Greg Oden interested in joining HEAT

[Faptastrophe]

These aren't news anymore, but dude just keeps repeating that he wants to join Miami.


Oden's agent told Chris Tomasson of Fox Sports Thursday, "Obviously, if the Heat wanted him, who wouldn’t want to play for the Heat?"

In May, Oden said he planned on sitting out the 2012-13 season to complete his rehab, but his agent said Thursday, "(Oden) called me, and he was kind of excited."

"I think he's motivated," he continued. "He wants to play. He had said he wanted to take this season off but he's backed off from that ... He's open to playing this season. I think he will play this season."


It is not clear that the Heat even want Oden, but considering the fact that Miami can only offer the veteran minimum to any free agents left on the market, getting a former first-overall pick at a steep discount might not be a bad outcome.

----------


The Heat used Chris Bosh at the center position during the NBA Finals, and the team's recent additions of Rashard Lewis (a forward) and Ray Allen (a guard) suggests the Heat are content to keep Bosh at center, and surround the Big Three with talented wing players.

Joel Anthony and draft pick Justin Hamilton are the only centers on Miami's roster at the moment. The undersized Anthony is normally a stout defender, but lacks the scoring ability of a marquee center. Hamilton is a longer-term development project, and the Heat might not even keep him on the roster after fall training camp.

Ronny Turiaf, Eddy Curry, and Dexter Pittman, the other centers on last year's Heat team, are all free agents, and it is not certain whether any will return to the team in 2012-13.



Sauce. (http://www.nbcmiami.com/news/sports/Greg-Oden-Interested-in-Joining-Heat-162244715.html)

I just really want to see the guy play again, and have a good season.
Miami would be a good fit. They wouldn't really need him to do too much.

[DTreats]

garbage player.

[All Net]

I think if Haywood gets taken off waivers I see Miami taking the chance.

Worse case for Miami is he becomes their eddy curry of this past season. If he works out he could be a good rotation player.

[swi7ch]

80-2

:bowdown:

[franchise#3]

sell out

[swi7ch]

It'd be soooooooooo funny if Brandon Roy and Greg Oden both end up having productive years after leaving PORTLAND! :lol:lol:lol

[Kblaze8855]

Greg was like 22 last time he was hurt. Hard to imagine anyone in this era just...never coming back from an injury at 22. Even Sam Bowie was eventually ok for 4 or 5 years and he came in over 25 years ago.

Might be wishful thinking. But it just feels like there shouldnt be any injury that just destroys you forever at 22 when you have the kind of treatment availiable that they do.

Sure guys like Yao had to retire early...Jay Williams never got back(though he too tried out for the Heat last season). But Yao at least made it to like 30 and Jay just totally destroyed himself. He cut his main nerve in the leg, tore 3 ligaments in his knee, crushed his pelvis, and broke his leg. Thats kinda extreme.

Im not quite ready to say Greg is never a solid player again.

[Shepseskaf]

It'd be soooooooooo funny if Brandon Roy and Greg Oden both end up having productive years after leaving PORTLAND! :lol:lol:lol
Oden's body issues will not allow him to play with any consistency in the league.

You can't give someone millions of dollars to play around 25 games a year, and to have no idea if they'll be available to play hard minutes in the playoffs.

At this point, Oden's entire career consists of trying to convince teams that he can play, taking the money, then rehabbing until the next injury.

Sooner or later, teams will find out that he's just not serviceable. The only time he should be given a contract is if its tied to actual games played.

[Faptastrophe]

Greg was like 22 last time he was hurt. Hard to imagine anyone in this era just...never coming back from an injury at 22. Even Sam Bowie was eventually ok for 4 or 5 years and he came in over 25 years ago.

Might be wishful thinking. But it just feels like there shouldnt be any injury that just destroys you forever at 22 when you have the kind of treatment availiable that they do.

Sure guys like Yao had to retire early...Jay Williams never got back(though he too tried out for the Heat last season). But Yao at least made it to like 30 and Jay just totally destroyed himself. He cut his main nerve in the leg, tore 3 ligaments in his knee, crushed his pelvis, and broke his leg. Thats kinda extreme.

Im not quite ready to say Greg is never a solid player again.
Then maybe he should go to PHX.. the things they do to injured players... MEDICAL WIZARDRY.

[Owl]

Oden's body issues will not allow him to play with any consistency in the league.

