Oden

[petes999]

Re: Oden eyes Cavs, Heat

But note, the agent first threw out Cavs due to Cap space and Heat due to their competitive level -two ends of spectrum. His comments are there is general interest that we are exploring ore which means the teams are somewhat interested in hearing the story and kicking the tires. But, this is being leaked to get more interest, nothing serious on nearing offers.

 

[UncleDrew]

Re: Oden eyes Cavs, Heat

I would sign him then test him in the D-league. If he can play a few games down there with no problem...then bring him back up.

 

[dean82]

Re: Oden eyes Cavs, Heat

http://www.cleveland.com/cavs/team/1359589452-754-492/odens-agent-tells-plain-dealer.html

Mike Conley Sr., the agent for former Ohio State star Greg Oden, tells The Plain Dealer his client would love to stay in Ohio and play for the Cavaliers.
Conley confirmed an earlier Fox Sports Florida story that there was mutual interest between Oden and the Cavs. He said Oden likely will visit Miami in the next couple of weeks. He said other teams also are interested, though he declined to name them. He also declined to say if Oden is scheduled to meet with the Cavs, though he did admit the relationship between the Cavs and the Cleveland Clinic would be a plus as far as Oden was concerned. Conley said nothing likely would happen with his client until after the trading deadline. Check back later for complete story on Oden, the Cavs representatives in the Rising Stars Game during All-Star Weekend and Kevin Jones reassignment to Canton.

 

[CavsFanJapan]

Re: Oden eyes Cavs, Heat

I would sign him then test him in the D-league. If he can play a few games down there with no problem...then bring him back up.

I think there are rules about sending players down. They have to be 3 year vets or less if I remember right if they are assigned to a team. The players that are not associated with a team have no such requirements.

 

[Kizzle]

Re: Oden eyes Cavs, Heat

Oden really?

Wow. That many surgeries man theres no way his knee has any structural integrity by now

 

[Glenechocreek]

Re: Oden eyes Cavs, Heat

This guy hasn't played basketball in 3 years. Can he even remember how?

 

[The Voice]

Re: Oden eyes Cavs, Heat

I'm a big Buckeye fan, live in Ohio, obvious Cavs fan.... someone tell me why the Cavs are on his list? He wants to get back to the league, I understand and support that, and the Cavs have cap space, I know that... but there are plenty of other teams that have or can make cap space if they wanted to take a chance on him.

Z had a ton of surgeries and finally came back. Who says Oden can't? We're young and should be heading to the playoffs next year. Adding Oden could be like adding another draft pick if he pans out.

-He lived most of his life in Indiana (not sure if his family is still there or not), was a big name there in HS play.

Does Indiana have the Cleveland Clinic?

-There is no big important connection between Ohio State Buckeyes and the Cavs... except they are in the same state- which I just don't see as being that important for this situation.

While, there's no connection. He'd be very close to his alma matter (assuming he graduates)

-His agent is Mike Conley Sr., he wouldn't want to be reunited with Mike Conley Jr. on a contending Griz team? Yes, I know that cap space/luxury tax is the problem there... but if they really wanted him (and maybe they don't?) and he really wanted to play with Conley again, they'd find a way to make it happen.

Grizzlies are too cheap to take that risk.

Again, I'd be all for the Cavs taking a shot with him... I just don't see why the only two teams being mentioned are Heat and Cavs... why aren't the Jazz being mentioned or the Wizards, or other teams that have or will have cap space....?

He has zero ties to Washington or Utah. I'm not sure about their hospitals, but we do again have the Cleveland Clinic.

 

[Frank Reynolds]

Re: Oden eyes Cavs, Heat

meh...i'm not too optimistic...these kinds of chronic injuries usually don't miraculously go away (see Brandon Roy, Andrew Bynum, etc.). Even if the dude can keep from re-injuring himself and stay on the floor, he'll probably be lacking in mobility. if the cavs can sign him for bottom dollar just to see what happens, then I guess it's worth a shot...but most likely he'll play for a few weeks and then re-injure himself or have too much pain to continue.

Nah man, his luck plus Varejao's luck, and it cancels each other out, ya digg? We definitely need to make this happen, get Oden back on the Buckeye soil, it's good karma. It's worth a shot, plus Oden could be the C for the final Uncle Drew video, wouldn't even need to put any makeup on that old ass man.

