Oden has third microfracture surgery

[benji]

Instead of linking to shitty fucking stupid paraphrasing piece of trash RealGM, link to the actual article:
http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/790 ... ued-career

Especially when the articles are actually good and worthwhile reads. Unlike the stripped of context quotes RealGM posts.

[[Q]]

but but but RealGM are like the CliffNotes of NBA news! i don't have the time or the patience to read it all

[Andrew]

Great read, well worth checking out.

"That's the worst part about all of the injuries and the criticism. It would be one thing if I had been healthy for five years and just sucked when I was on the court. But I can't prove what I can do because I can't stay healthy. Not having control over the situation makes it tough."

This is why I feel Oden and other players whose careers have been derailed early on by unfortunate injuries need to be placed in their own category when talking about busts. Yes, it is still fair to call them busts, but it's a very different situation to players who ultimately just didn't have NBA level talent or wasted their potential because they didn't have the drive to fulfill it or made poor personal decisions. It's not completely unfair to call Oden one of the biggest busts or the biggest bust, but there needs to be an asterisk or some footnotes on that label.

[Nick]

That's a great article. Finding out that he was partying so much during his 2nd year kind of destroys the sympathy i had for him. I'm beginning to think his circumstances were more in his control than initially perceived. If you're getting paid millions of dollars to be a professional basketball player then you've got to be professional about it. Instead of going out and getting smashed on a Saturday night, why not work out the muscles in your legs and core (specifically around your knees)? Then maybe he could've increased his chances of staying healthy.

That's the biggest difference between him and a player like Dwight Howard. Ever wonder how Dwight has had such good durability? (until now obviously) Dwight is disciplined and worked hard for the body he's got. No reason why Oden couldn't have done the same.

It's a shame cos Oden clearly had the talent to become an All-Star talent. But he's gotta have more desire to improve than just simply the "i just wanna play ball man" sort of attitude.

[The X]

I think you're being a little bit too harsh on him Nick. Think back to when you were 20/21 year old, imagine you're single, living with pisshead mate (in this case it was his family), you're going to have a good time. Yes, he's a professional so his body should've been his temple but that is not always the case for young, pro athletes in team sports. He admitted regret about the time, he didn't do it long-term and made amends after that second season.

I think bad luck & mediocre Blazers' medical staff are more to blame than Oden himself. Yes, he shouldn't have come back early, but when you're young & in early stages of career you'll push it. The team's medical staff should not have cleared him to return if the knee wasn't 100%.

[shadowgrin]

There's a greater draft bust than Oden.
Len Bias.
Him being dead is not an excuse to not call him a bust.
It was his own actions that led to his OD.

[Lamrock]

Oden's a bigger bust because of the time and money invested into him as well as the fact that Durant, Horford, Noah, etc. were taken after him.

[koberulz]

Ever wonder how Dwight has had such good durability? (until now obviously) Dwight is disciplined and worked hard for the body he's got. No reason why Oden couldn't have done the same.

Didn't it come out a while ago that Dwight eats ridiculous amounts of fast food?

Guy is a genetic freak. All the work in the world won't get you his body.

[Nick]

He obviously has natural physical gifts. But no doubt he worked for his physique. Look at his body when he first came into the league compared to now. Dude worked his butt off.

[benji]

I think the article starts off with a very enlightening and specific quote that says more than anything that follows:

"Because I don't understand why they are so excited to meet me," Greg responded. "I'm just a person. I guess I didn't really mind it when I was at Ohio State and even right after I was drafted, but it just seems so fake now. Like, why are you bothering me at dinner for a picture when I'm nothing now?"

When the rest of the article is included, none of it is really surprising. His drinking is a symptom, not a cause.

"I don't care about what all of these injuries mean for any legacy I might have," he said. "I just want to play basketball. I could've signed with a team after Portland cut me and just sat on the bench and collected paychecks, but that's not my style. That just seems really unethical. Besides, money doesn't matter to me. I've got enough money. All I want is to get 100 percent healthy and get back on the court."

[Murat]

He should forget about basketball. Go on other things, Greg.

[Andrew]

I think you're being a little bit too harsh on him Nick. Think back to when you were 20/21 year old, imagine you're single, living with pisshead mate (in this case it was his family), you're going to have a good time. Yes, he's a professional so his body should've been his temple but that is not always the case for young, pro athletes in team sports. He admitted regret about the time, he didn't do it long-term and made amends after that second season.

Agreed on all counts. As benji said, the drinking seems more like a symptom than a cause. If anything, the article paints him in a more sympathetic light as it's clear he was lacking the direction, stability and wise counsel he needed while enduring those hardships. It's good to know that he didn't stray too far down that path, to the point where the drinking became an even more serious problem or result in tragedy.

[Andrew]

It's come up in the Heat thread, but worth discussing here too: Greg Oden wants to play for the Miami Heat

As noted in the BDL blog, it'd be a low risk move. If the Heat are willing to spend the veteran minimum on the shell of Eddy Curry for a season, it's worth bringing Oden in for a year so long as he can make it up and down the court without injuring himself. There is talent there, after all.

[Nick]

Miami could use a player like Greg Oden, even if his skills haven't developed from his rookie season.

Oden would definitely put them over the top. If they weren't already.

[NovU]

It'd be intriguing if he could become healthy and play for the Heat. Nash at a point, healthy Oden at center, that'd complete a real monster big 5 team. Probably close to being the best of the best historically. It's an intriguing thought.

How peculiar... I also want to play for the Miami Heat.

Lol at a random reply to the article...

[Andrew]

Oft-injured Oden wants to play this season

"(Oden) called me, and he was kind of excited,'' Conley said in a phone interview with FOX Sports Florida. "I think he's motivated …. He wants to play. He had said he wanted to take this season off, but he's backed off from that …. He's open to playing this season. I think he will play this season.''

It could be a mistake, but I still wish him well. Everything about his career to date has pretty much been doom and gloom; it'd be nice if he could turn it around, string together a few reasonably healthy seasons in the league and ultimately call it a day on his terms.

[NovU]

I really wish to see this kid playing again at high level but can he anytime soon? I don't know why the Heat haven't even contacted him yet. The Heat can afford to sit him till he gets all healthy and don't even have to give him that many minutes and also are in dire needs of big. I say Wade should do what he did back in 2010 FA and pick up the phone already.

[Andrew]

His eagerness to give it a shot this season suggests that it's possible, but it's one of those things that'll have to be seen to be believed.

[The X]

Imagine if he did sign with Heat for minimum & stayed healthy It would be over

[Andrew]

Absolutely, almost unfair.

[The X]

In all honesty I'd probably prefer to see him land somewhere like Houston & play with Lin.

[Andrew]

Yeah, I wouldn't mind seeing the Bulls give him a shot, one year at the minimum. A couple of promising workouts and there might be a few teams showing interest.

[The X]

With what the going rate is for centres, I'd say there would be 29 teams after him for league minimum, which means his asking price would be higher. I could only see him taking league minimum to go somewhere like Miami.

Regardless of this, I do want to see him healthy & salvage what he can of a basketball career, if at all possible.

[Andrew]

Perhaps, but how many teams would bid highly for his services given his track record with injuries?

[The X]

Not many, but it only takes one to offer mini-MLE for one year. But yeah, most likely he'll go to a contender for minimum, if he does actually come back this season.