While Greg Oden hasn’t made any noise on an NBA court yet, he has been making noise off the court — literally. Check out this hilarious video of Greg Oden signing the N’Sync song “It’s Gotta Be Me”.

Oden has always been known as a clown and this video enforces that perception. It’s good to see Oden having fun but it will be better to see him playing basketball again. Fans of the Portland Trail Blazers have to be counting down the days until they get to see their 2007 NBA Draft first overall pick.

Here is the Greg Oden N’Sync video where he sings “It’s Gotta Be Me”:

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Jerryd Bayless, the soon to be rookie guard for the Portland Trail Blazers, was named the MVP of the NBA Summer League held in Las Vegas. Bayless and his great ability to score the ball wowed onlookers all week long.

In four games, Bayless averaged 29.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.2 steals on 48.5% shooting from the field. Bayless was far and away the leading scorer during summer league and did so shooting a respectable mark from the field.

During the 2008-09 NBA season, Bayless will likely begin the season on the bench behind Steve Blake and Brandon Roy at guard. However, Bayless can earn a significant role quickly and very well could become a fantasy basketball viable player.

Here are some highlights that resulted in Jerryd Bayless winning the MVP award:

A lot of people think there is no basketball to be watched during the summer. That is far from the case! During the summer, you can watch NBA summer league basketball. Summer league may not be the highest level of play but the players play hard and you can get a first look at future superstars.

Speaking of potential superstars, Jerryd Bayless, the rookie guard for the Portland Trail Blazers, didn’t disappoint in his first summer league action. Bayless finished his summer league debut with 28 points and four rebounds. Petteri Koponen, who the Blazers drafted in the first round last year, chipped in 19 points and three assists.

Bayless has a chance to start the season as Portland’s starter at guard next to Brandon Roy. If he keeps playing like this, he’ll start for sure.

Here’s a video of Bayless scoring 28 points in summer league:

Brandon Roy, the great second-year player on the Portland Trail Blazers, injured a groin recently that has the rest of his season in doubt. To Roy’s credit, he’s saying that his season likely isn’t over.

However, Roy is out a minimum of one week and it may actually be closer to two weeks – if he comes back at all. One would think that the Blazers wouldn’t want to risk Roy re-injuring himself. For Roy to come back, he’ll have to be 100%.

If Roy is on your fantasy team, plan to make due without him. While he may return, plan as if he’s out for the season.

With Roy out, that changes a lot for the Blazers. The player who is should get the biggest boost from this news is Jarrett Jack. Jack has fallen out of favor recently after beginning the season as the starting point guard. Although now with Roy out, expect Jack and Steve Blake to play a lot together in the backcourt.

Other players on the Blazers such as LaMarcus Aldridge, Martell Webster and Travis Outlaw to also help in picking up the scoring slack.

From FantasyFanatics.com

Well, All-Star Weekend has come and gone, however, the debate on the “Superman” dunk (was it a dunk or not?) still rages on. As fantasy basketball players, we have bigger concerns on our mind. For one, what are the fantasy effects of all of the blockbuster deals this season? Also, are there any second-half sleepers out there to help you in your league’s stretch run? Here is a look at those questions and more.

Trade Fallout – The Winners:

Kurt Thomas – Power Forward/Center – Spurs – Thomas moves to a team that needs his services in the post. He should get the majority of minutes over Fabricio Oberto and may contribute a double-double statistical line with strong percentages and decent defensive numbers. He has very limited upside. But, you could do worse for a short-term filler at center.

Beno Udrih – Point Guard – Kings – Udrih resumes his role as the Kings starting point guard with Mike Bibby going east to the Hawks. Just in case you forgot, he is averaging 14 points and 5 assists as a starter this season.

Marcus Williams – Point Guard – Nets – The good news, Jason Kidd has left town. The bad news, Devin Harris has arrived in town. Harris will be out a couple of weeks recovering from injury. That will give Williams ample time to audition for the starting point guard job.

Antoine Wright – Shooting Guard/Small Forward – Mavericks – Wright has two things to be grateful for. One, he no longer has to compete with the uninspired duo of Vince Carter and Richard Jefferson for minutes. Two, he is out of New Jersey. Wright could contribute in steals, assists, and rebounds if given 28 to 30 minutes a night. That is not as far fetched as it sounds as the Maverick may start to save the aging legs of Eddie Jones and Jerry Stackhouse for the playoffs.

Trade Fallout – The Losers:

Andris Biedrins – Center – Warriors – Biedrins’ stock is not affected by a trade, but the signing of Chris Webber. Biedrins has not only lost his starting gig to Webber, but some playing time as well. He is really foul-prone, so the drop in his value can not all be attributed to the Webber signing. He is also very young and is a nice buy low candidate for keeper leagues.

Josh Boone – Power Forward/Center – Nets – The Nets have been in search of good big men since the days of Derrick Coleman. While the lot of “bigs” they have now do not have the talent – or nearly the waistline – of Coleman, there are a lot of them. Adding DeSagana Diop to Boone, a recovering Nenad Krstic, the recently acquired Stromile Swift, and rookie Sean Williams makes the front line rotation pretty crowded. There is a large possibility that there will be an open audition at the four and five spot in New Jersey for the rest of the season. If that is the case, then all involved will have diminished fantasy value.

