The 2008 NBA draft didn’t have quite as many twists and turns as everyone expected, but in the world of fantasy basketball, a number of players ended up on teams where they could play a role for your fantasy squad next season.

The first two picks went as expected, and noone is surprised that these rookies will be the most sought after on draft day, especially in keeper or dynasty leagues.  Derrick Rose went to his hometown of Chicago and will be a fantasy star in this league.  He may need a little more adjustment than most expect, but his size will give him an ability to score, rebound and make steals consistently.  The biggest question mark isn’t really around Rose, but if Chicago can put some scoring talent on their frontline to give Rose some options on offense.  Beasley will play right away for the Heat and will play significant minutes.  It will be harder for him to score at the NBA level, and will need to play alongside two guys who will want their own touches in Wade and Marion, but expect very good numbers out of Beasley, simply from his amount of PT alone.

After the first two, it got a little interesting.

OJ Mayo:  As he was drafted I did not expect big things from Mayo next season in terms of fantasy contribution.  In Minnesota he was going to be fighting with essentially two other combo guards in Foye and Brewer for playmaking time.  While talented, none of those players have a true position and that usually screams inconsistent play.  But then the trade went down sending Mayo to Memphis and Love to Minny.  These two players are much better suited on their new teams.  I think Memphis got the better player, but Love will also give Minnesota more than what Mayo was going too.  In Memphis Mayo can just be a shooting guard and play to his strengths of shooting and moving without the ball.  Memphis has more of a pure PG in Conley who will create for Mayo, and a proven slasher scorer in Rudy Gay who will demand most of the defensive attention.  Mayo is going to be able to play in this offense with much more confidence and that should directly result in better results for your fantasy team.  I can see Mayo scoring 12-14 a game, with 5 assists and a steal per game.  Very solid first year numbers.

Kevin Love:  See Mayo.  Love’s skill set will play alongside Al Jefferson much better than Darko in Memphis.  Don’t expect huge scoring numbers from Love, but a solid 10-12 points and 6 rebounds should be attainable this season.  If teh Wolves let the offense go through Love at all, you could be surprised by a bonus number of assists.

Jerryd Bayless:  Another player who’s draft team made his fantasy outlook look bleak (Indiana already had TJ Ford coming to play the point), but a trade opened up many opportunities for Bayless.  Bayless was quickly shipped to Portland where he has an excellent opportunity to walk in and take the reigns as a starting PG.  At worst he probably is starting by the 30 game mark, as they allow him to adjust behind Steve Blake.  The Blazers want a PG who can run with this team alongside Roy and Aldridge, but still create for Oden.  Bayless can do all of that while also creating for himself.  He is their PG of the future on a very good young team.  I expect a solid 10 points and 5-6 assists from Bayless once the season is over, but those numbers could be much better at the end of the year when he is playing more minutes.

Brook Lopez:  Still shaking my head at how the Bobcats, who have been searching for a big man to play alongside Meka, pass on Lopez for another young PG when Felton is running this team.   New Jersey gets the reward for teams passing on Lopez, and Brook fits in on New Jersey just as quickly.  Nenad has not recovered since tearing his ACL and he has been a soft center since entering the league.  New Jersey needs a banger inside, to match up against the other East and West teams.  Lopez gives them that inside presence.  This will allow newly acquired Yi Jianlian to play more to his strengths of playing face-up on the perimeter and shooting mid range jumpers.  Lopez could play very significant minutes and his strengths will be rebounding and blocks.  He will be a low option scoring behind Carter, Harris and Yi, but should play the offensive glass well enough for 8-10 points a game.  NJ had to be ecstatic this player fell to them to fill this team need. 

Russell Westbrook:  I thought this pick was a bit of a reach at #4, but I have a feeling Westbrook is going to excel in the Seattle offense.  He has an ability to finish at the rim and should compliment Durant very well as a PG who can slash and distribute.  He is not the pure PG I thought they would go after, but he could surprise many.  I think you will get the rewards of drafting or picking up Westbrook in the second half of the season though, when their young players start getting more time and he has adjusted to the speed of the Pro game.  Since he does not create extremely well, I don’t expect huge assist numbers from him right away, so if you pick Westbrook on draft night, it should be in keeper leagues where most of the benefits will come in later seasons.

Players to watch for from late draft picks:

Anthony Randolph:  Randolph will not get minutes worthy of drafting in this first season.  Brandon Wright will steal his minutes if the bench even gets time.  He fits the style of Golden State, but he is way to thin without any true game to play significant minutes in year 1.

Alexis Ajinka: Another player to avoid.  He is rail thin and averaged 5 points and 5 rebounds in the french league.  He is not ready.

JR Giddens and Bill Walker:  While I don’t think either player will get enough minutes for fantasy impact, I would watch both players closely.  Giddens could cause locker room problems and be out, or Walker may not recover from his knee injury and be gone, but both were very recently projected as top 15 players only to slide down the charts for various reasons.  Both could be a steal where they were drafted/ acquired and on a team where the bench gets significant minutes during the regular season, earn their time quickly.  Both are explosive players who will get to teh rim, shoot and rebound.

Donte Green - In Memphis Green was going to be forever stuck behind Rudy Gay and Mayo.  In Houston he may be one of the first players off the bench when he gets his game together.  Green is an explosive scorer the Rockets need from their bench.  When T-Mac or Ming leave the floor, the offense sputters, and Green will be one of the main options for that second unit.

Kosta Koufos- He seems like he was groomed to be picked by Utah as a Jerry Sloan player.  Why I think his value could be much higher than a typical 23rd pick?  Boozer is said to be leaving as soon as he is eligible through his contract, which would open the door wide for Koufos to play a big role.  He will earn more and more time this season, but he was drafted for 2 years from now to be their starter.