Nick Falk did a great job of looking at the players involved in the big trade between Houston and Oklahoma City yesterday. As the ripples cross the pond, it makes sense to highlight how the trade affects the other players on both rosters. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook shouldn't be affected much. Westbrook may need to set up the offense more without Harden around, but his responsibilities will be largely the same.
The Incumbent Thunder
Thabo Sefelosha: Since coming to the Thunder four seasons ago, the Swiss shooting guard has started all but one game he has appeared in. While Kevin Martin is also a shooting guard, Sefelosha should continue to start and provide staunch perimeter defense. Martin may require more shots than Harden, so Sefelosha won't see many more offensive opportunities. At the same time, Martin is not a point guard, so Sefelosha may be asked to handle the ball more and may see a slight bump in assists.
Eric Maynor: The returning Thunder player that gets the biggest bump in value is Maynor. The backup point guard has a 3:1 turnover:assist ratio over his career as a backup. He missed the majority of last season after tearing his ACL, but has returned to health. Without Harden to facilitate the offense, Maynor will be asked to play a bit more next to Westbrook. The VCU product has not played more than 16.5 minutes per game in any of his four seasons and he may not be ready to play more than as he comes back from major surgery. However, he is also in line for a nice uptick in value as the backup point guard.
Nick Collison: Because the Thunder didn't bring back a big and sent Cole Aldrich to Houston, someone is going to have to take up some of those minutes behind Serge Ibaka and Kendrick Perkins. Since the other candidates are Hasheem Thabeet and Perry Jones, Collison may need to play a touch more. The nine-year veteran has spent his entire career with the franchise and has found his role as a 20-minute bench player. With averages of less than five rebounds and points over the last two seasons, Collison has very little fantasy value, but he could see extra time if either of the starters gets in foul trouble.
The Returning Rockets
Jeremy Lin: Lin may be the most divisive character in fantasy basketball this season. Is he healthy? Was he for real in his 25-game starting stint with the Knicks last year? Adding Harden may help Lin more than it hurts. Lin generally dominates the ball, but he won't have to do all of the point guard duties with Harden around. This will allow the Harvard graduate to play off the ball a bit more. With Lin, it may be less is more and he should still get plenty of opportunities.
Carlos Delfino: Delfino was slated to back up Martin and now will fulfill the same role behind Harden. It may be that the 6-7 Delfino will get more time at small forward if coach Kevin McHale decides to go small. Harden is an improving three-point shooter so he and Delfino would be able to spread the floor well and allow Lin to penetrate. Since Jeremy Lamb won't take backup minutes away from the Argentinean, Delfino may get a slight bump in minutes and could be a decent streamer for threes, which he can hit (and miss) in bunches.
Omer Asik: The Rockets' other free agent prize of the offseason will have a competent backup. With all due respect to Donatas Motiejunas, Aldrich should get some minutes and the Rockets may go with a three-headed center. Asik will likely continue to start and may provide enough rebounds and blocks to be fantasy relevant. It seems unlikely that the Rockets would renew the twin towers of yore with two of their centers at once, but the team's power forwards - Patrick Patterson, Terrence Jones, Marcus Morris, and Royce White - are largely untested. All in all, look for the acquisition of Aldrich to hurt Asik's value a tad.