In the last few weeks, there was a lot of drama surrounding Darius Miles. It all started when the Portland Trail Blazers were able to remove Miles’ contract from the salary cap — with the stipulation that he not play more than ten games in the NBA. After the Memphis Grizzlies waived him after he played a total of eight games in this NBA season, the Blazers sent a memo to other teams saying they’d sue if another team were to sign Miles. On Friday, the Grizzlies ignored the threat and re-signed Miles.

Now the question that fantasy basketball owners want to know is whether Darius Miles has any fantasy value? The quick answer is no, however it isn’t that simple.

Prior to Miles needing serious knee surgeries, he was a solid fantasy player. But after a long time out of the game, Miles is obviously much less explosive. In his first stint with the Grizzlies, he didn’t do much else other than play in garbage time.

Surprisingly, Miles actually showed some flashes in that garbage time. He had a pair of athletic blocks and seemed to run the court well. He’s put on some weight since his last time in the NBA but he’s still long and relatively athletic.

Right now, he’s not worth picking up for your fantasy team. Although, you should keep a close eye on what Memphis does with him. If he gets an extended look, he could quickly become relevant in the fantasy world. But if he doesn’t get a legitimate chance, he’ll continue to just be a player who is talked about due to his contract with the Blazers.

Antonio Walker hasn’t played in an NBA game for almost a year. Currently, he’s stuck on the end of the Memphis Grizzlies bench and although he’s not injured, he’s not playing because … well, he’s about the last player you’d want involved in a youth movement.

However, there appears to be good news for Walker. According to him, the Grizzlies have agreed to buyout the rest of contract. That will allow Walker to sign with the NBA team of his choice.

On the basketball court, Walker isn’t a very good player. He’s mostly a ballhog who likes to jack three-pointers, not defend and try to score as many points as possible. While he may not be a good basketball player, he has at times been a good fantasy basketball player.

Could Walker return to fantasy basketball relevancy? It’s doubtful because he’s 32 now and he’s not in the best of shape — to say the least. That said, watch to see where he ends up. If a team out there desperately needs a scoring bunch and Walker is handed big minutes, he could put up a ton of fantasy stats in a hurry.

At the very least, expect to see the Antonio Walker Shimmy return once he lands somewhere. Gotta love the shimmy.

In a three-team trade earlier in the week, the New Orleans Hornets acquired Antonio Daniels, the Washington Wizards acquired Mike James and Javaris Crittenton and the Memphis Grizzlies acquired a draft pick.

While none of the players involved in the trade are household fantasy basketball names, Antonio Daniels had been valuable in recent years and Mike James was viable not that long ago. Now with the Hornets, Daniels likely won’t have the playing time to be worth much fantasy-wise. The only way he’ll be valuable is if Chris Paul goes down for an extended period of time and he’s given the starting spot. Even then, Daniels is up there in age and his declining athleticism may not allow him to play as well as he’s played in recent seasons.

James is another veteran player, however his situation is much different. With Gilbert Arenas sidelined for at least another month, James could conceivably work his way into a starting gig while Arenas is out. James hadn’t been playing for the Hornets but he’s a player always looking to shoot the ball — which makes him an interesting fantasy prospect if given minutes.

While he has dynasty value, Crittenton doesn’t have much redraft value. The Wizards will give him minutes here and there but it is doubtful he becomes an everyday cog in Washington’s rotation.

Photo credit: Newscom

Although the NBA season just started, this is a great time to hit the waiver wire and look for gems and fantasy basketball steals. Which players looked good on the opening night of the NBA? Check out these fantasy basketball players.

Mario Chalmers, Miami Heat
Mario Chalmers started for the Miami Heat at point guard and played a great game. Threatening to get a triple double in his first game, Chalmers is a definite pickup in all fantasy basketball formats. The only word of caution is to realize that the Heat were playing the Knicks — who are perhaps the worst defensive team in the league.

Charlie Villanueva, Milwaukee Bucks
Last year, Charlie Villanueva had a hugely disappointing season. He never seemed to be able to get into a groove and it showed by his play on the court. But now Villanueva is healthy, starting and is a good fantasy basketball pickup off of the waiver wire.

Yi Jianlian, New Jersey Nets
Although most of the hype surrounding Yi Jianlian has died down, he’s a player to take a look at. He was bad during the preseason for the most part, however he played very well in New Jersey’s first game.

Darrell Arthur, Memphis Grizzlies
Darrell Arthur was good during summer league, good during the preseason and had a good regular season debut. It’s going to be hard for the Grizzlies to keep him off the court because Arthur is proving to be a steal of a draft pick. Keep an eye on him if he jumps into the Grizzlies starting lineup.

Photo: Newscom

Ben Gordon, Chicago Bulls
Recently, Ben Gordon re-signed with the Bulls for the qualifying offer. With Gordon becoming a free agent at the end of the year, you can count on him going all out to have a great year. He’s a hard worker to begin with — he will be on a mission this year.