You can't give someone millions of dollars to play around 25 games a year, and to have no idea if they'll be available to play hard minutes in the playoffs.

At this point, Oden's entire career consists of trying to convince teams that he can play, taking the money, then rehabbing until the next injury.

Sooner or later, teams will find out that he's just not serviceable. The only time he should be given a contract is if its tied to actual games played.
Oden won't get millions, he'll get the veteran's minimum if he does sign wit the Heat.

He has only ever played for one team so the desciption of his "entire career" hardly describes what has happened so far. The Grantland Oden article suggests that team did a poor job of managing Oden's (and their own) long term interests.

I would say I wouldn't ever expect him to be a full time center. I think you'd have to manage him like Portland did with Sabonis or the Celtics with Walton. But if a team like Miami continues to have such a weak center rotation, he's probably worth a spot on the IR if/when he's close to being fit enough to play.

[Hank]

http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd123/pro--sports/531351_388268991222914_370542387_n.jpg

[ZHAKIDD532]

If I'm him, I go to Phoenix. They're famous for having a fantastic health staff. They could get him on the court.

[Hank]

If I'm him, I go to Phoenix. They're famous for having a fantastic health staff. They could get him on the court.

the Heat have an excellent world class medical staff.

Wade continuing to play on his bad knee

Haslem coming back 6 months earlier than normal for the 2011 playoffs, etc

It's well known that the Heat have a world class medical staff to anyone who actually follows the team and team news. Arison brought in the best

[swi7ch]

Greg was like 22 last time he was hurt. Hard to imagine anyone in this era just...never coming back from an injury at 22. Even Sam Bowie was eventually ok for 4 or 5 years and he came in over 25 years ago.

Might be wishful thinking. But it just feels like there shouldnt be any injury that just destroys you forever at 22 when you have the kind of treatment availiable that they do.

Sure guys like Yao had to retire early...Jay Williams never got back(though he too tried out for the Heat last season). But Yao at least made it to like 30 and Jay just totally destroyed himself. He cut his main nerve in the leg, tore 3 ligaments in his knee, crushed his pelvis, and broke his leg. Thats kinda extreme.

Im not quite ready to say Greg is never a solid player again.
The difference between the two was that Bowie's knees were just injured. It just needed time to heal. One of Oden's legs is shorter than the other. He literally would have to grow another inch of bone in order to stop getting injured from all that running and jumping. Doctors can't just put something in there that will work long term because Oden stresses his knees a lot more bec. he's an athlete. If he were just a regular guy, he would have had the insertion a long time ago.

[DStebb716]

If Greg Oden's injuries wouldn't have held him back, we'd be talking about him as a VERY good 20-10 guy. I still think he could be near that if he stayed healthy.

[Shepseskaf]

Oden won't get millions, he'll get the veteran's minimum if he does sign wit the Heat.

He has only ever played for one team so the desciption of his "entire career" hardly describes what has happened so far. The Grantland Oden article suggests that team did a poor job of managing Oden's (and their own) long term interests.

I would say I wouldn't ever expect him to be a full time center. I think you'd have to manage him like Portland did with Sabonis or the Celtics with Walton. But if a team like Miami continues to have such a weak center rotation, he's probably worth a spot on the IR if/when he's close to being fit enough to play.
He has physical issues, such as one leg being shorter than the other, which will preclude him from playing any significant role in the league.

I don't even think it would be worth it to sign him in Miami. They already have Eddy Curry sitting on the bench.

[Shepseskaf]

If Greg Oden's injuries wouldn't have held him back, we'd be talking about him as a VERY good 20-10 guy. I still think he could be near that if he stayed healthy.
When had Oden showed that he could be a 20/10 player? Never.

Even when "healthy" he was an offensive liability and on defense, a foul machine.

I could see14/10, but not 20/10.

[DStebb716]

When had Oden showed that he could be a 20/10 player? Never.

Even when "healthy" he was an offensive liability and on defense, a foul machine.

I could see14/10, but not 20/10.

When? When he was putting up that or nearly that on a few occasions after battling back from multiple injuries. He doesn't need to do it every game to show that he could do it fool. It's called potential and projection...

He had 18/8 in 25 minutes.
24/12 in 27 minutes.
18/11 in 26 minutes.
And then he has a lot of games where he had 16/8 or something like that in his last year of playing.

