Could the Cavs Sign Greg Oden?
2013-01-29
Is Greg Oden a lost cause?
Greg Oden is attempting to make an NBA comeback, and the Cavaliers and the Heat are the front-runners to land him. The HEAT can offer playoff contention, while the Cavs can offer a whole lot more money. I’m all for this signing, assuming that his interviews go well and that this theoretical contract is mostly non-guaranteed. Oden is an immensely talented two-way force, and has shown that he can be impactful on the NBA level when healthy.
There should be no concern about his skills: check these highlights. As for those that claim he is a massive risk, well, you’re probably right. Mark Titus wrote a fantastic article last year about Oden’s career and his struggles adjusting to the NBA lifestyle. And there is the fact that if he is signed, he will be the first sports player ever to come back from three micro-fracture surgeries. What do you guys think?
oh yay! Oden did the Kobe Germany Treatment!
Haha seriously, wherever he ends up I’ll be rooting for his slim odds.
http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/8898371/sources-greg-oden-drawing-interest-more-miami-heat-cleveland-cavaliers
And there goes 3-4 million of grants money and no one cares. Seriously, its low risk, very high (unlikely) reward. we aren’t spending all our cap money this summer regardless, so why not?
So he plays like an allstar during summer camp and we pick up the option then he breaks down 20 games into the season.
He’s not playing this year. Any deal would basically just be a camp invite for next season and likely a team option after that.
KyrieSwIrving, I thought it was obvious I understand who’s money it is. Also this is his SECOND surgery. Those 3 success stories only had 1.
Clearly he’ll never reach his full potential, his athleticism, confidence, and skill (not developing on the court from 21-25) will never be the same, but the guy had the potential to be Dwight Howard with free throw shooting, a couple inches, and a team first, humble attitude. If he gets half way to what his potential was, he’s still probably a solid starter and good rim protector.
J Hill, Its not Grant’s Money, its Gilberts, and hes show a ton of willingness to blow money to give us a chance to get better. I love me some Oden, but the guys is a long shot. At the same time, he came back after his first Microfracture and was still a damn good player, and was posting a 20ish PER with well above average defense. He’s got a shot, and I’d love to see us give him a chance. If grant decides he’s not worth the risk, I can understand. But he’s got an outside shot at being… Read more »
Also everyone is acting like if we sign him he needs to play 35 minutes for 82 games. Hes a low risk guy, it’s not like he comes in with attitude problems or its the free agency period where we’re wasting resources on him. There’s no reason not to give him a chance. If we can play OSU Oden basketball for 20 minutes a game it would be a HUGE upgrade to our C position.
OF COURSE! Worst case scenario we spent a little to pay a former OSU star’s medical bills. Best case scenario, Irving, Waiter, Top 5 pick this year, Thompson and a revitalized Oden. Varejao and Zeller off the bench to keep him fresh next season. YES! I like this a lot. Anytime a top 5 pick is able to be had for next to nothing, I almost always say take a chance.
A good article on micro-fracture surgery: http://www.basketballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=923&mode=print&nocache=1359514144
I wouldn’t bet on Greg Oden having a productive NBA career. Given his injury history, I’d put his odds at 25%.
I could see him signing him to a cheap deal with a team option for next year, with no intention of the Cavs using him this year. Essentially allowing the Cavs to get a good look at him when he’s “fully” healthy next season with whatever we pay him this year while he rehabs being the added incentive to give us a leg up on Miami for a local hero.
No way Chris Grant blows money on a flyer like that. We already have Speights now for our depth. I don’t think Dan Gilbert wants to blow more money on a dead season anyways.
Guys the Peterson thing was a joke. Obviously a torn ACL is VERY different than chronic knee troubles.
I should have been more specific…Things like ACL’s can and will heal, but once cartilage is gone, it literally *never* comes back.
I trust our doctors to examine and make the right call.
I’d say only sign if he agrees to a two year contact (or more years w/ team option). We really don’t care about his contribution this year- if he plays awesome it’ll just make our draft pick worse. But, he could play next year and help with a playoff run.
So, if he wants a one year contact I’d say no thanks. If it’s 2 years then sure, let’s see what he’s got.
I agree with you guys. I doubt Oden ever plays a meaningful minute in the league again. Maybe he’ll get a little run early next season, but I doubt he’ll still be in shorts by the All-Star break.
The Adrian Peterson comparison comes up often but it isn’t completely fair. The ammount of energy absorbed by knees is dramatically higher because of jumping and hard court in basketball. I forget the actual numbers but I thought its something like five times more force being absorbed in basketball (I listened to a podcast with a sports medicine expert at some point that compared Rose to Peterson). There are so many guys that are a shell of themself after microfracture (Webber, Roy, Tmac, Penny, K Mart, Mashburn, and Allan Houston) and only a handful that have made the same type… Read more »
Cory
Right, the Oden situation is nothing at all like the Peterson situation. Yeesh. I’d say it, but then I don’t want to get censored again.
It would be really surprising if Oden ever played well again.
Peterson hasn’t been out since 2009…I’d look into Oden but wouldn’t get my hopes up. The Heat can only offer the league minimum. Their luxury tax situation is bat shit crazy already and their college dropout trust fund baby owner Mickey voted against the new CBA because of the the tax ramifications. If Oden performs they won’t be able to keep him. I’m assuming any contract he signs with have team and player option year by year.
Tell that to Adrian Peterson
Sorry to say it, but bad knees just don’t get better. Never happens. Zero percent chance he plays meaningful minutes again.
I kind of think it’s all or nothing, albeit irrationally- I feel like he’ll either become a dominant force and one of the greatest sports stories ever, or flame out memorably.
Of course they should. However they and we should also not expect anything to ever come out of Greg Oden. If he were even to become a bench guy that would be a win.