Oden to Spurs?

[td4mvp2k]

Fox Sport’s Sam Amico, AKA Greg Oden’s personal publicist, reports that the Spurs are among a handful of teams interested in the No. 1 pick in the 2007 draft, whose agent is “100 percent sure” he’ll be back in the NBA by next season.

“”He’s rehabbing and doing very well,” Oden’s agent, Michael Conley Sr., told Amico.

Amrico reports that Cleveland, Atlanta and Memphis are rumored to have already worked the 7-foot center out. Milwaukee, Chicago, Golden State and the Spurs were also mentioned as having interest. An additional report by ESPN.com listed Dallas among the potential candidates.

Dan McCarney/San Antonio Express-News

[RD2191]

doesnt everyone and their mom report that the spurs have interest in their player? it like makes other front offices the player has potential lol

[Darkwaters]

The Spurs are always mentioned as having interest. Might be totally legit, or it might just be an effort by his agent to try and make him seem more desirable.

Won't help anybody this season though, and the Spurs would have to cut someone to make room (probably Blair) or just delay actually signing their new Aussie Center.

[timvp]

As a fifteenth man, I'd take him as long as he inks a three-year deal with the last two years unguaranteed. If not, Oden's not really worth putting time into.

[Sean Cagney]

Dallas is always interested or near the top of the list when a guy is noted to be luring interest lol.

[I. Hustle]

SC, I can't ever read your posts. My eyes keep veering to the left.

[hooperflash]

SC, I can't ever read your posts. My eyes keep veering to the left.

It's like watching something with Jennifer Love Hewitt in it lol

[Raven]

bust when healthy, joke when injured. wouldn't guarantee him a pack of candies tbh.

[playblair]

4XjDjpHpwJY
YYoOX9Fd3Fs

[mathbzh]

bust when healthy, joke when injured. wouldn't guarantee him a pack of candies tbh.
He was hardly a bust when healthy.
15/12 per 36 minutes (PER 19.5)... I would take that from any rookie/sophomore. Considering he had missed a full season, these numbers are actually rather impressive.

[Raven]

He was hardly a bust when healthy.
15/12 per 36 minutes (PER 19.5)... I would take that from any rookie/sophomore. Considering he had missed a full season, these numbers are actually rather impressive.

he basically couldn't stay on the court or make a ft.. may as well play Hassan Whiteside, basically the same thing..

[exstatic]

he basically couldn't stay on the court or make a ft.. may as well play Hassan Whiteside, basically the same thing..

Hassan Whiteside couldn't hold his jock. He's a 100% healthy full-on scrub.

Let's be clear: Oden would be a VERY effective center and likely an All Defensive team selection if he had been healthy. He's a beast on the boards and a quality rim protector.

[mathbzh]

he basically couldn't stay on the court or make a ft.. may as well play Hassan Whiteside, basically the same thing..
It is true he had a problem to stay on the court. I don't know if he could have solved that.

But 67 FT% in 82 games is not that bad... similar to what a certain 36 yo PF did when he was ROY.

[swaggerjackson]

Probably nothing. I mean if Oden is healthy everyone should have interest. Also the word "interest" says so little.

[Mouth is Bleeding]

When he was healthy he was very valuable defensively. At his best even flirting with being dominant. Had that continued, calling him a bust would be nonsense.

[exstatic]

It is true he had a problem to stay on the court. I don't know if he could have solved that.

But 67 FT% in 82 games is not that bad... similar to what a certain 36 yo PF did when he was ROY.

It's also not like we have the best shooting coach in the known universe, either. If they sign him, they can work on that immediately, and by the time he's ready to take the court, he may be an 80% FT shooter. Just look at Splitter, for fuck's sake. :lol

[Russ]

If he's any good, he won't sign with the Spurs.

If he's not any good, the Spurs won't want him.

[exstatic]

If he's any good, he won't sign with the Spurs.

If he's not any good, the Spurs won't want him.

Normally the case, but with his health, or lack thereof, SA might slip in under the radar if they're willing to sign him this year and rehab him. A long shot, for sure.

