Chad Ford's Chat Wrap: Oden tidbit

He'll still receive offers even if he does not perform. What you seem to miss is that numbers and performance are not what decides the market value, the market determines the number. Even if he is "disappointing" or nagging injuries, there may be a number thrown out there by Memphis which is too high for the blazers to reasonably match.

 

and on the Blazers part, there must be some magical Cost-Benefit-Analysis point where even if the Blazers were in a position to match, they may not want to based on several factors, namely likihood of reaching the NBA finals, Roy's health, etc.

 

I think I have chronic Blazer injury fatigue, and it's making me bitchy. I don't think I'm alone in this, either.

 

If you say so.

 

I'm usually right about these things.

 

Link?

His per minute numbers state otherwise. Furthermore, we haven't yet seen a GO that's been in complete basketball shape and synched with this team. Give him 50 games where he's healthy with this team, and he's Nate Thurmond. The guy is a monster and none of his injuries should limit his freakish athleticism.

 

What are you like the Chris Rock of Asians?

 

McHale was a different story. He has been endeared by people for Minnesota for ages. He was a hard one to let go.

 

I flatly disagree with this. MF regularly robs guys of some of their athleticism, and habitually injuring his other knee can add up too.

 

ME SO SOLLY. ME BLING YOU YOUR EGG FROO YONG.

 

The medical prognosis was that the procedure Oden underwent should not impact his athleticism going forward. It was some kind of proactive, preventative MF surgery, not a reactive full repair. Or somesuch. I'm sure I'm getting details wrong from memory, but I do remember that it was not expected to change his athleticism.

 

MF surgeries have typically resulted in a year of lowered production but eventually a return to full basketball shape. look at amare or ZBO. when they come back too soon, you get a case like Kmart though.

 

It really doesn't matter. The good thing IMO is that Cho is going down to talk to the Doctor himself. I think it is very important that Cho talks to the specialist and gets the word from his mouth on the condition of Oden so that he can make an informed decision down the line. That goes for his team decisions concerning the future of Roy too.

 

Cho's future as a GM may well depend on his decision on matching whatever contract Oden gets next summer. He can't be judged on Roy, but he potentially could be hamstrung on that decision. A tough situation to enter for Cho, but easier than what Pritchard walked into, and Pritchard got fired after back-to-back 50-win seasons.

Cho is supposed to take this team to the next level, isn't he?

 

That cuts both ways. If Oden gets a big offer sheet for multiple years, the Blazers match and he continues to go down for 70% of his games you're right, his future will hinge on that decision.

 

I personally think there is no way the Blazers can let Oden go, barring a career ending injury. Even if he does get injured, they just can't give him away or let him walk. They have to match anything, otherwise the window is officially closed and the team needs to be blown up. All of the Blazers dice hinges on Greg Oden.

 

...however, that still doesn't mean that the blazer won't say "fuck it, blow it all up" and let oden walk.

 

Ridiculous. If he's not here I'm guessing the team will continue to play games, draft players, pay salaries, extend contracts and sell seats like they always have. And really, if all of your plans hang on a player who has appeared in only about 30% of his career games (and falling) then I'd argue you've got no plan at all.

As for blowing up the team, I'd happily see Cho do just that over keeping false hope alive by trying to hang on past the expiration date; hamstringing the organization for years with bad contracts wasted on unreliable players (The wizards the last couple of years spring to mind). If it comes to that, hopefully he'll identify a few of these young guys he can build around and "start over" ... even if that means going back to a couple of seasons of losing. I don't think we're nearly to that point yet, but it's something to keep an open mind about if things really go off the rails.

 

Yeah, that's what I said. The decison on matching Oden's contract may well have Cho's job riding on it.

 

I don't think it's ridiculous. If the Blazers let Oden walk as a free agent, it signals the beginning of a new era. I think selling seats becomes more difficult at that point, and the TV contract means you miss 50% of your fanbase.