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.

The Dallas Mavericks have needed more size and strength in recent years. On Thursday, they addressed that need by getting a commitment from Marcin Gortat. The native of Poland spent the first two years of his NBA career backup up Dwight Howard on the Orlando Magic.

The contract the Mavs will reportedly give Gortat is the entire mid-level exception. Over five years, Gortat is expected to make more than $30 million. Due to Gortat being a restricted free agent, the Magic will have a chance to match the contract offer.

Last year, Gortat averaged 3.8 points and 4.5 rebounds per game in 12.6 minutes.

In fantasy basketball, Gortat will be a boom or bust type player. His per-minute numbers suggest he’s a very good rebounder and shot blocker. However, it’s risky depending on per-minute numbers.

If Gortat is the starting center for the Magic, he very well could be worth a look in the mid rounds of a fantasy basketball draft next year simply based on his potential.

On the first day of free agency, the Detroit Pistons had already reportedly agreed to terms with Ben Gordon. Later in the day, the Pistons landed their second players — Charlie Villanueva. According to various reports, Villanueva will receive a contract worth about $7 million per year over five years.

For fantasy basketball purposes, Villanueva’s value goes up following this move. It appears as if he’s finally found a team willing to invest in him and give him the opportunity he needs to succeed. In a per-minute basis, Villanueva has always put good numbers on the board.

Last year, Villanueva averaged 16.2 points and 6.7 rebounds per game in only 26.9 minutes per game. Stretch that to 40 minutes and Villanueva would be putting up 24.1 points and 9.9 rebounds per game.

With the Pistons, expect Villanueva to play power forward. At 6-foot-11, he has the size to play the position. His all-around offensive game should allow him to flourish. Heading into the 2009-10 fantasy basketball season, he’s definitely a sleeper to explode onto the scene.

If you have a dynasty fantasy basketball team that features Houston Rockets center Yao Ming, you received some bad news on Monday. Yao, according to various reports, could miss the entire season next year. In fact, there are some that think that Yao’s career could be over.

What do you do if you have Yao in a dynasty league? The best idea is to hold onto him. No one is going to give you a fair deal right now and selling low is usually a losing strategy in fantasy basketball.

Zydrunas Ilgauskas is a player who had years of trouble with his feet but was able to eventually return to action and has become a durable option as of late. Perhaps Yao can go down that same path and bounce back from his feet trouble. It might be unlikely but there’s definitely still hope.

In a redraft, Yao isn’t draftable unless it sounds as if he’ll return at some point. Keep an eye on the Yao Ming news.

Now that we’ve had time to digest the 2009 NBA Draft, we can now start pointing out potential rookie sleepers for the 2010 fantasy basketball season. Here are some sleeper rookies to keep an eye on:

Sam Young, Memphis Grizzlies
In the 2009 NBA Draft, Young fell to the second round mostly due to his age. At 24, he wasn’t a very exciting prospect. But he could come in right away and play for the Grizzlies.

DeJuan Blair, San Antonio Spurs
Young’s teammate at Pittsburgh also fell to the second round. Blair’s issue were a pair of bad knees. But with the Spurs, there’s a chance that he could play a lot of minutes next to Tim Duncan.

Patrick Beverley, Miami Heat
The Heat got a good year out of Mario Chalmers but Beverley could push him for minutes. Beverley has great energy and his defense should make him a favorite in Miami.

Chase Budinger, Houston Rockets
Budinger undoubtedly has first round talent. But due to his questionable work ethic and toughness, he fell to the Rockets in the second round. If he can capitalize on his talent, Budinger could surprise.

Robert Dozier, Miami Heat
Although Dozier was the last pick of the draft, Dozier fell into a very good spot with the Heat. The Heat desperately need bigs and keep on eye on whether Dozier can carve out a niche with the Heat.

On Thursday, the 2009 NBA Draft took place in New York City. After a lot of trades and a lot of action, we finally know the new homes for the NBA rookies during the 2009-10 season. Here are the best rookies for next season in regards to how they’ll perform in fantasy basketball:

1. Blake Griffin, Los Angeles Clippers
Griffin is very talented and a great athlete on top of that. He’s also entering a situation in need of a superstar. As long as the Clippers trade a few bigs to make room for him, Griffin should be very good his rookie year.

2. James Harden, Oklahoma City Thunder
Next to Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant and Jeff Green, Harden will fit right in. He’ll likely start at shooting guard right away and provide the team with yet another young building block. For fantasy purposes, Harden should provide scoring, efficiency and good assist numbers.

3. Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors
No matter if he ends up with the Warriors or if he’ll be traded to the Suns (like the rumors indicate), Curry will land in a very good situation. Both of those teams like to run and shoot … and that fits right in with Curry’s game.

