The saddest personnel move that KP will have to make in the future
by BootStrapper on Dec 7, 2009 6:02 PM PST
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PrintI hate to even suggest this because I've really been so impressed with his progress toward reaching his potential this season and I'm such a big fan of his, but the sad truth is that the Blazers will probably never be able to count on Greg Oden to become a consistent contributor for the team due to his health issues. And that means that the team will never be able to build around him like would normally be done for a franchise level player. This leads to the sad conclusion that in order for the Blazers to have a chance to become contenders someday, KP will have to trade Greg Oden to another team and bring back a talented player who can stay healthy.
There are at least a couple of precedents to draw upon.
1. The Blazers traded none other than the promising but injury prone Sam Bowie in 1989 and got back the young, talented Buck Williams who as everyone knows played a key role on the Drexler era Blazers teams.
2. The Nuggets traded perennial defensive player of the year candidate Marcus Camby to the Clippers in 2008 in a salary dump move. With the additional trade of Allen Iverson for Chauncy Billups, the Nuggets are currently the top power in the northwest division
3. The Cavs decided to keep Zydrunas Ilgauskas from the 1998-2002 seasons even though he had non-stop problems with his feet early in his career. However, the Cavs were a perennial lottery team around this time and had nothing to play for. Luckily, Ilgauskas managed to overcome his early problems and become a productive player in the league. The Blazers are in a different place right now in their development stage and are trying to become contenders instead of just lottery bound underdogs trying to gain respectability. So the Cavs had little to lose in keeping Ilgauskas as opposed to the decision the Blazers face with Greg Oden.
What these moves have in common is that the teams that made these painful personnel decisions ultimately got better because they were able to make gains in consistency since they could count on the contributions of the players that they did have on the roster. I realize that we will have to wait until Greg rehabilitates from the current injury before we have any hope to get back anything of value, but this is a move that KP or perhaps the next Blazers GM will have to make in order for the team to progress.
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i disagree
oden will be eligible for an extension this summer, and we can probably get him for cheap due to the injury.
if his contract is good enough, why trade?
bayless leaves over my dead body
Start Andre (in a 2 guard lineup)
"Good defense always beats bad offense."-Al Iannazzone, Yes Network
if you should strike Oden down he will become more powerful than you can possibly imagine
#52
No...freaking...way. Crap. Just crap. I love Greg.
LOVE…HIM. I will never give up on him. He is so much fun to watch, and has such a great personality. He is such a presence on and off the court. I want him to retire a blazer. I don’t care if he gets hurt every year ( a lot of centers do ), I want him here.
I agree that we can no longer build around him. I agree that we can’t give him the salary that he would have deserved had he not had these injury problems. ( He won’t get great offers from other teams anyway now, so we should be able to keep him for a reasonable contract ) I agree that we need to move on from the “Greg will be our elite / MVP center that carries us to dynasty status”. Those pipe dreams are over….but I am not ready to give up on him. I believe he can come back, and still scare the crap out of whoever is in the pain with him. I still believe he can be part of a solid 3-4 big rotation that wins a championship.
On Saturday KP said “Greg is a blazer, he’s family.” Having met him and seen him flash that huge infectious smile to me, and having watched him at THE Ohio State, watched ( and investigated with a fine toothed comb ) every shot he’s ever taken in the NBA, discussed him amongst my family over holiday dinners several times, and watched him grow as a player and as a person I almost feel like he is a part of my family. He has suffered through quite a lot for us to come back from MF surgery, and is going to go through a lot more. He is going to work his tail off to entertain all of us. We need to give him another chance. Get better Greg. I will be doing Oden minutes for you.
#52
Oden fan for life
by dario argento on Dec 7, 2009 6:33 PM PST reply actions 2 recs
Blessing in disguise?
With the ensuing contract negotiations, it is a safe bet Greg will not be demanding top dollar. There is no way we would, or anyone for that matter, give that too him anyway. This could in fact give Portland the ability to still build up the rest of the team the way we need to in order to make a run.
