What Kevin Durant in Golden State means for fantasy drafts

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The first several rounds of fantasy drafts look completely different than they did back in June when Steph Curry would have been the consensus first overall pick. Based on FantasyPros' expert consensus, these are the high, low and average rankings of the Warriors' core four:

Curry still gets some love as the first pick; that makes sense considering he captured a unanimous MVP award and rewrote every important record in perimeter shooting last season. Though some experts see him sliding into the second round, that seems like a gross overreaction to the Durant signing. If he's healthy, Curry will be a top-10 player.

Durant is ranked no higher than he was last year; remember that Anthony Davis and Curry were the consensus 1-2 picks in some order in most drafts. Note that both Durant and Curry are ranked as the fifth-best fantasy player on average. The experts think both will be fantastic, though they haven't come to a consensus on who is a better option.

Green and Thompson have seen the most profound drop in draft stock. Green had been a fringe first-round pick but is now decidedly a second-rounder. The experts aren't sure how to approach Thompson, ranking him as high as 15th and as low as a late fourth-round pick in 10-team leagues.

Curry (ankle) and Durant (foot) both have significant injury histories that could cause either to miss time at some point, elevating Green and Thompson into roles with a greater opportunity for fantasy production. As it stands, their owners will have to make due with the occasional spectacular games making up for the nights when they play second-fiddle to the top dogs.

Opposition and situation will dictate role on a given night. Weaker perimeter defenses will leave themselves susceptible to an onslaught of Durant, Curry, and Thompson lining up behind the arc, with Green available inside for an easy look if his defender lags away him even for a second.

Similarly, strong interior defenses anchored by seven-foot-tall rim protectors can be drawn out of the paint by the shooting of Durant and Green. If you're the Grizzlies led by Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph, can you even afford to have your two best bigs on the floor together against the Warriors' offense? Just wait until the defenses start switching and they find Z-Bo chasing Curry in open floor, or Durant backing down poor Mike Conley under the hoop.

Durant's versatility is basically a skeleton key that unlocks the back door on any defensive look short of a team of Paul George and Kawhi Leonard clones. His presence may take some shot opportunities away from the other stars, but the shots they do take will be easier, leading to more efficient looks.

And when you consider what the Warriors gave up in terms of shots per game and usage in order to add Durant, it's not like there aren't points, rebounds and assists to be claimed. Harrison Barnes averaged 9.6 shots and 4.9 rebounds per game. Replacing nearly 13 rebounds per game from Andrew Bogut and Festus Ezeli should still give Durant a shot at seven-plus rebounds, even with the addition of Zaza Pachulia and David West.

The worst-case scenario is that the addition of Durant leads to a dramatic reduction in pace - Golden State finished with a Pace Factor of 101.6, the second-highest in the NBA. Maybe knowing that they can score at will could reduce the transition buckets conducive to fantasy production with the team setting into a slower, more methodical approach. Or not.

What's more likely is that the team rolls back the model from last year with Durant occupying Barnes' role in the 'Death Lineup' -- Curry, Thompson, Andre Iguodala, Durant, Green -- five above-average-to-legendary shooters with the ability to defend multiple positions and punish defenses with an uptempo attack that can score at any time, from any spot on the floor.

Thompson will still get hot and score 40 points once in a while, but he and Green are essentially now the best role players in the league. The same could've been said for Chris Bosh when he joined the Heat: his per-game stats fell but the team got better. They'll still be very productive players with a shot at first-round production if KD or Curry suffers an injury, but neither can be drafted higher than the true No. 1 options at their respective positions.

Curry and Durant will lead the team in fantasy production. They'll average north of 25 points per game in addition to what they contribute in other categories. They both warrant a selection in the first round of fantasy drafts. I have Durant going third overall with Curry fourth.

These players have the skills to compliment each other; predicting a cataclysmic event as all these disparate parts join as one is wrong-headed. Any change to the status quo for a high-level team should lead to a decrease in production but these players are built to ready the storm as best they can. It's a fascinating situation in fantasy basketball but it truly isn't as volatile as many think.