Fantasy Basketball: Paul George gets superstar teammate, Victor Oladipo gets chance to shine in blockbuster

Chris Towers breaks down the Fantasy ramifications of the huge Paul George trade.

Maybe superstars just aren't as valuable on the trade market as we think. At some point, we may have to come to grips with that possibility, because every time there is a blockbuster trade, it seems to feature an underwhelming return. It was true when DeMarcus Cousins was traded before the deadline; it held true when the Timberwolves landed Jimmy Butler at the draft, too.

And now, the Pacers seem to have moved Paul George for pennies on the dollar, in a deal that lands them Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis, according to numerous reports Friday. On the surface, this looks like a questionable move for the Pacers, and a potential franchise-changer for the Thunder. It also, obviously, leads to yet another seismic shift in the Fantasy landscape, with two top-15 players teaming up in Oklahoma City. Let's dive into the ramifications.

Can George and Westbrook co-exist?

This is going to be the big question after Westbrook's record-breaking run through the league in 2016-17. Westbrook obviously co-existed with Kevin Durant for years – right up until they no longer did. Whether that breakup was inevitable, or was the result of Westbrook's style of play, is up for debate, to be sure.

However, that's more of a long-term debate. It's a question the Thunder need to solve sometime before next summer, but it simply shouldn't bother Fantasy owners much. Westbrook's raw per-game numbers will decline, to be sure, but that's hardly the end of the world; he finished No. 8 in Rotisserie scoring in both 2015-16 and 2016-17. Because he spent so much of his career playing next to another ball-dominant wing, we pretty much know what to expect from Westbrook here.

That means, at least in Roto leagues, you probably shouldn't downgrade Westbrook much at all. Whatever he loses in points and rebounds – he actually averaged 10.4 assist in each of the last two seasons – should be made up for by an inevitable improvement in his efficiency. Westbrook turned the ball over a whopping 5.4 times per game last season, and saw his shooting percentage fall from 45.4 (on 18.1 shots per game) to 42.5 (on a more harmful 24.0 shots) last season. It's hard to argue that he wasn't incredibly effective last season, but we saw him reach a point of diminishing returns, and a regression to the more typical production we saw from him during the Durant era wouldn't be the worst thing in the world.

That argument doesn't hold up quite as well in H2H points leagues, where Westbrook saw his average rise from 50.1 in 2015-16 to 59.6 last season. He is still in the conversation for the No. 1 pick – especially with James Harden losing some value too, playing next to Chris Paul – but he won't run away with the top spot this time around.

A lot of this logic holds true for George. We don't know how he plays next to a dominant point guard, but we know how a player similar to him in a lot of ways plays next to Westbrook. It goes without saying, George isn't Durant, especially as a playmaker and ballhandler But, he's about as close as you can come in today's NBA – he's a long, athletic wing, who excels coming off screens and curls, and is a dynamite spot-up shooter.

That's a great skill set to put next to an elite point guard, and Westbrook is a willing and able passer, so George should get plenty of opportunities to shoot and score. I wouldn't expect him to see much of a decrease in his scoring opportunities, as he just averaged 23.7 points on 20.2 shooting possessions (FGA + (.44*FTA) per game with a 28.9 percent usage rate; Durant had a 30.6 percent usage rate with 22.2 shooting possessions per game in his final season next to Westbrook.

George might see a bit of a dip in his assist numbers, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, if it also leads to fewer turnovers. That's a fair assumption to make, and combined with the potential for improved shooting efficiency and even more 3-pointers – he's averaged 2.6 per game over the last two seasons –George might even see a slight bump in value. Still, he should be viewed as more of an early second-round pick in both H2H and Roto considering this move.

The Pacers' rebuild begins now... around Oladipo?

Oladipo and Sabonis feels like an incredibly uninspiring return for the Pacers, especially given that the trade went down before the start of free agency, and there didn't appear to be much urgency to get a deal done right away. Still, for Fantasy purposes, this does seem to create plenty of value to dig up.

We'll start with Oladipo, the key to the deal. Oladipo isn't so young that we should expect a huge step forward, but at 25, he's not exactly old. He probably doesn't have a ton of room for growth yet, but he's also never been in a situation as potentially ideal for him to thrive as this one.

The problem for Oladipo in Oklahoma City was, he needs the ball in his hands to have much value, but there was no reason for the Thunder to prioritize him over Westbrook. That shouldn't be any kind of issue in Indiana, on a roster that is likely to lose point guard Jeff Teague, without an obvious replacement. Oladipo should get plenty of opportunities to run the offense, and that should be good for his Fantasy appeal.

Oladipo doesn't have superstar upside at this point, but a career-best season may not be too much to ask. Myles Turner is a great pick-and-pop partner, and Oladipo should see a nice boost in usage on a team that just doesn't have much left. Expect scoring in the high-teens, with a career high in assists around 5.0 per game very much in the realm of possibility. Oladipo was a pretty huge disappointment for much of the Fantasy community last season, so don't reach for him too high. But, it's not the worst idea to view him as a fourth or fifth-round pick in 2017-18.

Turner is also an obvious winner here, as he could end up Indiana's go-to scorer before long. In a league full of preternaturally talented young bigs like Karl-Anthony Towns, Kristaps Porzingis, Joel Embiid, and Nikola Jokic, Turner can get lost in the shuffle from time to time. However, he is coming off a season that saw him average 14.5 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game as a 20-year-old. It might be a bit much to expect him to make a leap to 20 ppg and a nightly double-double, but it isn't out of the question. Don't be surprised when Turner is coming off the board in the late second round in Roto leagues next season, especially with the potential to extend his game even further beyond the 3-point line.  

Sabonis remains an interesting young piece, but he'll have to compete with rookie T.J. Leaf for playing time this season, and there's no guarantee he wins out there. Neither deserves to be drafted in redraft leagues, especially because Thaddeus Young may still end up the starter at power forward, if the Pacers opt to stay small. Consider either Leaf or Sabonis only with a very late pick in Dynasty drafts.

There isn't much else of note on this roster, though there is the morbid fascination involved in watching a potential Oladipo-Lance Stephenson backcourt try to coexist in the modern NBA. Stephenson will be worth just a late-round flier, and Young could be worth taking in the middle rounds as the least exciting No. 3 forward of all time. This roster isn't close to complete yet, and we'll see what it looks like come draft season, but there just isn't much to be excited about for Fantasy purposes at this point.