The NBA regular season is 82 games long.
Since being drafted No. 1 overall by the Portland Trail Blazers four years ago in the 2007 NBA draft, Greg Oden has played in exactly 82 games in his NBA career.
That's it, 82 games.
Oden has been sidelined for the entirety of two seasons: The 2007-2008 season and the 2010-2011 season (while having micro-fracture surgery on each of his knees).
Micro-fracture surgery, the same surgery that helped hasten Chris Webber and Tracy McGrady's falls from superstars to role players, has a history of not always being kind to its recipients.
Entering free agency for the first time, one might expect Oden to latch-on with a contender seeking a big man off the bench. His contract would probably be one, maybe two, million a year, until he proves he can stay healthy, at which point he will be rewarded with a richer contract.
The Trail Blazers pulled a fast one on the NBA, extending a qualifying offer of $8.8 million to Oden, making him a restricted free agent and forcing any team that wants to sign Oden to pay at least that amount for a one-year deal.
There are ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NBA
Article written by Josh Sadlock
Portland Trail Blazers: Greg Oden Offer Is a Head Scratcher
July 1st, 2011 by Josh Sadlock Leave a reply »
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