[Samr.]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nERNj0afyY

[AFBlue]

Reportedly won't play until next season even if he signs...will re-visit this thought in the summer.

[exstatic]

Reportedly won't play until next season even if he signs...will re-visit this thought in the summer.

He who signs him now jumps the line. It'll cost you one season at minimum, plus two unguaranteed years, or he's too expensive and you pass. If his knees aren't improving significantly after one year, you also pass.

[Ice009]

Hassan Whiteside couldn't hold his jock. He's a 100% healthy full-on scrub.

Let's be clear: Oden would be a VERY effective center and likely an All Defensive team selection if he had been healthy. He's a beast on the boards and a quality rim protector.

Yep. I am not interested in Oden's offensive potential, I want his defensive potential on the team. He has the potential to be an absolute monster defensively. I want the Spurs to sign him.

[Kidd K]

I'm still conflicted about this. Hey, getting Oden on the cheap sounds good, but you can't look past how this guy is made of glass. Even if he does come back and ready to play at the start of the season, odds are nearly 100% that he will miss significant time with injury or end up being "out for the season".

Anything more than league minimum is a waste on this guy, because you know full well he's going to miss at LEAST half the games he's signed for. Which means his salary is actually double the league minimum per game played. And that's in the best case scenerio where he actually plays 41 games a season. Which is more than double the amount of games he's averages the last 5 seasons.

Seriously, he's only played 20% of the games that have been played since he's been drafted (including all of this season). That means the Spurs will on average not even get 20 games a season out of him. Think Ginobili, only 4x more injury prone than he's been the last handful of seasons.

[TDMVPDPOY]

he only needs to run only, if he cant do that then he has no use on the spurs

a 7ft with no vertical can still be effective playing defense

there are guys in the league dont even jump that can play defense and offense avg, but still better then nothing...cause 2pts is 2pts clowns

[Richie]

I'm still conflicted about this. Hey, getting Oden on the cheap sounds good, but you can't look past how this guy is made of glass. Even if he does come back and ready to play at the start of the season, odds are nearly 100% that he will miss significant time with injury or end up being "out for the season".

Anything more than league minimum is a waste on this guy, because you know full well he's going to miss at LEAST half the games he's signed for. Which means his salary is actually double the league minimum per game played. And that's in the best case scenerio where he actually plays 41 games a season. Which is more than double the amount of games he's averages the last 5 seasons.

Seriously, he's only played 20% of the games that have been played since he's been drafted (including all of this season). That means the Spurs will on average not even get 20 games a season out of him. Think Ginobili, only 4x more injury prone than he's been the last handful of seasons.

While there is no guarantee he would even play as many as half the games, I'm sure most said the same thing about Grant Hill

He missed 275 games in 5 years between 2000-01 and 2005-06. In the following 5 seasons, he missed 32.

I hope Oden follows the same progression and hope he recovers. Nobody will know until he tries, and I'm sure if he fails most will be there to say I told you so. I'd take him as long as he is cheap, with the knowledge that he is most likely going to fail, but with the hope he will succeed in staying healthy.

[admiralsnackbar]

I'm still conflicted about this. Hey, getting Oden on the cheap sounds good, but you can't look past how this guy is made of glass. Even if he does come back and ready to play at the start of the season, odds are nearly 100% that he will miss significant time with injury or end up being "out for the season".

Anything more than league minimum is a waste on this guy, because you know full well he's going to miss at LEAST half the games he's signed for. Which means his salary is actually double the league minimum per game played. And that's in the best case scenerio where he actually plays 41 games a season. Which is more than double the amount of games he's averages the last 5 seasons.

Seriously, he's only played 20% of the games that have been played since he's been drafted (including all of this season). That means the Spurs will on average not even get 20 games a season out of him. Think Ginobili, only 4x more injury prone than he's been the last handful of seasons.