 

[Man Called X]

Re: Oden eyes Cavs, Heat

I think there are rules about sending players down. They have to be 3 year vets or less if I remember right if they are assigned to a team. The players that are not associated with a team have no such requirements.

The rule is you can only send down players in their 3rd year or under. A veteran can voluntarily play in the D-League, much in the same way Lamar Odom did so last year for the Maverick's D-League team.

 

[oasis05]

Re: Oden eyes Cavs, Heat

Oden is pretty talented. Would love to see him succeed. He's a guy who can get you 5 offensive rebounds in 20 minutes. I wonder how his athleticism will be affected.. Could come in and be our best front court player.

 

[Jon]

Re: Oden eyes Cavs, Heat

Oden is pretty talented. Would love to see him succeed. He's a guy who can get you 5 offensive rebounds in 20 minutes. I wonder how his athleticism will be affected.. Could come in and be our best front court player.

Oden seems like a guy who could get by with decreased athleticism. For instance, flat-footed he's got a 7.5" advantage in reach over Tyler. Still, his no-step vertical reach tops the Dx combine charts at 12'0" - he won't be the same player if he's lost that.

 

[Jack Brickman]

Re: Oden eyes Cavs, Heat

Oden seems like a guy who could get by with decreased athleticism. For instance, flat-footed he's got a 7.5" advantage in reach over Tyler. Still, his no-step vertical reach tops the Dx combine charts at 12'0" - he won't be the same player if he's lost that.

We wouldn't really need him to be the same player. If he could come in and play 20 minutes of tough defense a night for a reasonable sum, he'd be worth it.

The real question, obviously, is if he can stay healthy now that he's away from Portland's horrific medical staff.

 

[Fuggles]

Re: Oden eyes Cavs, Heat

All along Oden's recovery has been thwarted by being too far away from the Cleveland Clinic. As we all know the Cleveland Clinic isn't internationally known and only treats patients from the the Greater Cleveland area.

 

[shoes22]

All along Oden's recovery has been thwarted by being too far away from the Cleveland Clinic. As we all know the Cleveland Clinic isn't internationally known and only treats patients from the the Greater Cleveland area.

sarcasm?

 

[Nathan S]

Re: Oden eyes Cavs, Heat

Oden seems like a guy who could get by with decreased athleticism. For instance, flat-footed he's got a 7.5" advantage in reach over Tyler. Still, his no-step vertical reach tops the Dx combine charts at 12'0" - he won't be the same player if he's lost that.

You can't play NBA ball with arthritic knees just by saying "oh, I won't jump too much and I'll be fine." It doesn't work like that. There's a huge difference between being old and having lost some bounce, and playing hurt. If his knees are really so shot that merely jumping puts an unsafe amount of strain on them, he won't last five games without his knee self-destructing. I mean, he hurt his knee standing up from a chair six years ago...and it's very hard for me to believe that his knees are healthier now than they were then. Not even the Cleveland Clinic can make knees age in reverse. It's one thing if his knees are actually healthy, but it's ridiculous to say that if his knees are hurting, he can just play the same game but with less athleticism. I don't need to tell you how that worked out for Brandon Roy, and Brandon Roy is a fraction of Oden's weight.

Also, in the case that he is somehow finally healthy, keep in mind that for this to pay off we need him to be healthy at least through the spring of 2015. Unless the plan is to literally not play him at all until the playoffs, I see really no chance at all of his knees holding up that long without another injury. He's played 1800 minutes in his career, to go along with 5 knee surgeries. Fifth time's the charm? Maybe now his knees are all fine and dandy and the Cleveland Clinic will inject them with a magic cartilage protecting elixir? Sorry, but I'm not so optimistic.

And please, don't respond to this citing cases of other players coming back from other injuries. Read up on microfracture surgery, and read up on the specifics of Oden's condition first.

To be clear, I really feel terrible for the guy. Knee injuries have robbed us of possibly the best true center of our generation. Nothing would make me happier than him resurrecting his career, but the odds of that happening, as far as i can tell, are about as good as Shaq coming back to chase his fifth ring.