htown11 Posted October 31, 2010 Report Share Posted October 31, 2010 The Portland Trail Blazers won't offer a contract extension to former No. 1 pick Greg Oden before the Monday deadline, a team spokesman said Saturday. The Oregonian reported Friday that the Blazers and Oden's representatives agreed there would be no extension, making the oft-injured center the first top pick since Kwame Brown not to get one at the end of his rookie contract. Teams have until Monday to reach deals with first-round picks from the 2007 draft. But Portland hasn't seen enough of Oden, who has played in only 82 games since he was picked ahead of Kevin Durant. He has been sidelined since fracturing his left patella last Dec. 5. Bill Duffy, head of the agency that represents Oden, told AOL FanHouse on Tuesday that Oden would not be signing an extension before the deadline. Oden will be a restricted free agent next summer and the Blazers will be able to match any offers for him. Rough start... http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=5746523 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owner Real Deal Posted October 31, 2010 Owner Report Share Posted October 31, 2010 I think most saw this coming. It's smart for Portland, because Oden would be restricted (as stated in the article), so it's a win-win situation as of now. I say "as of now" because, possibly, this just pushed Oden out of Portland. I doubt it, but it's possible he's ready to leave...and if he comes back and stays healthy this season (don't remember when he's set to return), Portland may have screwed up. Unlikely, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
headliner Posted October 31, 2010 Report Share Posted October 31, 2010 Greg Oden has been very unlucky thus far in his NBA career but that doesn’t change the fact that he is a big body that has a chance to be very good in this league. He has only played 82 games in the course of 3 seasons. If Portland chooses not to keep him I’m sure there would be plenty of teams willing to take a shot at Greg. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenneral Posted October 31, 2010 Report Share Posted October 31, 2010 I'd love for the Bucks to take a chance on him assuming he leaves Portland for good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smitty Posted October 31, 2010 Report Share Posted October 31, 2010 I'd love for Philly to make a move to get him. We need a Center with his skill set badly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AboveLegit Posted October 31, 2010 Report Share Posted October 31, 2010 People will forget that Bill Walton was hurt a lot and ended up missing a ton of games early on in his career. All of that talk regarding him staying healthy and being a force down low came to an abrupt halt once he played the majority of the season, winning the MVP award, and leading the Blazers to a championship. Maybe the Walton comparison isn't the best one out there because he was not really healthy throughout his career (never played a full 82 games), but it shows that players can overcome injuries and health concerns. Once Greg plays well for the majority of the season, people will forget about all this talk. Oden still has a TON of potential if he can just stay healthy. A lot of teams will make offers at him over the summer if he has no major issues this year, and most teams will end up taking a chance on him by offering contracts to him anyway. He's worth a minimum of 5m per year. The Blazers will have to pay him a good amount of cash if they want to keep a potentially great center in Oden off rival western conference teams. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moeroadkill Posted October 31, 2010 Report Share Posted October 31, 2010 People will forget that Bill Walton was hurt a lot and ended up missing a ton of games early on in his career. All of that talk regarding him staying healthy and being a force down low came to an abrupt halt once he played the majority of the season, winning the MVP award, and leading the Blazers to a championship. Maybe the Walton comparison isn't the best one out there because he was not really healthy throughout his career (never played a full 82 games), but it shows that players can overcome injuries and health concerns. Once Greg plays well for the majority of the season, people will forget about all this talk. Oden still has a TON of potential if he can just stay healthy. A lot of teams will make offers at him over the summer if he has no major issues this year, and most teams will end up taking a chance on him by offering contracts to him anyway. He's worth a minimum of 5m per year. The Blazers will have to pay him a good amount of cash if they want to keep a potentially great center in Oden off rival western conference teams. you can add Bill Russell to that list too, he missed quite a few games, maybe not as much as Oden has but nerveless he still was out for a lot in his early career and need i saw what he accomplished in the league? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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