Anyone got the ESPN "Insider" article about Oden's workout in Portland. [Archive]

zekes

06-22-2007, 03:06 PM

Health questions for Oden
posted: Tuesday, June 19, 2007 | Feedback | Print Entry
filed under: Insider NBA

Here's the latest scuttlebutt from around the league …

• The Greg Oden-Kevin Durant debate got a little more interesting this week when NBA teams received the physicals for each player from the Orlando predraft camp. At the top of the red-flag list was Greg Oden, who had three specific injuries that concerned doctors.

One problem continues to be Oden's right wrist. Oden broke his wrist during his senior season of high school and played with a brace on his wrist for much of his freshman season at Ohio State. According to a league source who has read the report, the concern was over the flexibility of the wrist. Apparently Oden still doesn't have full range of motion.

Oden also had a bulging disc in his back. The source I spoke with said that the back issue was probably minor, and the wrist problem created a bigger concern.

I spoke with Blazers GM Kevin Pritchard about the injury on my podcast on Tuesday. You can click here to listen to his answer, along with his take on the Oden-Durant debate.

While Pritchard plays the medical issues off as minor, they could sway the team in Durant's direction. To pass on Oden, the Blazers would need a reason. The NBA's medical staff might have given them one.

That said, pre-existing injuries don't really seem to scare off Pritchard. Both LaMarcus Aldridge (hip surgery his freshman year) and Brandon Roy (two knee surgeries in college) were red-flagged as well.

• The other two lottery picks who were red-flagged were Joakim Noah and Al Thornton.

Noah had a slight tear of his rotator cuff that might require surgery this summer. Thornton had a wrist injury that also could require surgery this summer. Neither injury is considered likely to affect their careers over the long term, but these problems might cause them to slip a few spots, depending on how conservative the GMs are.

• Teams that have visited Houston during the past few weeks to take a look at Boston College center Sean Williams are coming back with a positive impression.

Williams has decided not to travel to teams and instead to hold his workouts in Houston -- kind of like Yi Jianlian in Los Angeles.

Several NBA executives came away from the workouts saying that Williams reminded them a little of Amare Stoudemire.

"He's pretty raw offensively," one executive said. "But he's got a great body, is super-athletic, and he's the best shot-blocker in the draft. At what point does the reward outweigh the risk? That's what we're all trying to figure out. But on talent, he's a top-10 pick. Maybe higher."

According to one executive who personally interviewed Williams, the player was candid about his dismissal from the Boston College team for smoking marijuana.

"He said he was immature and he understood why teams had doubts about him," the executive said. "But the thing that struck me was that he said the experience of watching his team struggle without him made him realize that it was a mistake that can't happen again."

We've been talking about Williams' range starting at No. 17 with the Nets (who desperately need a player like him) and ending in the late first round. But maybe we're being naive. A significant number of players in the NBA smoke marijuana. Most NBA executives don't believe it's a serious issue. Given Williams' talent, they may be willing to take the PR hit now to have a significant contributor down the road.

• Glen "Big Baby" Davis continues to be a hot name in the draft.

Davis has measured a legit 6-foot-9 in shoes, and though he weighs in at around 290, he has only about 11 percent body fat.

"I know this sounds really weird to say about a kid this big, but he's light on his feet," one GM told me. "And he can really shoot the basketball. From a skills standpoint, I think he's one of the three or four best big guys in the draft."

The question is obvious: Will Davis stay in shape after he gets a big deal? His agent, John Hamilton, says that everyone Davis has interviewed with has asked him the same question at every workout. His response, according to Hamilton: "I just was uneducated. I didn't understand how to eat properly."

Hamilton sent me a DVD of Davis' workouts in Houston with John Lucas. He looks to be in good shape, is moving well and is very skilled. He could be a real draft sleeper.

Davis has worked out for the 76ers, Nets, Bulls, Wolves, Rockets, Sonics and Wizards. He'll be in Golden State on Wednesday.

• At this time of the year, potential often trumps production. So it's nice when a few college basketball staples hold their own in individual workouts.

Boston College's Jared Dudley and UCLA's Arron Afflalo are drawing praise in individual workouts.

Sources say Dudley has been red-hot shooting the ball in workouts. He's worked out for the Rockets, Nets, Knicks, Heat, Sixers, Bulls, Bobcats, Sonics and Suns. He could end up a sleeper for a team like the Sixers, Bobcats or Suns in the late 20s.

Afflalo also has done well in workouts. He measured 6-foot-6 in socks, had a 6-foot-9 wingspan and is a muscular 225.

"He's was a man among boys in our workout," one GM told Insider. "He's been really well-coached, shoots it well and does a lot of little things. You don't draft him to be a star, but he can fill a role for you defensively and he'll hit some big shots."

Afflalo worked out for about a dozen teams in the Rockets' workouts in Orlando. He's also done individual workouts with the Lakers, Suns, Sixers and Jazz. He could go late in the first: No. 25 to Utah, No. 29 to the Suns or No. 30 to the Jazz.