Going back to his rookie season:
25/15
17/13
18/14
14/14
17/12
16/10


The dude could play.

[Shepseskaf]

When? When he was putting up that or nearly that on a few occasions after battling back from multiple injuries. He doesn't need to do it every game to show that he could do it fool. It's called potential and projection...

He had 18/8 in 25 minutes.
24/12 in 27 minutes.
18/11 in 26 minutes.
And then he has a lot of games where he had 16/8 or something like that in his last year of playing.

Going back to his rookie season:
25/15
17/13
18/14
14/14
17/12
16/10


The dude could play.
Virtually every player is capable of having some good games. After all, they are a collection of the best in the world.

However, over the course of a full season -- which he'll never play -- Oden would be much closer to 14/10 than 20/10.

[DStebb716]

Virtually every player is capable of having some good games. After all, they are a collection of the best in the world.

However, over the course of a full season -- which he'll never play -- Oden would be much closer to 14/10 than 20/10.

I disagree. A number one overall pick who is VERY young getting multiple 20/10 or near 20/10 efforts is FAR different then some scrub 28 year old doing it. Oden was doing this before his game even fully developed. Chances are, if his game hadn't been stopped by injuries he would've done that consistently.

[Kblaze8855]

Offensive liability? I watched some of his games early in his last season.

He was scoring. he wasnt just taking guys one on one and showing a lot of skill...but he wasnt out there hurting the team. He had 16, 16, 24, 18, 13, 9 and 13 in the last 7 games he played. And he only played 30 minutes in one of them. And he had 13 points, 20 rebounds(11 on offense), and 4 blocks in that.

That is far from something to mock out of a guy who has barely played since high school and wasnt supposed to be a bigtime scorer to begin with.

[NoGunzJustSkillz]

the Heat have an excellent world class medical staff.

Wade continuing to play on his bad knee

Haslem coming back 6 months earlier than normal for the 2011 playoffs, etc

It's well known that the Heat have a world class medical staff to anyone who actually follows the team and team news. Arison brought in the best
What's the proper procedure for dealing with cramps? Just curious..

[Shepseskaf]

I disagree. A number one overall pick who is VERY young getting multiple 20/10 or near 20/10 efforts is FAR different then some scrub 28 year old doing it. Oden was doing this before his game even fully developed. Chances are, if his game hadn't been stopped by injuries he would've done that consistently.
I like to live in the real world, not some fantasy "could have been" existence.

There were all sorts of red flags before the draft that Oden's physical difficulties would prevent him from having a normal career, and they turned out to be right.

Its useless to speculate on what would have been accomplished had he truly been healthy, because his history has shown that simply wasn't ever possible.

[waseem780]

i personally think Greg oden once back will be one of the top 10 centers in the league if he can stay healthy (LOL) kind of an example is bynum he was always injured but had the talent now look . on my impressions of greg oden in his rookie year his numbers were pretty good and his style of play is like a true center something rare in todays era.. if he can come back and stay healthy (LOOL) and get good minutes i c an allstar .

[DStebb716]

I like to live in the real world, not some fantasy "could have been" existence.

There were all sorts of red flags before the draft that Oden's physical difficulties would prevent him from having a normal career, and they turned out to be right.

Its useless to speculate on what would have been accomplished had he truly been healthy, because his history has shown that simply wasn't ever possible.

Oden was not red flagged. People speculated that he could potentially see some injuries but most thought there would be no issue.

And if it's useless to speculate, this site should be shut down. We are here to speculate. We are here to talk about the possibilities. Our speculation hurts nothing and helps nothing. It's just a bit of fun. If you're too grumpy to have some fun and speculate, then piss off.

[EnoughSaid]

Why not? Even an injury-prone Oden is much better than anything we have at that center position. So once again, just like with Rashard, this would be low risk, high reward.

[Shepseskaf]

Oden was not red flagged. People speculated that he could potentially see some injuries but most thought there would be no issue.

And if it's useless to speculate, this site should be shut down. We are here to speculate. We are here to talk about the possibilities. Our speculation hurts nothing and helps nothing. It's just a bit of fun. If you're too grumpy to have some fun and speculate, then piss off.
:roll: U mad bro?

Of course he was red-flagged. Before the draft, it was revealed that one leg was shorter than the other. Think that might be a problem for a 7-ft athlete in the NBA? He had a long history of injuries, including college.

Portland chose to ignore those concerns and paid dearly for it. I thought all along that Durant should have been the first pick.