As leery as I am about the durability of his body given his history, there is also evidence (of uncertain merit (http://www.blazersedge.com/2012/4/12/2942283/investigation-the-curious-case-of-greg-oden-and-zig-ziegler)) that the Blazers staff was alerted to his weaknesses before they resulted in injury, and that they dismissed preventative conditioning/rushed post-injury rehabilitation. Considering this is the same FO that ran Brandon Roy into the ground, I'm willing to entertain the idea that a properly cared for Oden could contribute defensively to the Spurs (assuming the injuries he's already sustained haven't hobbled him already). Plane tix and hotel rooms are cheap enough to entertain having a look, at any rate.

[Kidd K]

While there is no guarantee he would even play as many as half the games, I'm sure most said the same thing about Grant Hill

He missed 275 games in 5 years between 2000-01 and 2005-06. In the following 5 seasons, he missed 32.

I hope Oden follows the same progression and hope he recovers. Nobody will know until he tries, and I'm sure if he fails most will be there to say I told you so. I'd take him as long as he is cheap, with the knowledge that he is most likely going to fail, but with the hope he will succeed in staying healthy.

Thanks for the thoughtful reply :)

Grant Hill is a great example of a guy who came back from severe injury troubles to play again. . .but there's a couple differences. Grant Hill actually posted a few healthy seasons first; Oden has never managed a full season. Grant Hill is also smaller, Oden has more weight bearing down on his knees and ankles which means higher probability of recurring injuries.

I don't really care much about saying "I told you so", I'd rather see him at least make some kind of career for himself, even if it's in the dead zone (somewhere in the bottom 5 of the eastern conference).



As leery as I am about the durability of his body given his history, there is also evidence (of uncertain merit (http://www.blazersedge.com/2012/4/12/2942283/investigation-the-curious-case-of-greg-oden-and-zig-ziegler)) that the Blazers staff was alerted to his weaknesses before they resulted in injury, and that they dismissed preventative conditioning/rushed post-injury rehabilitation. Considering this is the same FO that ran Brandon Roy into the ground, I'm willing to entertain the idea that a properly cared for Oden could contribute defensively to the Spurs (assuming the injuries he's already sustained haven't hobbled him already). Plane tix and hotel rooms are cheap enough to entertain having a look, at any rate.

That's worth considering too. They did mishandle Roy. . .but you gotta be careful of wishful thinking. Theres's hope that it's just the Blazers being inept, but could it just be a coincidence that the Blazers had two players get hurt like that? Roy's condition would've led to his career ending eventually anyway. Later than it did with a smarter staff? Yes, probably. . .but eventually it would've happened. Maybe after just another year. . . two would be a stretch, based on what I've read about his condition.

Oden's career never really got started though. His career minutes per game was just 22. Blazers didn't exactly overwork him. That was less minutes than the Rockets planned to play Yao after he got back from his foot stress fracture. Sometimes these guys' bodies just fall apart. You see it in big dudes all the time. Bill Walton's one of the unfortunate guys who were plagued with injuries too. :(

[exstatic]

Thanks for the thoughtful reply :)

Grant Hill is a great example of a guy who came back from severe injury troubles to play again. . .but there's a couple differences. Grant Hill actually posted a few healthy seasons first; Oden has never managed a full season. Grant Hill is also smaller, Oden has more weight bearing down on his knees and ankles which means higher probability of recurring injuries.

I don't really care much about saying "I told you so", I'd rather see him at least make some kind of career for himself, even if it's in the dead zone (somewhere in the bottom 5 of the eastern conference).


A better example would be another Portland medical bust: Sam Bowie. He was a big, really didn't have much of a career before he left Portland, but went on to have a few good years elsewhere.

[bigfan]

I was just about to make a Sam Bowie comment and ya beat me to it....

[JMarkJohns]

Needs to sign with Phoenix for two or three years, let their healers do their thang, and build value for a big FA pay day after several years of sustained magic health voodoo.

[BackHome]

If you think Blair has bad knees you haven't seen Odens...

[Old School 44]

I wouldn't be surprise if he signed with Memphis. Mike Conley is there, and I believe Conley's dad is Oden's agent.

[exstatic]

If you think Blair has bad knees you haven't seen Odens...

