Your opinion is strongly held. It is emotional. Neither of those things makes it any more right. Most of your statements boil down to just being trivia. What does it matter if Oden is immature or mature? What does it matter if the Blazers want him back or would like to ship him out of town to be rid of his "bad luck"? When the time comes, and his contract is up for negotiation, that is what both parties will do. Talk about their respective postitions. Ultimately, pro sports is a business, and tough business decisions are made from time to time. The Blazers make decisions all the time that from a player's perspective are cruel and demeaning and disrespectful. Yet, the Blazers think it is best for the team. That is why they make the decision. Why shouldn't Oden, or any other player have the same ability to make decisions they feel are best for them, when it is their right to do so?
If Oden stays I'll wish him nothing but good luck and good health ... if he leaves I'll do the same. He doesn't owe me or anybody else in Portland a thing, he owes himself a career and if he can find that here and be happy doing it, then awesome, but if he decides that he needs to that somewhere else then I completely understand. This has not been a good run for him here.
My thoughts as well. The Blazers paid him on potential...if he had stayed healthy, it would have been an absolute steal for them. Since he didn't, it was a bust in terms of money spent. That's the breaks of taking risks. It doesn't mean, IMO, that Oden now owes them...any more than the Blazers would owe Oden if he had produced much more than they had paid him for. What he owed the Blazers was to try his best to produce for them and nothing I've read suggests that he didn't. He was a tremendous player when healthy and it seems like he's been dedicated in each rehab. If he leaves the Blazers, I'll be sad but it's his decision and I can't affix a morality to either choice (staying or leaving).
If he leaves without even proving himself, especially if we get nothing in return. I will think he is the biggest piece of shit on the planet. My truth! Yeah he doesn't "Owe Us" in terms of being forced to stay here. But we did support him (fans and Blazers). Him leaving means he shows no loyalty. I wouldn't want a piece of shit like that on this team anyways.
Congratulations on being a better person than I am. If he leaves for less or equal money, he'll become my most hated former Blazer ever.
I wouldn't say I'm a better person, it took me awhile but I've just fully moved on. That isn't to say I want him gone, I just don't have much left invested in him as a fan -- he's an ancillary player on this team as far as I'm concerned.
I have a lot of my emotional stability invested in the hope he will leave. If Oden doesn't stop robbing Paul Allen, I will throw a tantrum.
Trust me, you're a better person. I'll likely have to stop watching the NBA or caring about this team of Oden fucks us and excels elsewhere.
whats the best offer though from his perspective? Most money per year on the contract? What if a lower offer comes from a team in a state with less income tax and at the end of the day he gets to pocket more then the Portland offer? How about an opportunity to play with a team that gives him a better chance to win championships? Is that a better offer? How about an offer from a team that is closer to friends and family? I could see how that might be really important to a person. For my own rooting interests, I hope that things work out and he re-signs and enjoys a long stretch of health and dominance. I especially want to see him healthy and dominant next year because if he does wish to leave, his best opportunity to get paid max dollars would be in a Sign and Trade deal where the Blazers would likely be handsomely compensated... that would help ease the sting. Regardless of whether he stays or goes I won't think him anymore of an ass or saint, but then I start out from the assumption that most Pro athletes are dumb ego driven jocks as thats been my experience. STOMP
Apparently you don't know that Aldridge missed 15 of 31 games as a freshman. In minutes, he missed about 3/4 of 1 of his 2 seasons there.