As to your other point, fruitful, plausible speculation is always welcome. People who reach for things that aren't there, and can't deal with reality just lower the collective IQ on ISH.

[Hank]

he can take the designated Eddy Curry roster spot we seem to have for someone every year

[Clifton]

Oden was not red flagged.
I remember reading articles where people would point out the one leg shorter than the other thing, and how there was no way he could have a long career. Nobody listened because having a 7 footer who is actually good in the paint is a prospect that blinds most people.


Why not? Even an injury-prone Oden is much better than anything we have at that center position. So once again, just like with Rashard, this would be low risk, high reward.
The difference is if you get used to having him on the floor and then he's injured for the playoffs. Now what do you do? You have to start completely over. It's actually pretty high-risk... is the reward high? Yes it is; a healthy Oden would be a perfect fit for the Heat, even if he's diminished from previous injury. But the risk isn't even a risk. It's a near-certainty that he won't be available for the playoffs.

[DStebb716]

:roll: U mad bro?

Of course he was red-flagged. Before the draft, it was revealed that one leg was shorter than the other. Think that might be a problem for a 7-ft athlete in the NBA? He had a long history of injuries, including college.

Portland chose to ignore those concerns and paid dearly for it. I thought all along that Durant should have been the first pick.

As to your other point, fruitful, plausible speculation is always welcome. People who reach for things that aren't there, and can't deal with reality just lower the collective IQ on ISH.

Why would I be mad? I have no reason to be mad here. I am pumping up Oden when the discussion is about him going to the Miami Heat. In reality, I'd want to talk shit about Oden. And I also thought Durant > Oden all day everyday, but I still thought Oden would be a good player (if healthy).

My thoughts of him being a potential 20/10 player is completely plausible when you look at his stats and consider he had just scratched the surface of the game.

To be so closed minded as to shut out the opinion of another person is childish and a major problem humans have these days. Sure, Oden could have been what you say, a 14/10 or worse guy. But there were absolutely signs that he could've become a 20/10 guy, and to deny that is to be childish and unfair. :facepalm

[RRR3]

the Heat have an excellent world class medical staff.

Wade continuing to play on his bad knee

Haslem coming back 6 months earlier than normal for the 2011 playoffs, etc

It's well known that the Heat have a world class medical staff to anyone who actually follows the team and team news. Arison brought in the best
Yeah but the Phoenix staff is on some magical shit. Grant Hill and Michael Redd suddenly became healthy again after going to the Suns.

[Scoooter]

If one leg's shorter than the other, then just put a lift in his shoe. Nike can figure something out.

Have any of his injuries been demonstrably and conclusively a symptom of his mismatched legs?

[NumberSix]

Not sure I even want him

[Pra]

Not sure I even want him

Can't hurt if he takes the Vet min though.

[DropStep]

He wanted to take this season off too? WTF wouldnt this be the 4th season in a row? Dude needs to retire.

[reppy]

He wanted to take this season off too? WTF wouldnt this be the 4th season in a row? Dude needs to retire.

Yes, which makes me wonder how true all those "Blazers rushed him back!" claims were. Sounds like the guy pushes himself too hard to prove that he's not a bust . . . and then ****s himself up.

[jlauber]

Oden was something like a 16-10 guy in HIGH SCHOOL forcryingoutloud. I could never understand the HYPE that this guy generated. He was supposed to be the next Kareem. Kareem probably never had a high school game that BAD in his entire high school career. And take away one game in which he played blind, he didn't have that bad a game in his three year college career, either.

I never saw a HEALTHY Oden doing anything remarkable, much less the injury-prone Oden who can't stay healthy for an entire game.

Most over-rated player in my era.

[MetsPackers]

When I recently read that Oen wasn't playing, I thought Miami would b the perfect place for Oden too. MIA is in desperate need of a center, and even if he still needs to rehab his legs a little, there won't really be pressure on him to score anyway. But MIA would really benefit from his rebounding and defense. Just a huge body in the paint. I think it would be a great pickup for MIami if they can stay healthy

[triangleoffense]

Offensive liability? I watched some of his games early in his last season.

He was scoring. he wasnt just taking guys one on one and showing a lot of skill...but he wasnt out there hurting the team. He had 16, 16, 24, 18, 13, 9 and 13 in the last 7 games he played. And he only played 30 minutes in one of them. And he had 13 points, 20 rebounds(11 on offense), and 4 blocks in that.

