may take time for the main reserve rebounders and shot blockers to emerge, considering many of them lack NBA experience, but the wait will be worth it for Fantasy Basketball Managers in seeking the more specific categories out.

 

The Greatest Show on Hardwood

In conclusion: This team will be a great show. Think Kurt Warner's "Greatest Show on Turf", and then add a scoring champion to the mix. Though it seems impossible, their offense will only move at a faster pace and will score more points with greater efficiency. Kevin Durant will still be a top-tier scoring threat with some possible hits to his assists, but we can live with that. Steph Curry will be even freer from occupied defenses and will continue to shoot and score in high volume with a good chance that he dishes out more assists to his All-NBA teammates on the wing.

Klay Thompson is the most likely to suffer from the Warriors big plans. There is a high likelihood that he scores less with KD getting so many shots, and that detracts a lot from his value. He produced just 3.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 0.8 steals in 33.3 minutes last season and his playing time could take a hit too to accommodate Durant's 35.8 minutes from last year. Thompson will still score in this historic offense, just probably not at the top-15 level that he did when it was just the "Splash Brothers" running the show. Draymond Green is very safe in his Fantasy Basketball value. Even if he can muster double-digit scoring even just every once and a while; he remains an elite asset due to his production in rebounds, blocks, steals, and assists. His much improved 3PT% of 38.8% means he won't be a fish out of water when trying to fit into this offense.

Those are the four big ones. The new version of the Warriors needs time to adjust to playing with such dominant talent. The good news is that we identified who should be better, who should be just as good, who should be worse, where the statistical gaps are, and who has the potential opportunity to fill them. Kevin Durant shocked the world when he announced his new team and his decision is sure to shake up the NBA and fantasy basketball.  If this new superteam clicks like it is capable of doing, their production could be unprecedented -- there's only so many shots to go around, sure, but does it really matter if you're making even more of the shots you take?

POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Daily Stats & Leaders
All Pitcher Matchups
Compare Any Players
Compare Any Players
Rookies & Call-Ups
24x7 News and Alerts

REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

Héctor Neris21 mins ago

Hector Neris Signs Minors Deal With Angels
Christian Encarnacion-Strand47 mins ago