Manu Ginobili, San Antonio Spurs
While it is true that Manu Ginobili will miss as many as the first 25 games of the season after undergoing surgery on his ankle, Ginobili shouldn’t be forgotten in fantasy basketball drafts in 2008. He was very good in 2007 and all indications point to him being able to return to that level.

OJ Mayo, Memphis Grizzlies
As far as shooting guard sleepers are concerned, there aren’t many with a higher upside than OJ Mayo. Mayo loves to shoot the ball and always seems to be in the middle of the action. With the Grizzlies already eliminated from the 2009 playoffs, Mayo should get plenty of minutes.

Mickael Pietrus, Orlando Magic
Stan Van Gundy loves defense. Defense is what Mickael Pietrus does best. Expect him to play a lot and produce in categories across the board. He’s not great at any one aspect but he’s a solid fantasy basketball player due to his all-around contributions.

5) Rudy Fernandez, Portland Trail Blazers
Although it’s definitely a long shot, Rudy Fernandez has a chance to win the 2008-09 NBA Rookie of the Year award. He’s the most hyped player coming from the NBA from Europe and showed in the Olympics that he has an immense amount of talent.

4) Derrick Rose, Chicago Bulls
The number one pick of the 2008 NBA Draft doesn’t have the best chance of winning the award for the NBA’s best rookie. He’s playing on a team that has a lot of good players and he may not be forced into a large amount of minutes in his first season.

3) OJ Mayo, Memphis Grizzlies
If there is one thing OJ Mayo can do it is score the basketball. And since Rookie of the Year voting a lot of times comes down to scoring average, Mayo has a decent shot to take home the award.

2) Michael Beasley, Miami Heat
Michael Beasley can score and rebound at a very high level. If he gets enough touches in the Miami Heat offense, he could run away with this award. However, with Dwyane Wade needing a lot of shots, Beasley might have to defer in his rookie season.

1) Greg Oden, Portland Trail Blazers
After missing his entire first season after undergoing microfracture surgery on his knee, Greg Oden is back and is eligible for the Rookie of the Year award. He’s one of the best center prospects to come out in a while and he’ll be in the spotlight all season long.

Can Derrick Rose surprise many and take home the ROY award?

Photo: Newscom

With training camp less than one month away, who are the worst teams in the NFL? Let’s take a look.

5. Charlotte Bobcats
Larry Brown will turn around the Bobcats. That said, it likely isn’t a one year project. Expect a few headaches this year until LB can get the team playing the way he wants.

4. Memphis Grizzlies
The Grizzlies are starting to assemble a nice amount of talent. If Pau Gasol’s brother pans out, the Grizzlies could surprise.

3. Oklahoma City Thunder
The former Seattle Supersonics still won’t be ready for the big time. However, with a future Big Three of Kevin Garnett, Jeff Green and Russell Westbrook, the future is bright in Oklahoma.

2. Minnesota Timberwolves
The Timberwolves are still reeling from the Kevin Garnett trade. Although they have good talent, that talent isn’t going to provide many wins this year.

1. New Jersey Nets
The Nets don’t seem too concerned with winning basketball games. The summer of 2010 and a shot at LeBron James can’t come soon enough for New Jersey.

Hamed Ehadadi is an Iranian center who has played very well in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Standing at 7-foot-2, Ehadadi has piqued the interest of NBA scouts and it now seems like just a matter of time before he ends up in the NBA.

Originally, the NBA said that NBA teams couldn’t negotiate with Ehadadi. But David Stern recently gave the go ahead and now NBA teams are talking with the big center out of Iran.

The current rumor has Ehadadi signing with the Memphis Grizzlies. In fact, Ehadadi himself has said that he expects to end up with the Grizzlies by the start of the NBA season.

During the Olympics, Ehadadi is averaging approximately 16 points, 10 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game. In the NBA, he will begin the season as a backup center but could eventually become a starter.

Photo: Newscom

Josh Smith had a busy day on Friday. First, Smith signed an offersheet worth just shy of $60 million with the Memphis Grizzlies. On the same day, the Atlanta Hawks decided to match the offersheet and return their budding superstar.

In terms of fantasy basketball impact, this is good news for Josh Smith. He’ll stay with a team that has seen him become one of the most exciting players in the game. He has also been able to become a very good fantasy basketball player while with the Hawks.

Smith is still young and should continue to get better and better. While there are some negative warning signs concerning his public disdain for the Hawks and the fact that he now has the pressure of a big contract, he still remains a fantasy player with a very high ceiling.

In 2008-09 fantasy basketball drafts, expect Josh Smith to be one of the first forwards selected. And given his potential, it is hard to argue against him.

Here is a Josh Smith highlight reel video:

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Minnesota Timberwolves - More lean years ahead for the T’Wolves.
Oklahoma City Barons - The team without a name will lose a lot.
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