The big difference is that if the microfracture works, they'll be better than Blair's because Oden has ACLs so the knees will be stable. Blairs will only ever get worse as the unstable knees grind away the cartilage like a mortar and pestle.

That's also why you don't pay him one penny over minimum.

[Werdsniper2]

I don't see any reason not to sign him.

Spurs have been devoid of a truly large big man for quite a while now.

Besides, what is he worth at this point in his career, a league minimum deal?

Even if he does get injured again (likely), what does SA have to lose? Pocket change?

It seems like a no risk/high reward move to me. It's not like the guy has character issues either. An easy decision for me.

[Kidd K]

Sam Bowie was going to be a bust regardless. Oden and Bowie aren't like the Roy thing. The Blazers absolutely overused Roy, but imo they did not overuse either Oden or Bowie. Those guys just fell apart with less than normal minutes played. They would have fallen apart anywhere.

Sometimes it's just inevitable. Not everyone's as durable as the next guy. It ain't like the Thunder aren't overusing Durant and Westbrook, or like the Cavs didn't overuse LeBron. . .or the Lakers don't overuse Kobe. Those guys don't fall apart though because they're built differently. The Magic overused Dwight too and he only got hurt once. Meanwhile, the Lakers barely used Bynum hard and he kept falling apart.

I suspect that regardless of what happens, Oden will continue to fall apart. I would love to have Oden, and him actually be healthy, but the odds are so far against it, I'm not sure I'd want to even try. I can just see it now. Bill Land starts off the broadcast: Grim news folks. . .Greg Oden had another "setback" in training today. He's at the hospital getting an MRI on his knee as we speak.

[Raven]

I don't see any reason not to sign him.

Spurs have been devoid of a truly large big man for quite a while now.

Besides, what is he worth at this point in his career, a league minimum deal?

Even if he does get injured again (likely), what does SA have to lose? Pocket change?

It seems like a no risk/high reward move to me. It's not like the guy has character issues either. An easy decision for me.

he does have character issues, he is a lazy ass. Also, why people still think he would jump high at this point of his career?

[Obiwonginobili]

As a fifteenth man, I'd take him as long as he inks a three-year deal with the last two years unguaranteed. If not, Oden's not really worth putting time into. Exactly. If we can stash him this year, and use him next year i got no problem with that. Plus i think Oden can really flourish having pop limit his minutes.

[Budkin]

We all know he's going to the Heat.

[lmbebo]

I think Oden's issues have been chondral fractures. The microfracture surgery has been to drill holes into the subcortical bone? to stimulate fibrosis to fill the gaps.

Roy's issues is that I believe he's got diffuse loss of his articular cartiladge. Thats just not gonna grow back.

[chazley]

Oden is going to go wherever he feels has the best training staff to help him get healthy. Obviously, any team that signs him will likely insist on signing him to a multiyear, non-guaranteed deal with team options so they are able to protect their investment. Here is a quote I dug up from Oden:

"Oden remembers standing on the court at the 2007 Finals, shortly before he became the draft's top overall pick, and imagining himself dominating in a title game like Tim Duncan -- another former top pick -- did that night. He insists that goal lives."

I think Oden would love to be in San Antonio. We have a great training staff who has experience with degenerative knee conditions (Blair/Duncan) who would put him on the right track. I think we have a great chance, and I'm all for it.

[Richie]

I remember reading a great article about the 2000 playoffs, Duncan wanted to play with an injury but Pop kept him out, saying he was putting Duncans career over one playoff run. Quite literally the opposite of Portland.

[Ice009]

Oden is going to go wherever he feels has the best training staff to help him get healthy. Obviously, any team that signs him will likely insist on signing him to a multiyear, non-guaranteed deal with team options so they are able to protect their investment. Here is a quote I dug up from Oden:

"Oden remembers standing on the court at the 2007 Finals, shortly before he became the draft's top overall pick, and imagining himself dominating in a title game like Tim Duncan -- another former top pick -- did that night. He insists that goal lives."

