I think he is out of here when his contract is over. I bet he has bad feelings about this place and will want a fresh start somewhere else. $5 million a year somewhere else on a 3 year contract is my guess. And it breaks my heart too.
I would hope not, and honestly, I don't see it happening. Greg doesn't seem like he would just give up and screw this franchise over like that...if he leaves, it would be a Blazers decision, not a Greg Oden decision.
If he leaves, I think it'll be BlazersPlusOden decision. Another team offers him more than the Blazers do. Oden chooses the better offer, the Blazers choose not to go that high.
I don't see it as that easy. I think the Blazers would go reasonably high to match...its not like they are in a position of cap flexibility, not strained financially, and they have invested a lot in him. A LOT. To just "give up on him" would be an epic failure. I don't see Oden having trade demands, he seems like he wouldn't want to offend the fanbase that embraced him...no other franchise or fans would have put up with all of this IMO.
We can't possibly be the nicest, most patient fans in the league... I weep for humanity if that's the case.
Remains to be seen. If Oden comes back next year, plays well, & stays healthy then he's going to want a big contract. It's not unlikely that somebody else makes a run at him if that's the case. Then, Portland will be forced to match or let him walk. We could also be on the other end of one of those "Toxic Offers" that KP threw at Millsap/Utah. Everybody knows, even if Greg gets hurt AGAIN next season, that we have too much invested in him to just let him walk - we'd almost have to match. Don't we?
He can "want" a big contract in one hand, and wish in the other. No team is going to take a long term risk on him outside of the Blazers, and if they offer a huge contract, they are gambling on Portland matching. As long as Paul Allen is around, no "toxic offer" is going to dissuade the Blazers from signing him. At that point, it's whether or not the organization sees Oden as being worth a huge, long-term contract. Putting on my non-homer shoes, I view Oden as an offensively limited big man with foul issues who seems to be injury-prone. Now, I see much more upside being a Blazer fan and closely following Oden's career, but I can't see any team taking gambling big money, in this economy, on a guy who can't stay on the court.
My point exactly. Other teams may throw out a "toxic offer" KNOWING that Portland won't just let Greg walk. It's really hard to imagine. A healthy Oden is really the only chance the team has at title runs - it's just too hard to let him walk for nothing IMO.
I posted on Sunday that I think the Blazers should offer GO a 4-5 year extension at ~$8 million/per this summer and see if Oden blinks. It's a solid contract, yet it doesn't break the bank, and it's a good faith and non-insulting offer to a guy the organization has put a lot of time and energy into. If GO signs a contract like that and stays healthy, he's still only 26 or 27 when his 3rd contract starts. The Blazers have to offer Oden something that may tempt him to sign. I agree with your opinion that another team could offer Oden something that would severely limit the team's options in terms of cap over the next 5 years. That's why making him a fair offer, but not one that blows up the cap, is crucial this summer.
I come to the opposite conclusion. I think he feels like he owes the team, that he's let us down. I think we pay Greg the money we gave to Aldridge. However, if he would have stayed healthy, he would have gotten the max.
The fan forums aren't representative of our fanbase, or humanity for that matter. We're more representative of the cast of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest".
Non Sequitur / OT Alert - I stayed up all night last night reading Kesey's "Last Go Round" (w/ Ken Babbs), a fictionalized account of the 1911 Pendleton Round Up... I don't usually read Westerns but through Kesey's storytelling lens I really enjoyed it...