I feel for Greg. Horribly. But I dont believe this spells the end of his career as we know it. This was not another micro fracture. It is a broken bone and yes it takes time to heal, but it will heal. A player/person like Greg will move on from this. If you look at how long it normally takes a player to get over a micro fracture, he was still technically recovering. Now he will be given the chance to also correctly recover from that as well. Lets get the boy into some dancing or gymnastics lessons. See about working in some flexibility and balance. If anything, he would benefit from that just as much as working with Banyo or Grant.
Right now the Blazers now have to figure out how the rest of the line up is going to work out not to mention the injuries plaguing the ENTIRE team. You can also throw Paul Allen in there as well. Seriously. The entire franchise seems to be using a walker lately.
If I were KP, I would use Oden being on the DL as one less thing to worry about. I know that sounds weird and all, but really, you have Pryz and he was stellar last year when he got decent minutes. He will just have to get back into that groove. Come on Coors Light, we need ya! Right now the Blazers are hurt and need to recover. We all need to recover. I dont think Oden will be let go after this season. It would be stupid for the Blazers to do that when they can retain him for so little after these 3 seasons. Even if he ends up being a backup (which I HIGHLY doubt), he will be a value for us for however long we can keep him on the roster after this summer.
"OK, it's going to rain tomorrow. And there is going to be a Greenpeace meeting and hippies are going to be protesting" ~ The Buffet of Goodness on Portland
If you want to talk about saving dollars, then include Travis in that conversation
His contract is up this year and he’ll be out the majority of the season. With batum out for most of the season now would be a good time to resign him.
I will throw my mouthpiece across the court if I disagree with you.
by SabasforThree on Dec 7, 2009 10:00 PM PST up reply actions
You are right
However, Outlaw has the 6th man vibe we need. Then again so does Rudy and Martel once Batum is back. It is a tough situation to be in when you have a player like Outlaw who has been streaky at best, but has put in some decent work in the last few years. Then again, if he can end up in a situation where he could end up starting, and there are quite a few teams right now that could certainly use him, then give him that chance and see what we can get in return. Even if it takes a 4 team trade to do it.
I also forgot to add in there, the *akers are not building around Bynum. They have a player who no one here likes to read the name that begins with Ko and ends in be that they built it around. We have a similar player by the name of Roy. And he is who this team is being built around.
I feel the team suffered all around when they started to look to Greg as a scoring option. Dont get me wrong, he has been the ONLY stable player on the roster this year. I still feel he needs to be the ultimate scrapper on this team. Let LMA and Roy pick and pop/roll while Oden sweeps the lane getting ready to scrap for the rebounds and any put backs he can get his hands on. He could easily become a 10/20 guy just by doing that. Maybe even more.
I dunno, I think I am just upset over all of this as much as the next Blazermaniac. I do know that he isnt done and people are just quick to discount any hyped up player when they dont achieve perfection in the time frame the media sets out for them and will then continue to look for the next Jordan.
"OK, it's going to rain tomorrow. And there is going to be a Greenpeace meeting and hippies are going to be protesting" ~ The Buffet of Goodness on Portland
Except the yellow mamba is probably half the player the original mamba is.
and this is from a kobe hater.
A sure-fire way to not win a championship is build around someone that is not an elite player in the NBA. Ultimately, we’re going to have to pair Roy with someone similar in his status (top 10 to 20 player) to make up for the talent gap in our core 3 scorers. I think it’s about safe to say that no team will win a championship with LA as their second best player unless he is coupled with someone ridiculously talented like LeBron or Wade, so we’re going to have to bring in someone to take the #1 spot (not likely) or the #2 spot (more likely) in the hierarchy provided Greg does not make full recovery.