I think Oden would love to be in San Antonio. We have a great training staff who has experience with degenerative knee conditions (Blair/Duncan) who would put him on the right track. I think we have a great chance, and I'm all for it.

When and where is this quote from?

The Spurs really, really need to look into getting Oden. If he can make a comeback, the Spurs need to be the ones to sign him.

[look_at_g_shred]

Oden is going to go wherever he feels has the best training staff to help him get healthy. Obviously, any team that signs him will likely insist on signing him to a multiyear, non-guaranteed deal with team options so they are able to protect their investment. Here is a quote I dug up from Oden:

"Oden remembers standing on the court at the 2007 Finals, shortly before he became the draft's top overall pick, and imagining himself dominating in a title game like Tim Duncan -- another former top pick -- did that night. He insists that goal lives."

I think Oden would love to be in San Antonio. We have a great training staff who has experience with degenerative knee conditions (Blair/Duncan) who would put him on the right track. I think we have a great chance, and I'm all for it.

I would love to have Oden here in SA, yet I think he would most likely want to sign with the Heat tbh.

[LittleCriminal]

http://www.ridiculousupside.com/2013/1/13/3871718/before-making-move-from-europe-baynes-and-spurs-busy-playing-the

"Leave it up to Greg Oden (http://www.sbnation.com/nba/players/24277/greg-oden) to hold up the deal between Aron Baynes and the San Antonio Spurs (http://www.sbnation.com/nba/teams/san-antonio-spurs)."

[benefactor]

Didn't they say the buyout was already paid? Methinks that author is full of shit.

[Imakandi]

Didn't they say the buyout was already paid? Methinks that author is full of shit.

The deal is made, Bayns s no longer member of Union Olimpija

[bus driver]

7_Z4KjVeWsU


off subject but this vid brought back chills, thanks for posting :toast

[Strategic]

http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/01/17/report-celtics-cavaliers-spurs-have-interest-in-oden-and-he-could-sign-soon/


"Hello Pop, are you interested"? "Sure, what the hell"!

[dbreiden83080]

I think it is sad that so many just see Oden as a running joke. I genuinely feel bad for Oden. I hope he can finally get healthy and have some form of an NBA career.

[Ice009]

I think it is sad that so many just see Oden as a running joke. I genuinely feel bad for Oden. I hope he can finally get healthy and have some form of an NBA career.

I hope he can get back and be a defensive anchor for a team. Even if it's only 20-25 minutes a night, and even if his offense is minimal and he doesn't excel on that end of the court, I still think he can still be a defensive anchor when he is on the floor. I really do want the Spurs to have a good look at signing him, and sign him early so he can learn more while he rehabs.

The Spurs need to make a trade that opens up a roster spot.

[Jordanobili2320]

UPDATE ON REAL GM ABOUT ODEN AND SPURS:

http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/225654/Celtics_Spurs_Cavaliers_Interested_In_Oden

[TrainOfThought5]

For a guy that hasnt played in 3(4?) years, I hear his name way too much. anyways, whats going on with Oberto?

[Thomas82]

Apparently, Cleveland and Miami are his 2 choices.

http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/01/29/report-cavaliers-heat-become-front-runners-to-land-oden/#

[Hoops Czar]

The Spurs were never serious about Oden and now they don't have a roster spot available.

[Thomas82]

I believe they would have pursued Oden if the Baynes situation fell through.

[Ice009]

I'm very disappointed in the Spurs not taking a better look at him. Why haven't they had him in for a workout? The money to potential ratio is too high for the Spurs to simply pass up.

[Thomas82]

I'm very disappointed in the Spurs not taking a better look at him. Why haven't they had him in for a workout? The money to potential ratio is too high for the Spurs to simply pass up.

+1

[maverick1948]

No thanks. Oden is too injury prone. In 5yrs, he has played 82 games. failed to even get on the floor 3 of those. He made 20 million dollars for NOTHING. I dont want to pay him a dime to take up space. Baynes may not be the answer but he is at least HEALTHY.

[aal04]

We dont need another injury prone player. Its bad enough having a different lineup every week for the spurs