First, I already moved Russell Westbrook out of the top five after the Thunder acquired Paul George. So, I don't have to move him down much more. He is now at No. 11. That could move back up a spot or two, BUT, since both Steph Curry AND Kyrie Irving are PGs, as is James Harden, and Steph and the Beard have a better all-around game, and Kyrie will get better numbers with a fast offense in Boston, no need to rank Lil Russ higher. Plus, all three of them have eligibility at both PG and SG, while Russ does not. Indeed, I may drop him another couple of slots.
That said, I'll move George lower, as he and Melo are going to be fighting for some of the same space. Otherwise, with Enes Kanter gone, Steven Adams is getting more playing time and moves up several spots. Yahoo, though, had him ranked too high at No. 50. I don't have him there even now.
Kanter is a toughie, looking back east. He didn't play a lot of minutes per game last year, splitting time with Adams. The same will be true in New York, with both Joakim Noah and Willy Hernangomez there, barring a trade. So, he stays roughly unchanged.
The Unicorn, Kristaps Porzingis, had already been moved up by Yahoo, expecting improvement from last year. It's his team now, and struggles at times and all, expect definite growth all around. He should definitely be above a Joel Embiid. Embiid has an even higher ceiling, it seems. But, until we see a totally healthy Process in action for a totally healthy long stretch, don't get suckered.
As for Melo himself? With him not being the originator of much of the offense with his new team, on stats, he'll be even lower than the NBA Rank of 63 that ESPN gave him and people bitched about. I'd move him to 70, maybe lower.
Also, regarding that earlier trade, the Kyrie-to-Boston one, I moved Kevin Love up somewhat under the theory that somebody besides LeBron has to score. And, I moved Harden down, though still ahead of Lil Russ, compared to last year since the Rockets now have Chris Paul, which will cut into Harden's assist numbers a lot.
Again, these are fantasy ranks, not real player individual comparison ranks.
Who's my No. 1 right now? I agree with some of the people in this ESPN fantasy discussion — it's KAT, Karl-Anthony Towns. (I'm in a points league.) Expect about as much scoring as last year. Expect more efficient scoring, by a touch. With a new defensive-minded coach and Thibodeau alums Jimmy Butler and Taj Gibson to help with that on the floor, expect the possibility more blocks and more rebounds.
And, if defenses start focusing on him more? Definitely expect an uptick in assists. He is definitely the top big man overall. His only drawback is that he has only single-position eligibility with Yahoo, unlike the Unicorn and Anthony Davis, my no. 2 big, and his running mate, DeMarcus Cousins.
One other early note? Consider moving Kawhi Leonard down a few spots. At a minimum, he's going to miss the entire preseason. Per my note about this year's T-Wolves, and earlier comments about players with multi-position eligibility, Butler is a good alternative.
And, outside of the fantasy world, should we just pencil in the Houston Rockets as this year's Southwest Division champs? The fact that this Leonard has an injury problem that arose last year, and that it's unrelated to his ankle injuries, should be matter for concern.
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And a sidebar:
Dwyane Wade in your fantasy league?
DON'T.
Read my post about him and the Bulls mutually dumping each other, if you actually are thinking of this.
Well, if you're in a league with 10 or more players, and are looking for depth at the 9 spot or lower, maybe.
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Sidebar 2: Additional injury news could further change this, of course. I started gathering my ideas a few days back, then saw Kawhi's injury.
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