That is far from something to mock out of a guy who has barely played since high school and wasnt supposed to be a bigtime scorer to begin with.
Yea ONLY 30 minutes right? 9 points or even 13 points in 30 minutes for someone who is 6'11 and the clear-cut #1 pick is pretty pathetic.

With Oden it's not like he just got dealt an extremely unlucky injury hand, he's an overall lazy person who just doesn't seem to have the fire in him to play like some other guys do in the league. Anybody else with that fire would be killing themselves in the gym just to get back. Oden seems like he's been content just getting paid his guaranteed money and seeing which title contender he can sneak his way into.

Disgusting move by Oden, which is why he'll still amount to nothing in the NBA.

[MiseryCityTexas]

He gonna sit on the bench next to eddie curry.

[Kurosawa0]

If Miami fails to grab either Haywood or Darko, why not?

[CelticBaller]

even my dog wants to join the Heat smh :facepalm

[Shepseskaf]

My thoughts of him being a potential 20/10 player is completely plausible when you look at his stats and consider he had just scratched the surface of the game.

To be so closed minded as to shut out the opinion of another person is childish and a major problem humans have these days. Sure, Oden could have been what you say, a 14/10 or worse guy. But there were absolutely signs that he could've become a 20/10 guy, and to deny that is to be childish and unfair. :facepalm
:roll: So, now everyone who disagrees with you is "childish and unfair"? Where does ISH find people like this?

What you're apparently not grasping is that 20/10 is not an easy thing to do. You're tossing around the stat like its something common. Since you're into research, why don't you look up how many players averaged 20/10 for an entire season for the past few years.

Hint: there are only about 4 or 5 each year. Again, its not an easy thing to do.

Add that to the fact that, to my knowledge, Oden has never averaged 20/10 in his athletic career.

In my view, Oden's potential has blinded people for years. All of those pronouncements of his being a "once in a generation player" and comparisons to Kareem and all of the great big men was nothing but a fantasy. He is tall and mobile, and was at least competent on the court, but not exceptional.

Far too my hype for a player who will never live up to it. That's why it makes no sense to idly speculate about him reaching a goal that he never has before, even when he was playing against competition that was far inferior to that in the NBA.

[Owl]

:roll: So, now everyone who disagrees with you is "childish and unfair"? Where does ISH find people like this?

What you're apparently not grasping is that 20/10 is not an easy thing to do. You're tossing around the stat like its something common. Since you're into research, why don't you look up how many players averaged 20/10 for an entire season for the past few years.

Hint: there are only about 4 or 5 each year. Again, its not an easy thing to do.

Add that to the fact that, to my knowledge, Oden has never averaged 20/10 in his athletic career.

In my view, Oden's potential has blinded people for years. All of those pronouncements of his being a "once in a generation player" and comparisons to Kareem and all of the great big men was nothing but a fantasy. He is tall and mobile, and was at least competent on the court, but not exceptional.

Far too my hype for a player who will never live up to it. That's why it makes no sense to idly speculate about him reaching a goal that he never has before, even when he was playing against competition that was far inferior to that in the NBA.
As a full time player Oden would project more as a rebounder than a scorer. In the games he played he averaged 15.3 and 11.9 per 36 minutes. So whilst it certainly isn't unthinkable that he would have gotten up to 20 ppg in an ideal hypothetical world where he had time to develop, your basic point that he was more a rebounder (and shot blocker) than scorer would stand. In any case we can assume you don't forsee any circumstances under which he would have been able to play such extended minutes and thus be able to develop as a scorer, wheras I'm guessing DStebb's prognostication is based on the idea of him having a normal NBA career. So you're both arguing about hypothetical production based on entirely different premises.