Boris Diaw– Power Forward/Center – Suns – If Shaquille O’Nealcan stay healthy and if he can play 30 minutes a night, then Diaw role and minutes will be minimized for the Suns. But those are some pretty big “ifs”. Diaw’s steals and assists from the center spot can be value. However, his production is too volatile to rely on.

Jarrett Jack – Guard – Blazers – Why is Jack on this list? He has not been traded, has he? The Blazers have not made a trade, right? Well, there is the problem. Jack would have benefited greatly by a move out of Portland. He has moved into the starting lineup recently, at the two-guard spot, at least on a part-time basis. His shooting is too inconsistent to play big minutes at the off guard spot and there are too many options on the bench for Jack to be worthy of a roster spot right now.

Acie Law – Guard – Hawks – Using simple math, you can deduce that Law has a chance of more playing time. Two point guards leave (Tyronn Lue and Anthony Johnson) and one came back in a trade (Mike Bibby). However, beating out Lue and Johnson for minutes is different than beating out Bibby. Law may see some gain in value, but loses a chance to become a truly viable fantasy option.

Second-Half Sleepers

Randy Foye – Guard – Wolves – I have been tooting this guy’s horn for a while. Foye is good. How good? Well, that has yet to be determined, but Minnesota has nothing better to do this season but find out what exactly what they have in Foye. His shooting has been awful this season – currently sitting at 36%. Considering that he shot 43% from the field and 37% from three point range last season, he should raise his field goal percentage considerably the rest of the way.

Luis Scola – Power Forward/Center – Rockets – Scola got off to a slow start this season as he got acclimated to the league. His February numbers: 11 points and 6 rebounds – not eye popping, until you see that he is shooting 63% from the field. He should continue to put up better numbers as he gets more comfortable with the NBA style of play. Averages of 13 points and 7 rebounds is very possible.

Rodney Stuckey – Guard – Pistons – In case you have not noticed, Stuckey has February averages of 11.4 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 3.7 assists in just 22 minutes. Logic tells us that he should see his minutes continue to rise as they ready him – a rest the aging starters – for the post-season. Put Stuckey on the Timberwolves or the Clippers, he would be a top candidate for the Rookie of the Year award.

Louis Williams – Guard – Sixers – Like Randy Foye, Williams should have plenty of opportunity the rest of the way to prove his wares. Williams has a multitude of skills and appears that he will be a fantasy star someday. The question that you should be asking is: will he turn those skills into production this season. He is, at least, worthy of a spot on your watch-list, if not your reserve team. However, I have a little more optimistic outlook for Williams. He could be good for 12.5 points, 3.5 assists, and 1.5 steals the rest of the way on 45% shooting, up from his current 41% shooting.

FantasyFanatics.com is a premier fantasy sports community. Need help deciding who to sit and who to start? What about help with a big trade? Chat with the fantasy basketball experts on FantasyFanatics.com.

With the beginning of training camp, it’s time to start looking at the early injuries and how those injuries effect fantasy owners.

Tony Battie, Orlando Magic
Battie is likely out for the season with a shoulder injury. Battie wasn’t going to be a viable fantasy option in many leagues, so this injury shouldn’t have a huge impact. The bigger impact is it could force the Magic to start a small lineup with Rashard Lewis at PF and Hedo Turkoglu at SF. If that’s the case, Lewis’ value should rise and Turkoglu should become a fantasy option.

Brandon Roy, Portland Trailblazers
Big things are expected out of Roy this season. Those expectations will have to put on hold for the time being because Roy will likely be sidelined for all the preseason games. While the Blazers are hopeful that Roy will be ready for the regular season, fantasy owners should be on high alert and lower Roy’s stock accordingly.

Yao Ming, Houston Rockets
Yao recently passed a physical, however they found a slight tear in his labrum in his right shoulder. While the Rockets say they aren’t concerned about the tear, it’s not a great sign that Yao is already ailing.

Robert Swift, Seattle Supersonics
Swift, who is coming back from a torn ACL, has tendinitis in that same knee. While it’s not a shock to see him slowed as he attempts to come back from injury, this could hurt Swift’s chances of winning the starting center spot in Seattle.

Antawn Jamison, Washington Wizards
Jamison is day-to-day with a bruised shin. Obviously, this isn’t a huge injury concern. As long as we are speaking of Jamison, he’s about as safe of a fantasy pick as there is this season. There’s no reason why he shouldn’t put up the exact same stats he did last season during this upcoming campaign.

Beno Udrih, San Antonio Spurs
Udrih broke his finger and looks to be out until the start of the regular season. Since Udrih is the third string point guard of the Spurs, it’s highly doubtful this injury was a blip on any fantasy radar.

If you play in a dynasty league, you still have to account for Greg Oden even though he’s going to miss the entire season. While microfracture surgery is a major hurdle to overcome, Amare Stoudemire has shown there is life after microfracture.

Oden’s long-term potential is still through the roof. He projects to be a dominant rebounder, shotblocker and should eventually be a very capable scorer.

Currently, Oden has started his rehab. While he’s obviously saddened to miss the year, in the following video you can hear how Oden is dedicated to still fulfilling his potential.