And using Greg as a scrapper, that would be the ultimate waste of his talent even if he loses a step. The guy will always be strong as a bull and have good passing touch. The offense will have to run through for any prolonged success. This doesn’t mean that he’ll be the leading scorer or even the second leading scorer, though, just that Oden will collapse opposing D to play inside-out.
If Roy shows the same willingness next year as he showed this year in playing that style with Oden, I am all for shipping him out of town for a comparable talent like Joe Johnson or Danny Granger, or hope to upgrade to someone like Chris Paul. Simply put, Brandon Roy is just not good enough for this team to run a perimeter-oriented offense rather than inside-out offense. Heck, even LA with kobe runs their offense inside-out with Gasol and Bynum, at least for 3 quarters anyway.
I agree with both of you
The offense did bog down when looking at Oden as a scoring option. The problem wasn’t that he was scoring, obviously, but rather in how. We should have worked him in getting him garbage points and dunks / layups. None of this back to the basket crap that we were forcing. That’s when people stand around. We don’t have the shooters to run that offense. Instead he should have been getting the ball in position to score quickly, or clean up for others.
Down the road, sure, once he’s into the game and feels comfortable, you work in his post game, which hopefully, he’s continued to work on from day 1, regardless.
Witty Unpredictable Talent and Natural Game
I've come to the realization that
I’d rather have Greg Oden in Portland than another NBA title if that’s what it takes. Now, I don’t believe these are mutually exclusive if GO can ever enjoy some good health. I remember the “dark ages” of the Jail Blazers – these guys are the antithesis of that. They play hard, they are good in the community, and they are good people. Now, I’m aware the NBA is a business, so guys like Channing who are awesome people will leave if the basketball situation isn’t right, but the core guys on this team (Brandon, LMA, GO, Martell, Rudy, Travis) are all guys I want in this city. Greg is my favorite of the bunch – I’ve never rooted for an athlete to do well more than him. And he’s done exceptionally well in every aspect of his time here, with the exception of on court durability – entirely out of his hands. The day the Blazers “scrap” GO is the day I stop being a fan of this team. That’s not saying he’ll be a Blazer forever – basketball is a business, and you can never say never, and that applies with Brandon and LMA as well. But this is what I said I wanted during the bad old days – a team of guys who I could cheer for and support, without having to worry about constant bad news accompanying the morning paper. We have that and Greg Oden is a big part of that. Loyalty and respect go both ways – the way this team has conducted itself deserves that, and if they never make it out of the first round, so be it.
Always supporting Greg Oden.
by blazeraddict on Dec 7, 2009 7:49 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
Just because we probably can't build around him anymore, doesn't mean he doesn't have a place on this team.
At least defensively and on the boards, Greg will always be pretty darn good when healthy. There’s a spot on any team for a big guy that can hit the boards and muscle it up in the paint.
Sure, he might not ever become the 24-14-3 monster that I envisioned for him to be coming out of Ohio state, but there’s still room for him on the team and an outside chance always exists that he can still reach his potential eventually.
Besides, there has been plenty of recent examples with big man with early history of injuries become a healthy guy after a while. Big Z, Camby, Nene, Amare, and KMart for some examples. Plus, sports medicine has been getting rapidly better in recent times. Just ten years ago, microfracture meant your career was done. 25 years ago, a pitcher with Tommy John surgery meant he will likely never pitch again. We just need to get Greg best possible care so that he can come back strong. Unfortunately, I no longer think the Blazer medical staff is the answer, but that’s another topic altogether.
Are you kidding?
Greg deserves the time to heal and get well. Plus he is still years away from his basketball prime, maybe he will sign on the cheap for a team who has his back. Part of the idea of Portland should be family.
No way...the only reason someone would trade for Oden is because they believe they can get something out of him.
If there is any chance he is going to turn into a 22/14 monster it is going to be with the Blazers. Could you imagine how Blazers would look to give up on him and he turns into that?
The Blazers need to address his structural alignment problems and he’ll be fine. Hopefully he has not done this.