The use of 20-10 is often used loosely to seemingly cover all players 16-8+. Over the past 20 years as you say it has been done at about 5 players per year http://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/psl_finder.cgi?request=1&match=single&type=per_game&per_minute_base=36&lg_id=NBA&is_playoffs=N&year_min=1993&year_max=&franch_id=&season_start=1&season_end=-1&age_min=0&age_max=99&height_min=0&height_max=99&birth_country_is=Y&birth_country=&is_active=&is_hof=&is_as=&as_comp=gt&as_val=0&pos_is_g=Y&pos_is_gf=Y&pos_is_f=Y&pos_is_fg=Y&pos_is_fc=Y&pos_is_c=Y&pos_is_cf=Y&qual=&c1stat=mp&c1comp=gt&c1val=1000&c2stat=pts_per_g&c2comp=gt&c2val=20&c3stat=trb_per_g&c3comp=gt&c3val=10&c4stat=&c4comp=gt&c4val=&c5stat=&c5comp=gt&c6mult=1.0&c6stat=&order_by=ws but the distrubtion is skewed as in the first 3 years 25 player seasons reached the 20-10 threshold whereas over the past 4 seasons only 14 player seasons have been above the threshold.

I've heard a lot of references to comparisons with Jabbar, but who was making these? Apart from being phenoms from a young age (as was, say, Sebastian Telfair) I don't know what would prompt such a comparison. The understanding I got from reading about him was a much more defense oriented Shaq, or what Patrick Ewing was initially thought to be i.e. a dominant defensive presence with a limited offensive repetoire (primarily power dunks).

Anyway as I said before there's almost no risk at this point (other than becoming dependent upon him, as one poster suggested, but that would assume playing him big minutes which I wouldn't forsee any team doing) so for a team like Miami why not take a flyer.

In any case I wish him well.

[Timmy D for MVP]

Are we seriously denying that Greg Oden had the potential to be a 20/10 player? For at least 2-3 seasons? The man had the potential, without a doubt.

Kareem comparisons were silly, I saw Oden like this during the draft: the best defensive big prospect since Duncan. I thought Portland made the right move (it bit them in the ass. Portland just has no luck. I cringed when they selected a C again. :oldlol: )

I still think he can be an above average defensive player. He relied on his timing ability and length, I think that stays even when your athleticism is out the door. The issue I see is that his limited development means he will still be a foul liability. But seriously if he ended up on the Heat and put together a solid season... I no longer see any threat to that team.

[Shepseskaf]

As a full time player Oden would project more as a rebounder than a scorer. In the games he played he averaged 15.3 and 11.9 per 36 minutes. So whilst it certainly isn't unthinkable that he would have gotten up to 20 ppg in an ideal hypothetical world where he had time to develop, your basic point that he was more a rebounder (and shot blocker) than scorer would stand. In any case we can assume you don't forsee any circumstances under which he would have been able to play such extended minutes and thus be able to develop as a scorer, wheras I'm guessing DStebb's prognostication is based on the idea of him having a normal NBA career. So you're both arguing about hypothetical production based on entirely different premises.
There's a demarcation between the word "potential" and what is actually likely to happen.

As you've noted, for Oden averaging 10+ rebounds would have been no problem at all. He's already proven that he can accomplish that.

Based on his body of work, and his focus on defense and rebounding, I consider it extremely unlikely that he would average 20 points for an entire season. As I recall, he got a good percentage of his points on putbacks after rebounds. He wouldn't be featured offensively, but would be expected to pick up the "loose change" around the basket.

I don't wish Oden ill, but even at this point, teams are still looking at his "potential". Reportedly, after his third microfracture surgery, he wants to sit out the entire 2012-13 season. What kind of player will he be after missing all those games in the past five years?

If a team wants to try him out for spot duty, I guess I can see it, but not for anything more than that. I just don't think he'll play in the league again, because he just isn't built for it.

[lilgodfather1]

A rotation of Oden/Brown/Haywood is 10000000x better than last years championship rotation.

[Joshumitsu]

Oden was definitely a 20/10 guy. His combination of speed, timing, strength, athleticism, and basketball IQ was too damn good in comparison to the average center.

He had good, severely underrated post skills. His defense was pretty solid. He could hit his free throws. He could rebound. Everything was pointing towards a David Robinson/pre-jumper Ewing kind of player. He just never got a chance to prove himself.

Sure, he fouled a lot and needed to work on finishing but look at Dwight, Yao, Amare, Aldridge, Bosh, Bynum, Love.

They didn't do so well their first year or two either. It'd be too simple to call them busts if their careers had ended after their first year or two. For some reason, it takes big men longer to develop in the current NBA.

Heck, even in their freshman years of college, the majority of Hall of Fame centers of the 80's and 90's didn't perform as well as Oden in his Freshman year.

If a strong, athletic center with no post moves like Dwight could be a 20/10 guy, Oden definitely had the talent to be a 20/10 guy.

