That's a fair point. It could just be bad luck. For example, the times I actually injured my knee were nothing in comparison to the times my knees were twisted, yanked, landed on, etc. and nothing happened. They're quirky joints.
I can understand those who are still in denial and are holding out hope that Oden is somehow magically going to be this great NBA player, but I'm past that pipe dream now. He is done as any sort of franchise/championship player IMO, and although he is "only" 22, both of his knees blown ACLs away from the knee hat trick (broken bone, torn cartilage, torn ligaments). At this point, you have to wonder if Greg will put in the time and effort to even want to be an elite player. The guy is the most injury-prone player that I can remember, and his injuries for the most part occur just out of the blue with no real moment of injury (outside of the patella and also the broken bone in his foot in 2008-09). Poor guy. At least he has millions in the bank. I hope he's saved wisely.
MF makes the knee's stronger, looks like they both need them. Should of done em both last time round!
Overreaction? The guy simply cannot stay healthy. It's like Groundhog Day with him. I wake up, Oden gets injured, and the true believers continue to think that somehow Greg is going to stay healthy. He is out for the rest of this season, and I'm willing to bet right now most of next season, if not all of it. Worst case, he'll have played 20% of the total games he could have over 5 seasons. I don't think the opinion writers are being "provocative". I think that they are speaking the truth. Through no fault of his own, Oden has been an absolute disappointment to me.
It's not like he hasn't demonstrated his potential, even though he has yet to play an NBA game in 100% basketball shape, even though he hasn't been able to work on his game because he's been too busy rehabbing. I can only imagine the amount of bitching that would occur in this forum if we let him go and he came back healthy and contributed for another team. We blew $36MM on Theo Ratliff. Oden's QO is comparatively a bargain.
man, it sure seems like if Oden just walks across the street enough times he'd suffer another injury.
That's why it's an opinion. My opinion is that his career isn't over. You're free to believe differently.
Why pay the QO when the guy isn't even going to play for much of next year? He seems to "heal" at a rate twice as long as most players, and he has the rare ability to get new major injuries when he is rehabbing other injuries. The guy gets more injured when he is supposed to be healing himself. It's a fucking nightmare. I think it's best to just admit the mistake and move on. The Oden rollercoaster ride isn't worth it to me. If he wants to sign here for a few million/year, great, but tying up long-term money on the guy just makes no sense to me.
Because it's an option. The worst case scenario you have is that you eat the QO and GO doesn't play. Offering the QO gives you the option to match or sign and trade Oden. If you can't handle the Oden rollercoaster, perhaps it's better if you found something else that brings you happiness.
Sine when is reporting the news overreacting? I'm really sorry, but to all of you thinking Oden is going to come back and have an impact in the NBA... may I please have a jigger of what you're smoking? The guy is damaged goods, in every sense of the word. Let me ask you something... if you saw his medical history, and it was just some middle-of-the-first-round pick, what would we ALL say? He's done. But for some reason, since the person behind the body is extraordinarily talented, we all want to do mental gymnastics and turn our bias confirmation on full fucking bore to get around the fact that he's not meant to play in the NBA. His body cannot handle it. Normal NBA players don't have kneecaps that explode when they jump. Normal NBA players don't need microfracture because they're PRACTICING. The quicker we put the Oden era behind us, the better, at least so far as anybody expects him to contribute meaningfully. Sorry, but it's true.
Asking whether or not his career is over at 22 isn't "news". You have your opinion, I have mine. It's okay that we differ.
What? Are you kidding? It's not an overreaction, it's the most obvious conclusion. Oden is about as brittle as they come, and I hope to God he retires right now and goes into another line of work. He's a disaster waiting to happen every time he steps on the court.
Okay. I find it ironic that you have this view of Oden with your avatar. If Bill Walton's history isn't reason to keep GO, then I don't know what is. So what if his career is truncated with periods of not playing? When he's playing, he's dominant.
If you read the "Is This the End?" article, the writer was writing about Oden's days as a Blazer. I think it is a legitimate question considering the Blazers have a $17 million (tax hit included) decision to make on a guy who may not even play next season.
Microfracture stimulates blood circulation at the bone that then congeals and creates "Pseudo-cartilage" which is not as durable as the real thing. In no way does it make the knee stronger in and of itself.
