Now that the Portland Trail Blazers have missed out on signing Hedo Turkoglu (Turkoglu decided to sign with the Toronto Raptors after verbally agreeing to join the Blazers), the Blazers will be forced to move on in free agency. On target that has reportedly shot to the top of the list is David Lee.

Lee, who has spent his first four season in the NBA with the New York Knicks, would give the Blazers some toughness down in the low blocks. When the Blazers lost to the Rockets in the first round of the playoffs, a lack of toughness was one of the main reasons. Lee would be able to address that weakness.

However, looking at it with fantasy basketball in mind, Lee to the Blazers doesn’t help his fantasy value. With LaMarcus Aldridge, Greg Oden and Joel Przybilla already on the roster, where doe Lee fit in? Would he be happy coming off the bench? Would the Blazers think about going big and moving Aldridge to small forward?

If Lee signs with the Blazers, go ahead and lower his fantasy value until we get some answers. Last season, Lee averaged 16 points and 11.7 rebounds in 34.9 minutes per game. With Portland, Lee’s numbers would are sure to go down.

Greg Oden, the oft-injured center for the Portland Trail Blazers, is injured again. Although his latest knee injury was supposed to heal up quickly, he’s still not back and now it’s been over three weeks.

Asked recently when he thought he’d be back, he hinted at the possibility of missing the rest of the season. His teammate Brandon Roy also hinted that Oden won’t be seen again for the rest of the 2009 NBA season.

In the fantasy world, this is obviously bad news for Oden owners. If you were holding out hope that he’d be able to come back and help lead your team to victory, that hope seems to be dying. In dynasty leagues, Oden’s value might have hit another new low.

It’s too early to call Oden a bust but he’s definitely looking like a candidate. He missed his whole first season after a knee injury. Get hurt in the first game this season. And is now hurt again and may be out for the season.

Dynasty owners also have to start wondering whether Oden will be able to mentally tackle this challenge. His NBA career has started off very bumpy. Not only do we not know if his body will hold up, we also have to wonder if his mind and spirit will hold up.

Brandon Roy of the Portland Trail Blazers is known for being a very fundamentally sound player. He can do it all with the basketball. However, it’s easy to forget how athletic he is. Cheikh Samb of the Los Angeles Clippers got a reminder the hard way.

As you can see in the video, Brandon Roy unleashed a shocking dunk on top of Samb. And Samb isn’t a pushover. In fact, he’s the leading the NBA D-League this season in blocked shots. But he didn’t see anything like Roy in the D-League.

In fantasy basketball, Roy continues to be a very solid option. He was lights out in December and has played well in January despite suffering from a few nagging injuries.

Here’s Brandon Roy’s dunk on Cheikh Samb:

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.

Roger Mason, Jr., San Antonio Spurs
Currently, Roger Mason, Jr. is leading the NBA in three-pointers made and is shooting a sizzling 52% from beyond the arc. Playing off of Tim Duncan, Mason has found plenty of openings to get off his quick release jumper. However, keep an eye on his minutes after Ginobili returns to 100% and Tony Parker returns from his ankle injury.

Quentin Richardson, New York Knicks
Under Mike D’Antoni once again, Quentin Richardson is in line to have a huge year from beyond the three-point line. He already has made 35 threes and is shooting a very respectable 38%. If he stays healthy, there’s a good chance he could lead the league in three-pointers made.

Rashard Lewis, Orlando Magic
Although his touch isn’t quite there yet, Rashard Lewis is already shooting a ton of threes. He easily leads the league in three-pointers attempted and once he regains his touch, he will undoubtedly finish amongst the league leaders in three-pointers made. With Dwight Howard drawing a lot of attention, Lewis gets freed up for many good looks per game.

Rudy Fernandez, Portland Trail Blazers
The Blazers knew Rudy Fernandez had a good jumper but they didn’t know he’d be among the league leaders in three-pointers made while shooting better than 43% from deep. If Fernandez gets more playing time, he’ll be able to drop even more long distance bombs.

Photo credit: Newscom

Using John Hollinger’s PER statistic, which undervalued players may become viable fantasy basketball players if their minutes increase? Here’s a look at a few fantasy basketball sleepers as indicated by PER:

Greg Oden, Portland Trail Blazers
This one is rather obvious. Although the Blazers are purposely monitoring Greg Oden’s minutes, it’s no secret that he’s a stud in the making. Now would be a good time to buy low on Oden before he takes over the starting job and really explodes onto the scene. The only risk regarding Oden is an injury risk, although that risk is definitely worth the reward at this point.

Ryan Anderson, New Jersey Nets
No one is really talking about Ryan Anderson. If you think of Nets bigman rookies, you are going to think of Brook Lopez first. However, if you look at the stats, Anderson is producing quite nicely. Once the Nets really start losing and start trying to get as many ping pong balls as possible, expect Anderson to get plenty of minutes.

Brandan Wright, Golden State Warriors
Brandan Wright had very good per minutes stats as a rookie. His per minute stats are even better as a sophomore. Although the Warriors have some good bigman options, Wright could eventually find himself in the starting lineup. This becomes even more likely if the Warriors are able to find a trade partner to ship out Al Harrington.

