Is Oden Avoiding Portland. And Why?

Oden tweeted about running with Elliot Williams in Portland less then a month ago. He was here for the Brian Grant thing. I'v read multiple things that have put him in Portland recently and when he was in Ohio he was working with a blazer trainer. Training camp is about to begin so every blazer should be here. As for Camby I have heard NOTHING of him being in Portland over the summer which I could care less about because all that matters is that they will be here during training camp.
Why is it that even with all of this positive information out and articles talking about Oden being in Portland and following his rehab, that an article comes out that puts things in a negative light and suddenly its as if all those other articles don't exist and this one that is pointing out everything wrong with Oden has all the "facts".
Regardless if stuff is true or not people are gonna build Oden up and tear him down regardless if what they say is true or not.
I need to stop coming here and posting when drunk. Would make for a lot less edits.

 

The point of my post is that Camby isn't running with the guys yet, because he's old and values his offseason a little more than some of the guys just getting their feet wet and still learning the game like Oden.

Camby understands what it takes to be in basketball shape, its never been an issue with him.

The guy I'm most excited about hearing about in training camp is Andre Miller. Early reports this summer, were that he was going to focus on coming to training camp in better shape than he ever has. Important, especially considering the fiasco (at least if you ask the "O" writers) that was Nate McMillan conditioning drills last year.

 

Funny. Building your post count?

 

And as we know, Al Gore invented the internet.

 

My ignore list is getting fuller and fuller. Training camp needs to arrive.

 

Another failed witch hunt.

 

Check.

 

Mate.

 

I don't give a rip who spends their entire summer in Portland and who doesn't. What matters is who comes into training camp ready to play. Last year, Miller didn't. This year, some people are apparently ready to give Camby an excuse because he's "old" but refusing to consider the reality of Oden recovering from injury. How about we see what happens in training camp before lighting the torches?

 

It would be nice if there were middle ground on Oden. So much animosity amongst Blazers fans about him.

He's not a bust.
He's not the greatest center of the past whatever years because of some stats from 21 games last year.
He's not a franchise offensive player who should have every play run through him.
He's not a lost cause on offense who should just stick to rebounding.
He's not the most dedicated and hard-working player in the league.
He's not an apathetic slug who could not care less about rehabbing.
He's not Bill Russell.
He's not an uncoordinated oaf who will always be in foul trouble.

I'm not sure what he is at this point, or what he will be, but I know that he's not any of the above. Maybe it's just a symptom of our polarized society, where everybody's opinion is fact the them, and anyone who disagrees is an extremist.

 

There are always going to be "some people". So what if they give an aging Camby a pass, and expect Oden to be in Portland? I don't subscribe to that line of thinnking, but I can certainly understand somebody holding that opinion.

 

But that isn't what this board is about. We're about hopelessly stupid trade ideas and witch hunts.

 

Well, that kind of comes with the territory of being the #1 pick. That's just the way things go. Whether it is of his own doing or not is another story. I happen to feel he played a role in raising expectations of him; I know that others disagree. I also know that insulting them or attacking them is not going to change their opinion.

 

Which "facts" do you disagree with, and why? Isn't a generally accepted fact that Oden spent much of the summer in Ohio? Isn't it also a generally accepted fact that he came to Portland for the BGrant Foundation weekend, and also was here this week for the golf tournament?

 

AHA! We'll lure him here with our golf courses.

 

He's also a big target (...of his own doing).

 

The bigger question is.......where's Andre Miller?!