Greg Oden has told ESPN that he has agreed to a 2-year contract at the veteran minimum with the Miami Heat. The 25-year-old was the first overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft, but has not played in the league since fracturing his knee cap in 2009. He played just 82 games total in his 3 years with the Portland Trailblazers.
Injuries to both of Oden’s knees have almost completely derailed a promising NBA career for the seven foot tall centre who starred at Ohio State.
“He just thought that it was the best fit for him, where he’s at and especially for how it relates to him coming back,” said Oden’s agent Mike Conley Sr. Friday night. “He can be on a winning team and be working his way in slowly.”
Winners of the last two NBA Championships, the Heat have been recruiting Jones for quite some time. On a team with Lebron James, Chris Bosh, and Dwayne Wade, Oden should be able to slink into the shadows and play the role of the supporting cast member. He will not be burdened with the pressure of being a franchise saving player like he was in Portland.
Meanwhile the Heat hope that Oden can finally stay healthy. If he does he could help the Heat in their weakest area, having a quality big man. Teams with strong play from bigs like Roy Hibbert and the Indiana Pacers and Tim Duncan and the San Antonio Spurs both threatened the Heat on their run to their second championship. Having a big man who could help neutralize other teams big men would make the Heat into an even bigger force than they already are. Even if Oden can only provide limited minutes, at the NBA minimum he’s good value on the contract.
The second year of the contract provides Oden with a player option. If he stays healthy and produces, he could opt out and head for a big payday in free agency next year.
Oden admits that having 4 years away from the game though is a big hurdle and that while he has been training he still has more to do before being NBA ready.
“When I had a conversation with Coach (Erik) Spoelstra and hearing how much he knew about the training stuff that I was already doing, it kind of made me feel like they know what’s best for me,” Oden said in the ESPN interview, “I’m not going to sit here and say I’m 100 percent. I am moving (well) and I am feeling good, but I have a lot of work to do.”
The Heat can afford to be patient. It is in a playoff series where Oden will make his biggest impact as we all know that this team will win a lot of regular season games, as they’ve done ever since signing the Big Three.
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