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| Greg Oden (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
Why would Cleveland entertain a multi-year offer for a player who hasn’t stepped foot on an NBA court in more than three years? Good question. Positionally, there is a need. Big man Anderson Varejao has been struck by injuries in recent years and the only other center on the roster is rookie Tyler Zeller. The Cavaliers are armed with cap space and are clearly in a rebuilding mode; taking a flier on a big man with potential, even if he’s a long shot, is a nothing-to-lose proposition. Signing him soon would allow the Cavaliers to guide his rehabilitation and prepare him for next season; a team option for the third year would give them flexibility to cut bait if it didn’t work out or retain their asset if it did. All it really costs Cleveland is a roster spot.
Still, there are plenty of reasons to be skeptical of an Oden comeback: he was never consistently healthy during his four-plus seasons in Portland, microfracture surgeries are major surgeries, and he developed blood clots in his left ankle that were considered serious enough to delay his February 2012 surgery. Most damning, Blazers executives admitted following his latest surgeries that Oden was never cleared for full-contact, five-on-five play at any point following his 2009 fractured patella and that significant swelling and pain prevented him from advancing in his rehabilitation work. It’s admirable that he’s still pursuing a comeback after years of setbacks but any optimism regarding his future contributions needs to be couched in between thick layers of caution.
http://nba.si.com/2013/02/08/greg-oden-cavaliers-cleveland-contract-offer-rumors/
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