Placed On Injured List With Back Inflammation
Luke Keaschall1 hour ago

Twins Calling Up Prospect Luke Keaschall
Brandon Marsh1 hour ago

Not Expected To Land On Injured List
Nick Castellanos1 hour ago

Suffers Hip Injury On Thursday, Should Play Friday
Jakob Chychrun2 hours ago

Returns Against Penguins
Rasmus Andersson2 hours ago

Out Against Kings
Jonathan Huberdeau2 hours ago

Sits Out Regular-Season Finale
Ryan Pulock3 hours ago

Out On Thursday
Jake Sanderson3 hours ago

Back In Action Thursday
Thomas Chabot3 hours ago

To Be Rested Against Hurricanes
Claude Giroux3 hours ago

Active On Thursday
DJ LeMahieu3 hours ago

Could Start A Rehab Assignment On Tuesday
Brady Tkachuk3 hours ago

Returns To Senators Lineup Thursday
Drew Doughty3 hours ago

To Remain Out Thursday
Masyn Winn3 hours ago

To Start A Rehab Assignment On Friday
Grayson Rodriguez4 hours ago

Dealing With Shoulder Soreness
Quinton Byfield4 hours ago

A Game-Time Call Thursday
Francisco Alvarez4 hours ago

Could Return This Weekend
Adrian Kempe4 hours ago

Resting Against Flames
Wyatt Langford4 hours ago

Expected To Return From Injured List This Weekend
Anze Kopitar4 hours ago

Expected To Return Thursday
Josh Smith4 hours ago

Remains Out On Thursday
Logan O'Hoppe4 hours ago

Back From Illness On Thursday
FLA4 hours ago

Jesse Puljujarvi Suspended For Two Games
Michael Tonkin4 hours ago

To Make Rehab Outing On Friday
Royce Lewis5 hours ago

To Do Some Baserunning On Thursday
Pablo López5 hours ago

Pablo Lopez To Make A Rehab Start On Saturday
David Bednar6 hours ago

Looking Good In The Minors
Noelvi Marte6 hours ago

Reds Recall Noelvi Marte From Triple-A
Caleb Durbin6 hours ago

Brewers Calling Up Caleb Durbin
Andrew Benintendi6 hours ago

Reinstated From Injured List
Brandon Marsh6 hours ago

Out On Thursday With Knee Injury
LaMonte Wade Jr.6 hours ago

Sitting Against A Left-Hander
Dallas Cowboys6 hours ago

Cowboys Add Hakeem Adeniji To Offensive-Line Room
Aaron Rodgers6 hours ago

Retirement Still An Option For Aaron Rodgers
San Francisco 49ers8 hours ago

Isaac Alarcon Suspended Six Games
Stanley Morgan Jr.8 hours ago

Titans Cut Stanley Morgan Jr.
8 hours ago

Browns GM Impressed With Jalen Milroe
Cleveland Browns8 hours ago

Browns Think Travis Hunter May Be Best Suited As A Receiver
Dallas Goedert8 hours ago

Eagles May Be Interested In Future Draft Picks For Dallas Goedert
DeMar DeRozan12 hours ago

Notches Game-High 33 Points In Play-In Loss
Klay Thompson12 hours ago

Sinks Five Triples En Route To 23 Points
Anthony Davis12 hours ago

Scores 27 Points In Win Over Kings
Josh Giddey12 hours ago

Bags Double-Double In Play-In Loss
Tyler Herro13 hours ago

Leads Heat Past Bulls Wednesday Night
Jericho Sims13 hours ago

Set To Return For Playoffs
Kyrie Irving13 hours ago

Mavericks Optimistic Kyrie Irving Returns By January
Connor McDavid14 hours ago

Hits 100-Point Mark For Fifth Straight Season
Jack Eichel14 hours ago

Scores In Return
Dylan Larkin15 hours ago

Tallies Two Points In Victory
Kaiden Guhle15 hours ago

Leads Montreal To Playoff-Clinching Victory
Connor Hellebuyck15 hours ago

Stops 30 Shots On Wednesday
Jason Robertson15 hours ago

Exits Early On Wednesday
Tennessee Titans21 hours ago

Titans Have Become Sold On Cam Ward
21 hours ago

Shedeur Sanders' Draft Stock Has Fallen
21 hours ago

Jaxson Dart A Lock To Be A First-Round Pick?
Las Vegas Raiders21 hours ago

Kolton Miller Sitting Out Offseason Program As He Seeks Extension
Chicago Bears21 hours ago

