When the Blazers finally parted ways with Greg Oden earlier this season it was for the better. Both Portland and Oden needed to make fresh starts after their disastrous courtship suffered yet another injury setback.
After playing just 82 games in the five years since he’s been drafted, Oden, who’s currently recovering from his fifth knee surgery, is more poised than anybody to start the next chapter of his career. And Oden’s agent says the big man already has his sights set on taking his injury-hampered talents to South Beach. The Miami Herald has the details:
[H]is agent, Mike Conley Sr., told us Oden is positioned be ready to play in December or January “as far as being effective and in shape” and will explore options in the coming months, with the possibility of joining a team next season. But nobody obviously can know for sure when he will be ready.
The Heat hasn’t called but “Greg has talked about Miami,” Conley said. “He has interest. He’s not retiring.”
Maybe somebody should tell Oden’s agent that Oden is (wisely) planning to take the next season off to make his way back to full health. But at least the feelings were at least at one point mutual.
But let’s say a year from now the Heat still don’t have the center position solidified. Miami could take a likely cheap flier on Oden, and, if he can prove his health woes are behind him and be at least half the player people expected him to be, the Heat could end up with a huge steal (we understand there was a lot of wishful thinking just used in that hypothetical).
It would be a great fit both ways: the Heat get an answer for the five and Oden lands in an ideal situation. But who are we kidding? Oden probably just wants to get his freak on in South Beach.
Kudos, Pro Basketball Talk
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