Greg Oden regenerates the Heat

A couple weeks ago, I wrote an article about Greg Oden and the impact he could make as ahealthier player (he likely won’t be anything near what he would have been).  I had suggested some possible teams that would benefit from signing Greg Oden since it was a low risk-high reward situation.  The Miami Heat was the first team I brought up, and the Miami Heat it will be.

The one and only phrase that comes to mind about Miami’s signing of Greg Oden is ‘why not?’  Think about it; why on earth shouldn’t the Heat have signed a rehabilitated Greg Oden?  The 2007 first pick will make just over a million dollars in his first year of a player option.  He’ll make about $1.15 million his second year, if he exercises that player option.  In today’s NBA, it’s pretty easy for any team to sign a player to a near-minimum or substantially cheap deal.

A big man in the middle, such as Oden, was exactly what Miami has been craving ever since the “big three” has come together.  Not only does this greatly benefit the Heat, but this destination could very well be a turning point in Greg Oden’s career.  Oden will not be expected to play 20-25 minutes every game.  Those expectations would be too much to ask for.  He’ll have to ween his way back into the game and start by playing about eight minutes per half.  On top of that, Miami will likely allow Oden to sit out the second game of back-to-backs.

Courtesy of nba.si.com

Being cautious is the first step for Miami and Greg Oden.  The two sides will have to work together to do everything they can to make him a healthy, effective player again.  Although Greg Oden joining the back-to-back champions is a jolly story, don’t get your hopes too high.  One could only guess if Greg Oden will be able to stay on his feet for very long.  Injury-prone players to the extent of Oden are just unpredictable so we’ll have to wait and see how this works out for Oden and the Heat.

Let’s look at the hypothetical situation of Oden being able to play a comfortable 60-plus games: Like I said before, Miami hasn’t had a real starting center on this championship team.  A man with the build and skill of Greg Oden makes life a lot easier for an NBA team.  Centers like that just don’t come around too often and that is the reason the Portland Trail Blazers selected Greg Oden with the first pick in the 2007 draft.

Although Oden won’t make the impact that the pre-NBA Greg Oden was expected to make, he does have the potential to be a big difference maker for this Miami Heat team.  Miami’s roster is not very young.  In fact, they are the definition of a veteran team.  Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh will be a year older and slower (LeBron won’t because he’s LeBron).  Role players such as Ray Allen, Udonis Haslem, and Shane Battier are toward the end of their careers.  That’ll make Oden one of the youngest players on the team, in company with Mario Chalmers and Norris Cole.

LeBron gives Miami unbelievable floor spacing and that is the reason that Miami has been the most dominant team for two years straight.  Their floor spacing couldn’t possibly be better, right?  Wrong.  Now that they have Greg Oden, their floor spacing has the potential to be even better.

The thought of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh on the same team was pretty scary.  The three envisioned championships for years to come and two of them have been delivered.  With a rejuvenated Greg Oden, Pat Riley’s ultimate squad is even scarier.  With the addition of Greg Oden, Miami’s title window may have just opened for a little bit longer.

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Will Greg Oden make a healthy return?

In the 2007 NBA Draft, little did the Portland Trail Blazers know that they would make one of the biggest mistakes in NBA Draft history.  They chose Greg Oden, the muscular, seven-foot center over the three-time NBA scoring champion, Kevin Durant.  Durant has already made his mark as one of the best players of this generation.  On the other hand, Oden has played a total of 82 games over six years.

Oden had to have microfracture surgery on his right knee just a couple months after the Blazers drafted him, forcing him to miss the entire 2007-08 season.  He had a promising season the next year in which he averaged nine points, seven rebounds, and a block in 61 games until missing the remainder of the season due to injury.  Ever since then, Oden just has not been able to stay on the court.  Since the ’07 draft, he’s had to undergo five major surgeries and, evidently, he hasn’t been able to recover from any of them.  After putting up with over four years of Oden’s absences, the Blazers finally decided to part ways with him in 2012.

Courtesy of www.tumblr.com

After being released by the Blazers, Oden had to step away from basketball and take the time to try and prove he could step on the court ever again.  It’s been about 17 months since Oden had his last major surgery and there are, indeed, a list of suitors willing to give him another shot.  Some of those teams include the Mavericks, the Heat, the Pelicans, the Spurs, as well as a few more.  Ironically, Oden has made pretty good money while not even playing.  On the other hand, as he hopes to return to the court injury-free, Oden likely won’t make more than $3 million in the first year of his contract.

My theory about the amount of big men on a roster is that you can never have too many of them.  Oden can start as a backup center and eventually try to settle into a bigger role with the franchise that signs him.  Any team would take a healthy Greg Oden who reaches his maximum potential.  However, at the moment, he could greatly benefit teams in certain situations:

1. The two-time defending champion Miami Heat who have found a way to succeed without a true starting center.  Oden would make the job that much easier for them especially considering they’ll be a year older and slower.

2. A team that is looking for new future pieces such as the Mavericks.  It certainly would be a risk but it might be worth it for a Mavericks team who desperately needs to rejuvenate their roster.

3. A young team that wants to add depth such as the Pelicans.  New Orleans has reportedly offered him a deal recently.  A future duo of Anthony Davis and Greg Oden could really open some eyes.

4. Anyone who wants to sign him.  Although the Blazers made a historical mistake in picking the seven-foot beast over Kevin Durant, he was no mistake as a center coming out of Ohio State.  We know the damage he’s capable of doing when he’s fully healthy.

We can continue to discuss Greg Oden and his possible return as much as we want.  However, it all comes down to this one question: Will Greg Oden be healthy enough to contribute to an NBA team in the future?

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