Former No. 1 overall pick Greg Oden‘s name will forever be associated with injuries, and it is difficult to make a compelling argument that he wasn’t one of the biggest NBA Draft busts of all-time as a result of his maladies. The 27-year-old center has managed to appear in just 105 games spread out over three NBA campaigns, and his career averages of 8.0 PPG, 6.2 RPG, and 1.2 BPG to go along with a slash line of .574/.000/.648 certainly underwhelm. For Portland fans, I’m sure simply evoking his name is enough to elicit a wince, and it becomes even more painful knowing that the Blazers could have nabbed former MVP Kevin Durant in the 2007 draft instead.
Oden found a new reason to remain off the court during the 2014/15 season — legal troubles, as he faced multiple charges related to domestic violence. He avoided jail time as part of a plea agreement in February in which he pleaded guilty to a felony battery charge and the three other charges against him were dismissed.
The latest news on the former Ohio State star is that he signed a deal with the Jiangsu Dragons of the Chinese Basketball Association for the 2015/16 campaign. Oden would be eligible to ink an NBA deal at the completion of the CBA season in February, or when/if his team was eliminated from the playoffs. This brings me to the topic of the day: Will Greg Oden play in the NBA again? If so, which team would be the best fit for the oft-injured big man?
Take to the comments section below to share your thoughts and opinions. Or if you are a Trail Blazers fan who never quite got the closure you needed on that chapter of your basketball life, feel free to share your feelings, and hopefully achieve some level of catharsis. We look forward to what you have to say.
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If Oden is healthy and NBA-ready in February and the Heat decide to trade Chris Andersen near the deadline for luxury tax relief, a return to Miami could make sense for Oden.
I don’t see it happening. I think he’s done as an NBA entity. His body just broke down early in life. It’s a tragic story, but it happens sometimes in sports. I think Oden’s comeback with the Heat was as happy an ending as he’s going to get.
I can’t imagine him getting anything more than an nin-guaranteed camp invite at this point of his career. His body has had to many major injuries at a young age and has robbed him of what made his a great looking prospect
If I was the GM of the trailblazers at the time I still would have taken Oden, as a freshman, he led a young Ohio State team all the way to the NCAA championship and would have won had they not been facing the defending champs. It’s not a mistake out on the Blazers parts, any GM at the time would have told you that they would take Oden over Durant 9 times out of 10.
I watched Big Ten basketball that year,and I thought Mike Conley looked like the best player on that OSU team. Never understood the Oden hype.