Marreese Speights, Philadelphia 76ers
Although Marreese Speights doesn’t get many minutes, his PER statistic makes him look like a potential fantasy basketball sleeper. The problem for Speights will be minutes. Playing behind Elton Brand, there won’t be many minutes at power forward for the Sixers. If there is an injury on the Sixers frontline, picking up Speights would be the smart move.

Greg Oden on Friday finally had the type of Greg Oden game we’ve all been waiting for. After missing his entire rookie season, getting hurt in the first game of his second rookie season and then playing a mostly invisible first game after his return from injury, we got to see Oden’s potential.

Against the New Orleans Hornets, the Portland Trail Blazers center had 11 points, 11 rebounds and four blocked shots in 24 minutes of action. All things considered, it was a great game by Oden and puts him right back on the fantasy basketball radar for 2008.

If you are worried about his mobility or his athleticism, check out the Greg Oden video at the end of this entry. As you can see in the video, he’s still explosive and has the potential to be a dominant defensive center.

Fantasy basketball-wise, Oden’s games in upcoming weeks will likely be hit or miss. The biggest reason being that he’s coming off the bench behind Joel Przybilla. Although he will undoubtedly reclaim the starting spot at some time, there are hints out of Portland that they may ease him back into the spotlight via a bench role.

If you can trade low for Oden, do so now. If he starts playing big minutes, he’s a double-double with 2+ blocks per game waiting to happen.

Here is the Greg Oden video of a huge block against the Hornets:

Brandon Roy of the Portland Trail Blazers made the All-Star team last season. This season, it appears as if he may elevating his game to superstar status. Against the Houston Rockets in a recent game, Brandon Roy hit a game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer to give the Blazers the win in overtime. You can see a video of Roy’s miraculous shot at the end of this entry.

In the video, Roy puts the Blazers up by two points by hitting a shot over Ron Artest of the Rockets. Yao Ming responds with an impressive three-point play to put the Rockets up by one. With 0.8 seconds left on the clock, Roy catches the ball from about 35 feet and drains the long bomb. The Brandon Roy video is certainly worth watching.

If you have Roy on your fantasy basketball team, you should be happy that he’s coming up with big plays at the end of games this year. While his stats haven’t been great so far, he’s improving on a game by game basis. The best news is that he’s the undisputed top dog in Portland right now so you can expect the offense to run through him.

If Roy can stay healthy, there’s no reason why he can’t finish the season as a top 10-15 fantasy basketball player.

Here is the video of Brandon Roy hitting the game-winner against the Rockets:

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PER is a formula created by John Hollinger to measure productivity of NBA players on a per-minute basis. In fantasy basketball, you can use PER to find players who may blossom once given more minutes. Here is a look at some early PER sleepers for the 2008-09 fantasy basketball season:

Nick Young, Washington Wizards
In only 23.7 minutes per game, Nick Young is averaging 15.7 points. The Wizards knew he could score but he’s off to an unbelievable start. He is shooting 50% from the floor and has hit all 15 of his free throw attempts. While his other stats outside of the scoring column aren’t eye popping, Young is showing superstar level potential. If he can continue to produce at a high level, Washington will have to find even more minutes for him.

Rudy Fernandez, Portland Trail Blazers
Rudy Fernandez isn’t quite a star in the NBA but he is definitely showing he’s very good on a per-minute basis. It’s only a matter of time that he’ll start playing 30+ minutes per game. When he does, he could quickly become a very valuable fantasy basketball option. He has a lot of competition on the Trail Blazers for playing time but he’s too good to sit long.

Trevor Ariza, Los Angeles Lakers
Although he comes off the bench and only plays 22 minutes per game, Trevor Ariza is already a decent fantasy basketball player. If his minutes rise, he has the potential to be a stud. His points, rebounding, blocks, steals and shooting percentages are all improved. In fact, Ariza has added a three-point shot to his repertoire which has made him an even more dangerous player.

Gerald Green, Dallas Mavericks
In summer league, Gerald Green was extremely impressive. He also mixed in a few impressive preseason games. Even though he’s played extremely limited minutes, his PER is extremely impressive. The Mavericks have tried a bunch of different players in their starting shooting guard position. If Green gets a shot and proves to be a starter, he has the talent to be a scoring machine.

Less than three minutes into the first game of his rookie season, Portland Trail Blazers center Greg Oden landed wrong and injured his foot. Although he was able to play the rest of the first half, he couldn’t go in half number two. A later examine is calling it a sprained foot that will force him to miss 2-to-4 weeks of action.

This is obviously devastating news for Greg Oden fantasy owners. Injury had to be a concern during the fantasy draft and an injury in the first game is not something you wanted to hear. Even though the official prognosis has him possible back in as quickly as 14 days, that is doubtful. Since the Blazers have so much invested in him and he is such an injury risk, the team will likely keep him out for at least a month — if not longer.

While he’s out, you may consider picking up Joel Przybilla. He’s not a great fantasy player but he’s had his moments when given ample playing time. He can rebound, block shots and usually shoots for a high percentage. If he’s going to play 30+ minutes while Oden is out, he’s worth rostering until Oden proves he can stay on an NBA court.

In dynasty leagues, Oden owners are hurting even more. It was easy to call last season’s microfracture surgery a fluke. But now two years in a row? (Well, three if you count his one season at Ohio State.) Your best bet as an Oden dynasty league owner is to see if anyone is willing to buy high but more realistically, you might as well hold onto Oden and hope that he can get on the court eventually and up his value.

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