A lot of people picked up Greg Oden early (fourth or fifth round) in the draft this year, and I had to shake my head at that.

What did people actually think Greg Oden would be able to put up in his rookie season as far as numbers go?

I thought that he might reasonably be expected to get 7 points per game, 5 rebounds per game, and maybe 2 blocks per game in a 70 game season for his rookie year.

Greg Oden is definitely not a scorer. He is a big man who will be able to get put backs, rebounds, alter a lot of shots, and block a couple of them per game.

Of course, that assumes that he will be able to be in the game and not riding the bench in foul trouble or plagued by injuries.

And speaking of being injury-plagued, he already had his first injury of THIS season in the first game of this season.

If he could manage 2 blocks per game consistently, he would definitely be worth a late round pickup for that alone, but I think you would hope for a man getting fairly consistent double-doubles to pick him in the fourth or fifth rounds.

He isn’t LeBron James.

He shouldn’t be picked as high as LeBron was in his rookie season.

He’ll be a solid contributor on the Portland Trailblazers if he can stay in the game. He could even be a fantastic defensive presence now and in the future or a team loaded with young and talented shooters.

But this isn’t a real team.

This is a fantasy team.

As far as Fantasy values go, I think late round pick of Nick Collison is probably equally as good as Greg Oden will likely be for his rookie season.

Actually, Nick Collison’s numbers will likely be much better.