I am not saying Greg Oden is old, but if he were a Dominican Baseball player we would suspect he was in his late 30’s when he was taken #1 overall in 2007. Couple his appearance with the fact that he has bad knees that have kept him out of action for nearly 2 full season and you have a guy that is made for a nice retirement community in South Florida.
According to ESPN.com, the Miami Heat are interested in making a run at the oft-injured center
The Heat are considering making a run at restricted free agent Greg Oden, league sources said. Oden, who hasn’t played in nearly two years after suffering two different knee injuries, has a key doctor’s examination this week when he could be cleared to resume contact practices.
Oden has a one-year qualifying offer from the Portland Trail Blazers for $8.9 million on his plate at the moment. The most the Heat could offer is the bulk of the $5 million mid-level exception.
While it seems unlikely Oden will pass up $4 million to play with anybody other than Portland, if there is anybody I would put my faith in being able to convince him, it would be Pat Riley.
Oden, who is out until at least January (which probably means he will play 10 minutes of mop up duty then be out until May again), might take the approach of a guy who is actually in his late 30’s and take a stab at a ring.
For the Heat, it is a low risk/high reward proposition. If he can miraculously recover and regain anything close to what was supposed to be he could be a big help in the middle for Miami. He also wouldn’t have the additional pressure of being a franchise’s reminder that they could have had Kevin Durant.
Another added benefit? Oden could be reunited with his biological son, LeBron James.