21-year old Kevin Durant is a rising force in the NBA. He was dismissed early in his career for being too thin but the critics were wrong about this guy as he is a bonafide All-Star. Durant played in 74 games for the Thunder last season and he averaged 39.0 minutes, 25.3 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.3 steals per game. He will likely keep improving on those numbers especially in scoring average as the Thunder need him to be the man on offense. 33-year old Ryan Bowen will get a couple of minutes per night backing up Durant. He played in 21 games for the Hornets last season and he averaged 10.4 minutes, 2.2 points, 1.1 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game. Bowen is a high effort guy that scrapes his knees a lot diving for loose balls. Thabo Sefolosha and Jeff Green could also get some minutes at small forward behind Durant when he needs a break.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE SMALL FORWARDS IN 2009-2010: A