He’s fairly athletic, but not compared to guys like Shaq, David Robinson, Karl Malone, Dwight Howard, Amare Stoudamire, etc. Sure he’s a solid defensive anchor if he’s healthy, and like you said he could still be a decent backup power forward or center on a good team, but he wasn’t worth a number one pick. If he had stayed healthy, I think the best he could have been was another Marcus Camby. I love Camby, and as Clipper fan I was glad when we had him, but I sure wouldn’t pass up Durant to get him.
Greg Oden is seven feet tall and almost 300 pounds, Dumbguy. He’s enormous. Who is he undersized compared to?
Of the list of guys you just provided who you think are more athletic than he is, he’s significantly bigger than every one except Shaq, who is legendary even outside of the sports world for how giant he is, and compared to whom it’s no real crime to be a little slow. Some of those other guys even play or played at forward (as does Blake Griffin, who also has a completely different game), whereas Oden is definitely a back to the basket & guard the rim kind of guy, which is part of what made him exciting in the first place, since most guys in today’s NBA who play center are really face-up offensive players playing kind of out of position.
In that class of guys who can play down on the block all the time on offense and defense – which is to say when he’s compared to the Kamans and the Okafors of the world – he’s a lot more skilled and a lot nimbler than you’re giving him credit for. I mean, in a theoretical world where he’s on the court, at least.
Oh, and Oden had foul trouble in the NCAA tournament, but he dominated a great Florida team with an NBA-caliber frontcourt. 25 and 12, 10-15 and 4 blocks in a title game under college rules is pretty damn good for an 18 (or possibly 32) year old.
I think the most Portland can hope for at this point is that he becomes like Grant Hill: lots of injuries, years of lost production, but a capable backup in his later years. It wouldn’t be realistic, to me at least, to hope that he comes back fine and healthy like Amare Stoudemire. Oden’s injuries just seem to be unforced. I think his 2nd big injury happened when he was jumping up for a dunk without getting touched, and this latest one happened after a workout in Los Angeles.
I can see a guy coming back if he had the misfortune of landing on someone’s foot, turning an ankle, banging a knee, but Oden seems to get hurt just walking around. That doesn’t bode well for his athleticism. I hope he does stay in Portland though, but not for the $8.8 million. It seems the Blazers agree with me as they did not offer him a contract extension on Nov. 1, the earliest they can do it. I seriously doubt that with this latest injury, he will get an offer, not when they need to replace or backup Roy now with the extra money
Shaq in his prime was a fantastic athlete. He looked fat after his first few years, but compare him to a regular lumbering big man (usually a smaller man than Shaq) and you’ll see he obviously moved better. He was stronger, faster, and more explosive. That’s why he was the most physically dominant player of his time.
He could do something like that. I think you have to limit his minutes no matter who you are. It’s more like Yao than Grant Hill, maybe. I don’t know how much money Portland has tied up, but I’m guessing they don’t have a lot left over for him.
If you guys don’t think Greg Oden will get a multi-year deal if he hits free agency, then you guys don’t know the NBA. 7’ tall, 290 lb players don’t grow on trees.
I’m honestly surprised Portland wouldn’t take a flyer on him for one season at $8.8 million. I remember when Zydrunas Ilgauskas missed all those years with foot problems, had them fixed, changed up his game, and became a serviceable and relatively durable player. I know Z wasn’t a #1 pick, but isn’t Oden worth gambling on for one more year, especially now that both of his knees may be “fixed?” What else is Portland going to do with that cap space?
I think the main obstacle may be Oden’s willingness to do what it takes to come back yet again. I sure wouldn’t blame him if he decided to take his money and retire.
ETA: Kenyon Martin is probably the better model for Oden than Z.
I’m afraid you might be right. Somebody out there is stupid enough to sign Oden to a multi-year deal at $8.8. Maybe Donald Sterling. Though given the Clippers’ even more severe curse, Oden would probably get gangrene and have to have his foot amputated or something
Currently, the Blazers’ roster salary for this year is only about $67 million. Not under the cap, but way less than the Lakers’ $90+ million. I think they’re better off taking Erik Dampier who’s available right now instead of wasting more years on Oden.
Oden is a sad, but a seemingly predictable story. The only big guy I can remember staying relatively healthy in the past 15 years is Shaq. And before him, I believe Patrick Ewing had a fairly decent health record…
But the Blazers should have taken Durant. Durant was a much closer “can’t miss” than Oden. But as MOIDALIZE mentions, a guy the size of Oden doesn’t come along that often, so it’s very difficult to pass on him.
Sam Bowie, on the other hand, never looked right in college. When Oden was in college, he looked great…