In a keeping up with the Jones’ move they do need to pickup another big man a la Gasol with the Lakers. Bynum was down and they added another big man bringing them to Odom, Mbenga, Bynum, Gasol. The Blazers would be well served to get another one. Joel is not getting any younger.
Land Rondo.
"He needs to realize that he can't stop every shot, especially from a smaller and offensively potent player. Get your hands up, make him shoot it over you, but let him shoot every once in a while. They score a little but you stay in the game a lot. And when you stay in the game...smashy smashy!" Dave on Greg Oden
He has yet to play a completely recovered and healthy game...
and he is already my all-time favorite Blazer.
I stuck through the Jail-Blazer years, but I think I’d have to take a break if Oden was traded.
Bowie, by the time he was traded, had ample time to show his abilities
and couldn’t beat out Kevin Duckworth for the starting job.
While his health was a factor in the decision, talent-wise Bowie was expendable, and Buck a definite upgrade (as opposed to a “not as good, but more likely to stay healthy” upgrade).
Serviceable players can be gotten fairly easily. I’d rather take a chance on Oden, knowing full well that he could go south completely while a Blazer, and get result in the team getting nothing.
In for an inch, in for a mile. It’s not as if we don’t have other players on the roster.
I am Spartacus and I approved this message
Sam was 28 when he was traded to the Nets
and he retired from the NBA at age 33, after playing 60+ games per year for the Nets and L*kers (with the exception of ’93-94 when he only played 25)
http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/b/bowiesa01.html
Right now Oden is 21. Bowie was 23 during his rookie season when he played 76 games. Between the ages of 24-27 Sam played in only 63 NBA games. Then, he played 372 between the ages of 28-33.
The lesson? We don’t know at what age Oden will stop getting hurt and settle into his prime. It could be next year, or it might be further on down the road, like with Sam. Perhaps KP will deal Oden in the future to acquire the “final piece” for a final’s run. But it’s just as likely that KP will eventually trade LMA or even Roy, if he thinks the team needs a different kind of player to team up with #52
The fact is, no amount of speculation will bring Oden back to the floor any faster. And each game that he misses and Roy is on the court Brandon’s knees are acruing hard NBA mileage. How much tread will #7 have left on his tires, by the time Greg reaches his late 20s? Maybe Brandon will be more ready to play 2nd fiddle and feed #52 the rock, in the future
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
Among the MANY reasons this is a terrible idea
…The day the Blazers traded Greg Oden is the day he would become one of the all-time iron men in NBA history. Not only would he never suffer another serious injury—he’d never miss A SINGLE GAME! What’s more, whatever team the Blazers traded GO to would become a dynastic monster, winning NBA championship after NBA championship—always knocking off the Blazers en route to their latest victory parade.
Come on, Bootstrapper: you know I’m right. This isn’t to say that, should the Blazers keep GO for the rest of his career, that there’s any guarantee he’ll ever play a full season. But you can’t alter your fate; the Blazers picked this wonderful, star-crossed big guy, and he’s ours now. We have to embrace him for better or for worse, in sickness and in health. To try to worm out of it with a trade would be the worst karma imaginable. That’s the way of the universe. The NBA, anyway.
I was born in '52, and I believe in #52. Hang in there, GO.
by hurryup09 on Dec 7, 2009 10:01 PM PST reply actions 1 recs
# 5 freakin' 2
bayless leaves over my dead body
Start Andre (in a 2 guard lineup)
"Good defense always beats bad offense."-Al Iannazzone, Yes Network
if you should strike Oden down he will become more powerful than you can possibly imagine
#52
even if we wanted to, no way we get value in return
i cant wait to watch greg and jerryd grow up together and dominate…..my two favorites since clyde
luckily im a bronco and a blazer fan
Well, it's a change
We used to fill up the sidebar with hate Blake, fire Nate fanposts. Now we’re filling it with give up on Greg fanposts.
