Chad Ford's Chat Wrap: Oden tidbit

http://espn.go.com/sportsnation/chat/_/id/35477

That would be ... ummmm ... interesting.

 

That's my nightmare. A GM who has nothing much to lose gambling on a massive deal and forcing Portland to ante up or lose Oden. I don't know what Cho would choose, but losing Oden would truly be the final death blow to any hopes I had of a Blazers title anytime soon (this is all assuming Oden has a good and mostly healthy year when he returns).

 

Greg Oden's knee is having trouble with the soggy Portland weather. It would be crazy to think what would happen to it in the land of ice and ice and more ice and ice.

 

Ugh.... leave it up to Kahn to do something like that.

 

I think the Blazers have no choice but to match. They already passed on Kevin Durant, and to let Oden walk for nothing would make that decision even more egregious. They could justify the contract if he never pans out by saying, "we had to do it," but if he goes somewhere else and becomes a star, how do they face their fans?

 

it might come down to....

oden or batum

 

Considering how many great moves Kahn has made so far, if he is willing to do that, I am willing to let Greg go. Just because the facts are that Kahn has made so many fucking stupid moves, that chances are this is the wrong one too.

 

Silly to think PA won't match any offer that comes GO's way.

 

What if Roy is really a different player? At that point, I think the decision has to be Batum or Oden, since Nic will be due a new deal after next season, and he is fast on his way to becoming a $10-$12 million player. I find it unlikely that Paul Allen would again put himself so far over the cap without a definite shot at a title, and potentially this time for a team with two players (Roy and Oden) who are question marks in terms of durability.

 

This is why we're going to be paying Oden Max money, like I said a week ago. Until Batum shows more consistency, no way he's a 10 million player..there are just so many guys at his position that can do what he does.

 

We're potentially looking at another Darius Miles situation with BRoy. He could spend the next season or two on the injured list, and never regain the athleticism that he once had. I think people forget what Miles looked like before he hurt his knee. Afterward he wasn't even a serviceable role player.

 

Kahn has a hardon for all things Portland. He lives in Portland, and the Blazers have continually sprurned his attempts to be part of the team. He's been waiting for the opportunity - and this sounds like his motive.

 

I think if Oden has a good and mostly healthy year, it is actually an easy decision to match. A "good" Oden is dominant.

Where the decision gets difficult is if Oden doesn't have a mostly healthy season.

 

It'll either be Kahn, Presti or Chris Wallace who's going to fuck us over with a hugely inflated Oden contract. Cho is a fucking idiot for not pushing for an extension, injuries be damned.

 

What if Oden wouldn't sign?

 

Just shows how weak Cho's negotiation skills are. A good closer can make anyone sign.

 

One reasonably healthy season (which will be truncated anyway) may not convince Cho to invest a max-type deal in him.

I see it somewhat as the opposite...if Oden has yet another lost season due to injury, the decision probably becomes easy to let him go. But I would imagine that if he has another injury-plagued season, even Kahn wouldn't extend a gigantic deal.

 

Look: we can match any offer. And we will, unless Oden's leg has literally dropped off.

Besides, if we sign him and THEN his leg drops off, in all likelihood, one provision of the new CBA will deal with busts signed to huge contracts. It's already been floated.

 

Unless there are some serious changes to the CBA, Oden's extension will not impact Batum's, because PA won't care about lux tax. And I really think we should reserve judgment about Roy's situation before we know more.

This could just be a precautionary thing where all he would need is a scope and some cleaning.

 

way its going with oden.... im thinking we may get a bargain.

theres no reason to think he even will play this season