Ever since the 2007 draft, the Portland Trail Blazers have been all-in on Greg Oden. They’ve stuck it out through injuries and missed games. He’s only played 82 games in his four-year career, and hasn’t even seen the floor since December of 2009. Despite all this, it looks like the Blazers still want him. Blazers reporter Jason Quick says Oden is going to sign a one-year deal with Portland.
“The free agent center will sign a one-year qualifying offer with the Trail Blazers on Friday according to agent Bill Duffy. Oden, who turns 24 in January, will be paid $8.9 million this season.”
Quick also added that Oden had the opportunity to look around at other teams, but he didn’t. He remains loyal to the team that drafted him, as he should. The Blazers risked their number one overall pick on Oden when there was a guy by the name of Kevin Durant sitting right there behind him. He’s only played the equivalent of one NBA season over the last four. I honestly think he owes it to the Blazers to play a couple of seasons for free, but of course, things don’t work like that.
The Trail Blazers must have a lot of faith that Oden can come back and will be a great player eventually. Everyone knows the talent is there but he’s clearly made of glass and could go down again at any time. They’re even going to sign him knowing he won’t be ready to go on opening night. He still has a lot of rehab to do before he’ll be ready for NBA action.
I think the Blazers just want to prove to themselves and the fans that Oden was worth the first pick in the draft. If they let him go to another team and he gets healthy and has an outstanding career somewhere else, they’ll look like the biggest idiots in the world. They’re still hoping he’ll push the Blazers over the hump from just being a playoff team to being a championship contender. I think he definitely has that potential. The real question is: will he ever stay healthy long enough for us to see it?