[Kblaze8855]

Yea ONLY 30 minutes right? 9 points or even 13 points in 30 minutes for someone who is 6'11 and the clear-cut #1 pick is pretty pathetic.

13/20/4 wth 11 offensive rebounds in 30 minutes isnt a pathetic game for any center ever.

Not Kareem....not Wilt. nobody. Its not a pathetic game for anyone who has ever stepped foot on a court.

[PP34Deuce]

The guy will get a bunch of teams calling him until he is 28-29 years old.... the number 24 is the only reason you have teams willing to take the chance on him.

Odens problem is health... if hes even 75 perent healthy, you have a legit 7 footer with good IQ bball wise and can pull 10-11 rebounds in his sleep and score 10-12 points. Thats his floor

[RaininTwos]

Yeah but the Phoenix staff is on some magical shit. Grant Hill and Michael Redd suddenly became healthy again after going to the Suns.
So true:roll: :roll: :roll:

[Collie]

Oden shot 61% from the field and 77% from the free throw line the last season he was healthy. His per 36 numbers were 17-13-3. No way was he not capable of at least a few 20-10 seasons. Hell, the last game I saw him in, he manhandles Joakim Noah and had like 24-12 against him.

[Deuce Bigalow]

And...?

[DStebb716]

:roll: So, now everyone who disagrees with you is "childish and unfair"? Where does ISH find people like this?

What you're apparently not grasping is that 20/10 is not an easy thing to do. You're tossing around the stat like its something common. Since you're into research, why don't you look up how many players averaged 20/10 for an entire season for the past few years.

Hint: there are only about 4 or 5 each year. Again, its not an easy thing to do.

Add that to the fact that, to my knowledge, Oden has never averaged 20/10 in his athletic career.

In my view, Oden's potential has blinded people for years. All of those pronouncements of his being a "once in a generation player" and comparisons to Kareem and all of the great big men was nothing but a fantasy. He is tall and mobile, and was at least competent on the court, but not exceptional.

Far too my hype for a player who will never live up to it. That's why it makes no sense to idly speculate about him reaching a goal that he never has before, even when he was playing against competition that was far inferior to that in the NBA.

It's not about you disagreeing with me, it's the fact that you absolutely ruled out what I was saying. :facepalm Fool.

[DStebb716]

Are we seriously denying that Greg Oden had the potential to be a 20/10 player? For at least 2-3 seasons? The man had the potential, without a doubt.

Kareem comparisons were silly, I saw Oden like this during the draft: the best defensive big prospect since Duncan. I thought Portland made the right move (it bit them in the ass. Portland just has no luck. I cringed when they selected a C again. :oldlol: )

I still think he can be an above average defensive player. He relied on his timing ability and length, I think that stays even when your athleticism is out the door. The issue I see is that his limited development means he will still be a foul liability. But seriously if he ended up on the Heat and put together a solid season... I no longer see any threat to that team.

Thank you for having some sense.

[ducktape]

heat will sign oden if nudes are provided

[-23-]

Wow lineup:

Cbosh
Lebron
Oden
Dwade
Chalmers


So 4x All stars? LOL

[Shepseskaf]

It's not about you disagreeing with me, it's the fact that you absolutely ruled out what I was saying. :facepalm Fool.
Stop trying to live in a fantasy world, and you'll be ok. Deal with reality.

[jlauber]

I remember the hype that 6-11 Walt Wesley received back in the 60's. He was taken in the first round by the Royals, and had a career average of 8.5 ppg, 5.5 rpg, and shot .434. However, he did have an 18-9 season, which included a 50 point game.

[RoseCity07]

I'm praying he goes to Miami and gets healthy. I want to see this guy in the NBA finals destroying kids. I have no doubt in my mind he would have been a HOF defensive center had he stayed healthy. This guy can shut down the paint when he's feeling good.

I know a lot of you never got to see much but I have a ton of the games he did play and he made a huge impact. After the first microfracture he came back in year two and was an elite rebounder and shot blocker.

Remember, when Oden was healthy Portland won 54 games. Without him, Roy and Aldridge could never win more than 50.

[DaSeba5]

Wade/Allen/LeBron/Bosh/Oden

:biggums:

[LikeABosh]

Imagine if Oden is fully healthy and joined the Heat and just went beast mode, getting like 13 rebounds per game and 2.5 blocks, and Roy drops 20 per game for Minny. :lol