Bears Sign T.J. Edwards To Two-Year Extension
Anthony Davis1 day ago

Available On Wednesday Night
Ja Morant1 day ago

Says He'll Play On Friday Night
Kevin Durant1 day ago

Rockets Have "Level Of Mutual Interest"
Lucas Glover1 day ago

Looks To Rebound After Poor Performance
Stuart Skinner1 day ago

Starts Against Sharks Wednesday
Ondrej Palat1 day ago

Out On Wednesday
Kevin Love1 day ago

Still Out On Wednesday
Nikola Jović1 day ago

Nikola Jovic Won't Play Against Bulls
Pelle Larsson1 day ago

Ready To Return On Wednesday
Dalen Terry1 day ago

Active On Wednesday
Lonzo Ball1 day ago

Remains Out Against Heat
Josh Giddey1 day ago

Officially Available Wednesday
1 day ago

Trevor Etienne Visiting With Patriots On Wednesday
Daniel Berger1 day ago

Looking To Continue Solid Play At RBC
Sepp Straka1 day ago

Looking To Bounce Back At RBC
1 day ago

Colston Loveland To Be Top-15 Draft Pick?
Baltimore Ravens1 day ago

Ravens Have Spent Significant Time Scouting Kickers
1 day ago

Isaiah Bond Files Federal Complaint Against Accuser
Logan Woodside1 day ago

Bengals Bring Logan Woodside Back
New York Giants1 day ago

Giants Not Adamant On Drafting A Quarterback
Chicago Bears1 day ago

Shemar Stewart Visits With Bears
1 day ago

Kyle McCord Being Undervalued?
1 day ago

Tyler Shough A Potential First-Round Pick?
Justin Thomas1 day ago

Looking To Shake Off Poor Masters At RBC Heritage
Xander Schauffele1 day ago

Still Looking For Year's First Win At RBC Heritage
Maverick McNealy1 day ago

Is An Intriguing Play At RBC Heritage
Shane Lowry1 day ago

Looks To Shake Off Poor Masters Sunday At RBC Heritage
Tre Jones1 day ago

Remains Out On Wednesday
Kevin Love1 day ago

Could Return To Action Wednesday
Pelle Larsson1 day ago

Iffy For Wednesday
Nikola Jović1 day ago

Nikola Jovic Listed As Questionable For Wednesday
Alec Burks1 day ago

Active On Wednesday
Will Zalatoris1 day ago

Eyes A Bounce-Back At RBC Heritage
Gary Woodland2 days ago

Could Add Some Surprise At Hilton Head
Sam Burns2 days ago

Hoping For Better Times At RBC Heritage
Sahith Theegala2 days ago

Still Trying To Put It All Together
Aaron Rai2 days ago

Might Be That Guy For Hilton Head
Robert MacIntyre2 days ago

All Or Nothing At RBC Heritage
Tom Hoge2 days ago

Still Playing Solid Heading To Hilton Head
Nick Dunlap2 days ago

Continues To Have Rough Stretch
Keegan Bradley2 days ago

Looks To Move On From Masters Performance
Matt Fitzpatrick2 days ago

A Boom-Or-Bust Option At RBC Heritage
Patrick Cantlay2 days ago

A Strong Play At RBC Heritage
Jordan Spieth2 days ago

Targets Another Strong RBC Heritage Showing
Collin Morikawa2 days ago

Eyeing Victory At RBC Heritage
Max Homa2 days ago

Breaks Through At The Masters
Alexander Volkanovski3 days ago

Reclaims Featherweight Title
Diego Lopes3 days ago

Drops Decision At UFC 314
Paddy Pimblett3 days ago

Remains Undefeated In The UFC
Michael Chandler3 days ago

Suffers TKO Loss
MMA3 days ago

Patricio Freire Gets Dominated In His UFC Debut
Yair Rodriguez3 days ago

Gets Back In The Win Column
Bryce Mitchell3 days ago

Gets Submitted At UFC 314
Jean Silva3 days ago

Gets Submission Win At UFC 314
Dominick Reyes3 days ago

Wins Third Fight In A Row
Austin Dillon3 days ago

Nabs His First Top-10 Finish Of The 2025 Season At Bristol
Ryan Blaney3 days ago

Bold Strategies Fall Flat, Still Musters A Top-Five Finish At Bristol
Christopher Bell3 days ago

Finishes In The Top 10 After Falling Back Midway At Bristol
Ty Gibbs3 days ago

Earns His First Top-Five Finish Of The 2025 Season At Bristol
Chase Briscoe3 days ago

Quietly Scores First Career Top-Five Finish At Bristol
William Byron4 days ago

Denny Hamlin Cuts Into William Byron's Points Lead
William Byron4 days ago

Makes Best Of His Mediocre Qualifying Run With Sixth-Place Finish
Alex Bowman4 days ago

Despite Engine Failure, Alex Bowman's Improved Speed Looks Promising
NASCAR4 days ago

A.J. Allmendinger Enters Playoff Picture With Surprise Bristol Top-10 Finish
Kyle Larson5 days ago

Will Compete For The Win At Bristol
Chase Elliott5 days ago

Is One Of The More Favorable DFS Options Available For Bristol
William Byron5 days ago

Is A Solid DFS Option For Bristol Lineups
Tyler Reddick5 days ago

Could Tyler Reddick Be A Sneaky DFS Option For Bristol?
NASCAR5 days ago

Is Bubba Wallace Worth Rostering For Bristol This Week?
Ross Chastain5 days ago

Could Ross Chastain Be A Worthy DFS Choice For Bristol?
Carson Hocevar5 days ago

Is Carson Hocevar Worth Rostering For Bristol DFS Lineups?
NASCAR5 days ago

Should Fantasy Managers Avoid Rostering A.J. Allmendinger In DFS For Bristol?
Ryan Preece5 days ago

Is Ryan Preece Worth Rostering For Bristol Lineups?
Austin Dillon5 days ago

May Be One Of The Top Value Options For Bristol DFS This Week
Noah Gragson5 days ago

Should DFS Players Consider Noah Gragson For Bristol Lineups?
Riley Herbst5 days ago

Is In Play For Bristol DFS Lineups
RANKINGS
C
1B
2B
3B
SS
OF
SP
RP

RANKINGS

QB
RB
WR
TE
K
DEF