The NEXT ONE BELOW THIS was suggesting we had to move on from building around Greg. Here we go again.
#52
nope
Greg stays…a captain goes down with his boat. Greg is our boat. The only championship we have is on the back of a star center that had injury problems. Regardless, for one year he was magnificent and we won.
So it goes with Greg. Dig in your heels and ride out the storm. We will be victorious…
#52. Get well soon.
PS
He’s only 21, he is fully capable of recovering from this and more…
#52. Get well soon.
by Eat Politicians on Dec 8, 2009 1:02 AM PST up reply actions
Yeah, Greg Oden is the only player on Portland's roster capable of carrying the Trail Blazers to a title.
So, even though the constant injury woes thus far have been mighty troubling, the organization must stand beside Oden through these trials and tribulations on the way to the promise land.
Dear Paul Allen:
Fire Nate McMillan & hire Jeff Van Gundy.
Sincerely,
AK1984
I hate to point out the obvious but Greg Oden is not a secret. Every GM, every player, even every half-way dedicated fan of The N.B.A. knows Greg Odens history. So especially at this point Greg Oden in near to impossible to trade. Despite Odens talent which was developing and emerging, the whispers of “injury prone”, “physically unstable” and “bust” have turned into resounding statements. Outside of Oregonians and Blazer fans the unfortunate truth is most everyone else has Greg Oden labeled as an injury prone bust.
While I sincerely and whole heartedly hope Greg Oden can make a full recovery and play the rest of his career without a major hitch, would you expect outside GM’s to feel the same way? Or take the gamble by parting with a decent player?
"Mother Nature started this fight, I think it's about time we ended it!"
Theres no player on the roster I love as much as Greg Oden.
Greg is already my 3rd favorite Blazer ever. There’s just something about him that makes you love the guy.
If he can’t be that big time elite all time great center that’s ok, he’s still really damn good. Big men get injured all the time, Greg has had some pretty serious ones, too much to build around him but you don’t just trade away a talent like his for lesser players. I want Greg to be a Blazer until he retires, which hopefully is AT LEAST a decade from now.
There are few fanbases in sports who get as attached to their players like the Blazers fans. A lot of us can honestly say, especially after the jailblazers era that we would rather have a team full of guys who maybe cant win the championship but are good people and easy to root for on and off the court than a team full of trouble makers and jerks that win.
Greg will get another chance to prove he can stay healthy. But three strikes and you’re out. If he suffers another season ending injury again next season, his future is in much greater doubt. This recent injury was a freak accident. Maybe his body will hold up next season and maybe it won’t. But we owe the big fella a little more patience. Just a little more.
"Sometimes that light at the end of the tunnel is a train."
-- Charles Barkley
I'm waiting
I’m waiting for him to break all 4 limbs before I give up. If he breaks the same leg twice, it doesn’t matter. Until all four holes are punched on my member’s card, I’m willing to ride it out.
Witty Unpredictable Talent and Natural Game
by iDea on Dec 8, 2009 5:54 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
Shame on this author, and I disagree whole heartedly.
We keep greg until he don’t want to play anymore.
I’ll watch this team suck butt before I give up on him.
The Faith don't panic, the faith freaks out, burns out farms, and torchs small villages in the name of The Faith.
Head Czar of Amerika <--- Mortimer said so so there!!!
I feel bad for Greg's injury problems
but we need him. Even if it turns out he’s not the dominating centerpiece of our dynasty, he is too talented and charming to give up.
Plus, his value has gone way down, and we can sign him for much less now. I don’t mean to sound crass, but it’s true. If he can stay reasonably healthy in the future, he will be quite the bargain, indeed.
Also, there are many examples of big men who overcame injury problems early in their careers.
Smashy smashy!
Start Miller.
Lame post
Greg will become a dominant force, in the NBA, for the Trailblazers.. Especially on the defensive end.
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