Greg Oden Being Waived

[Proudiddy]

Ken Berger ‏ @KBergCBS
The Blazers will waive 2007 No. 1 pick Greg Oden to make room for trade acquisitions, sources say, confirming reports.

[Dcarnys]

Anyone willing to take a chance on him I could care less but its always nice to have some decent big men on the team.

[Mustachio]

Anyone willing to take a chance on him I could care less but its always nice to have some decent big men on the team.

I would say of course we take a chance on him. His contract was voided when he was waived I think... So you can get him for the vet min. Its no risk. If we can get on the Waiver wire. I say yes.

Wasn't Cho part of the Portland FO that drafted Oden?

[dnbman]

Oden might be one of the saddest stories in NBA history. Unlike other tragedies, he wasn't doing anything wrong or stupid and not got to really show his talent.

That being said, I guess we take a flyer on him, but only if he can actually run.

[TattoodCats4life]

He'd be more effective than Diop!

[spectre]

I would say of course we take a chance on him. His contract was voided when he was waived I think... So you can get him for the vet min. Its no risk. If we can get on the Waiver wire. I say yes.

Wasn't Cho part of the Portland FO that drafted Oden?

Doesn't the team with the worst record get first shot on the waiver wire. Hell yes for the vet min. Nothing to lose there other than a couple hundred K if that.

Pretty sure Pritchard was in charge then but I wouldn't swear to it.

[Toocool]

I wouldn't mind getting Oden for vet minimum.
Can he actually play this season though?
If he can, got nothing to lose really.

[ohara831]

Not sure I would not mind a Vet Min contract which covers him for next season. Not much money, and if he can play next season, would be a big help. And if he plays well, he might be appreciative for us taking him and give us a good shot at resigning.

[Black]

I somehow missed this thread, but as I said in another thread, I'm for it. A cheap deal with incentives based on games played or minutes played would reduce the risk.

[QC Thundercats]

Sometimes its just not in the cards for certain players. Jonathan Bender was a 7 foot high school phenom - an athletic freak who could hit threes or drive around you with ease for a slam. He could have revolutionized the game and was basically Garnett 2.0, but he had bum knees, and basically played a total of 3 years worth of games over an 11 year career.

If you wanna go farther back, there's the stories of Sam Bowie and Bill Walton. 7 footers with chronic injuries do not recover like guards or forwards. Theres too much weight on the lower extremities to ever get right. Its why Yao Ming had to retire.

I guess if you want an optimistic look, you could say Ilgauskas and Sabonis recovered from their chronic injuries to play a full career. But just watch videos of them when they were young - they both were beasts back in their heyday. Even if you think Oden could recover enough to be able to play, the difference is that Z and Sabonis both had considerable skill, with great shooting even out to 3 point range, great passing skills, and overall awareness. I don't think Oden ever had a chance to develop these skills, or even a real feel for the game since he was always injured, even in college.

However, for season 2 of tanking in 2012-13, why not take a flyer on him for the vet min, see what he could do? But do I expect him to ever be a difference maker? I think Sam Vincent has a better chance of coaching a team to an NBA championship before that happened.