4. Tyreke Evans, Sacramento Kings
If Evans can win the point guard job in Sacramento, he could have fantasy value right away. It’s not a lock that he can play PG at the NBA level, so stay tuned.

5. Hasheem Thabeet, Memphis Grizzlies
Thabeet is raw and might not be able to play many minutes in the NBA yet but his shotblocking could make him valuable right away in the 2009-2010 fantasy basketball season.’

For the 2009-2010 fantasy basketball season, there appears to be a few rookies that should be considered for fantasy purposes. While the the 2009 NBA Draft isn’t deep with talent, it has a few players that should be able to help out right away.

1. Blake Griffin
Not only is Blake Griffin going to be the first pick in the draft, he’s going to be the first rookie chosen in 2009-2010 fantasy basketball drafts. There’s a good chance that he could be productive right from the beginning.

2. James Harden
The player most ready to come into the NBA and put points on the board appears to be James Harden. With that in mind, he’ll be valuable in the fantasy basketball world.

3. Stephen Curry
Like Harden, Stephen Curry can score the ball. If he lands on a team like the New York Knicks or the Golden State Warriors, Curry could easily stuff the stat sheet.

4. Hasheem Thabeet
Although Hasheem Thabeet is undoubtedly raw, his shot blocking and rebounding should make him valuable as a rookie. His value really depends on how much playing time he gets. For fantasy purposes, he’ll need to be a starter to have consistent value.

5. Ty Lawson
While Ty Lawson could easily fall out of the lottery, he’s probably the point guard most likely to be ready from Day 1. That could make him valuable in 2010 fantasy basketball.

Although he isn’t getting a huge amount of publicity, James Harden is going to be one of the first names called during the 2009 NBA Draft. The guard out of Arizona State will likely go as high as second and as low as fifth.

James Harden Scouting Report (Image: Zuma Press)

The aspect of Harden’s game that the scouts love the most is his ability to put the ball in the hole. Last year, as a sophomore at Arizona State, Harden averaged 20.1 points per game to go along with 5.6 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.7 steals. He shot 48.9% from the field and 35.6% from beyond the three-point arc.

Despite not being an explosive athlete, Harden can score thanks to his very good jumper and his smarts around the basket. Even in the NBA, he should be able to score right out of the box.

The question marks in his game mostly surround his height. At 6-foot-5, Harden isn’t the optimal height you’d want from a shooting guard. He also isn’t enough of a playmaker to be a point guard. Add in his average athleticism and he might get overwhelmed by the bigger players in the NBA.

That said, he has very long arms and his overall basketball IQ should allow him to compensate for any shortcomings. When it comes to flat out scoring, Harden has to be considered to be near the head of the 2009 NBA Draft class.

Hasheem Thabeet, the 7-foot-3 center out of the University of Connecticut, will undoubtedly be a top three pick in the 2009 NBA Draft. The native of Tanzania has a huge frame and great potential as a defensive player.

When it comes to his NBA potential, the first thing scouts marvel at is his shot-blocking ability. In his three years at Connecticut, he averaged 3.8, 4.5 and 4.2 blocks per game, respectively. In his junior season, his 10.8 rebounds per game average was also very impressive.

Expect whichever team that drafts him to use him as a defensive center in the mold of Dikembe Mutombo. Thabeet is a relatively safe pick because he’s sure to at the very least be a quality option when it comes to protecting the basket.

Offensively, he’s definitely raw. He averaged 13.6 points per game on 64% shooting from the field last year but most of that success was due to his height alone. In the NBA, he’ll have to learn how to finish near the basket around strong players who he won’t be able to overwhelm.

All in all, Thabeet should become a solid center in the NBA. He doesn’t have huge potential and could get off to a slow start due to being a raw player, but his defensive ability could prove to be invaluable.

Although the Orlando Magic weren’t able to beat the Los Angeles Lakers to win the 2009 NBA championship, there’s no doubt that their team gained value experience during their run. One of their most impressive players along the way was Hedo Turkoglu.

The native of Turkey averaged 15.8 points, 4.8 assists and 4.5 rebounds per game in the 24 postseason contests. Late in games, Turkoglu proved to be a clutch option who was never afraid to take the big shots.

Now, however, Turkoglu and the Magic’s futures aren’t necessarily linked because the 6-foot-10 small forward will become a free agent this summer. He’s expected to opt out of his contract and hit the open market.

At 30 years of age, many teams will likely target Turkoglu as a player who could be a key part to a championship team. Depending on where he ends up, he could range from a very good fantasy basketball option to a great fantasy basketball option.

When watching where he ends up, keep in mind how many touches he’s likely to get. The more touches, the better Turkoglu plays and the more stats he can put on the board. If any team woos him with the promise of playing more point guard, that is great news for his fantasy basketball future.