You have to feel for him a bit. He is a human being after all. I am sure he hates what happened and feels terrible about all of the injuries. At the end of the day, it is what it is. I actually got a chance to talk to him this last Monday. He came into my work, and while I was helping him out, I asked how his recovery was going. He just kind of looked down towards the floor and said, "It's still early". Kind of came across as well...... kind of down. I understand that. He did have a completely stunning girl with him though. I am sure that helps.
He didn't ditch Portland. We waived him. Now, if he wanted to come back here for the vet minimum when he gets healthy, that would really be classy. But his departure from Portland wasn't his doing. barfo
I usually enjoy your over-the-top enthusiasm Mags, but you're way out of line on this one. Your anger at Oden is unjustified, misplaced, inconsistent and downright mean. As has been pointed out, he didn't quit on the team, the team gave up on him. He was waived. The Portland Trail Blazers cut Greg Oden to clear a roster spot for Hasheem Thabeet - who has been called the laziest player in the NBA. Talk about adding insult to injury (literally). Oden is a bust because of his injuries. Thabeet is a bust due to a lack of talent and an even bigger lack of desire. Yet, in the game threads you're constantly clamoring for more playing time for Thabeet, the laziest player in the NBA. Like a couple minutes of garbage time is going to light a fire under the former No. 2 pick that two teams (soon to be a third) have already given up on. And then you wish Oden an injury riddled career? Where is the consistency in that? I'd rather have Ha Seung-Jin that Hasheem Thabeet. Thabeet was drafted about 50 spots too high. Ha also lacked talent, but at least he put in a little effort and seemed to want to improve. He came into the league at 19 with no college experience. Thabeet came into the league at 22 after three seasons at one of the top college basketball programs in the country - and he still sucks and has shown no desire to improve. He's the one stealing money from his employers, not the guy who has had to endure three micro fracture surgeries and a fractured patella. BNM
I don't get the Oden hate, at all. He came into the league as a charming, happy kid who, IMO, wanted to be liked and wanted to live up to everyone's expectations. Then his body broke. Then it broke again. And again. Each time he worked his ass off in rehab to get back in shape. From personal experience I can tell you, this is not fun. He clearly felt the pressure and the negativity of some fans. He was probably embarrassed too. He soldiered on. Then another surgery, another setback, and the Blazers waived him to take a flyer on another player. And somehow this is Evil Greg Oden purposely ruining the lives of Portland basketball fans? I don't get it, at all.
hard to not wish him well, poor fella, its gotta be pretty crushing psychologically to go through what he has gone through although i do share the sentiment that if he comes back as a beast somewhere else down the line, it will be horrifying to endure
The motivation behind Oden anger is the assumption that he will someday play great in the NBA, making Blazer fans jealous. No sympathy is appropriate for a future conqueror. The motivation behind Oden sympathy is the assumption that he will never play again. He now becomes just an ordinary man. I think it's clear that he will never play. But the two posters think he will return as a star, profiting from our sacrifice. So I think I understand both viewpoints.
Who are you guys kidding? It has been so obvious for months now that he never intended to re-sign with the team. Of course they will waive him, he's unrestricted. And I guess most of you can't read, because I never blamed him for his injuries. He should be pleading with the Blazers and through the media to the city to give him a chnace to fix his career here. But he doesn't give a shit.
I have no issue with Greg. No one can convince me he wanted to have 3 MF surgeries and multiple other health issues. I would bet if he had it his way he would have stayed healthy, and dominated the league. Would he have re-signed? I don't know, but I also don't care
If you want to focus your anger on the real pieces of shit here, look no further than PA, The Vulcans, Larry Miller and so forth... These shit bombs, led all Blazers fans to think Greg would come back even better than before. They "KNEW" his knees were done and threw out the BS with snow shovels to get season ticket holders to renew! This organization as a whole is a filthy matress in a Thai brothel as far as I'm concerned. They have mislead the fans of Ptown for years on both of our franchise players to secure ticket sales and in doing so frauded the city that has put their trust in them. Where is the outrage for these liars? At the end of the day Greg will never be an allstar or for that matter a relevent player in this league. To much scar tissue, and more troubling Greg has way to much denial for what he will never be again! Greg may have been used just as much as the fans in Portland have been, the winged horse that couldn't fly! By waiving Greg the Shit Shovelers have finally come clean with the scam on their "Beloved" fans and sent a death punch to Greg's future in the NBA. If a #1 overall pick in the NBA is waived, than there must be good reason. The reason is Greg's knees are done! Greg may not have come to grips with this yet, certainly in large part the fans haven't either, but as far as the NBA goes, Greg has seen his last big pay day.
He was released ... the team said we don't want you anymore. According to your post he's supposed to beg and plead to come back to a place where's experienced nothing but professional disappointment and a lot of physical misery for pretty much the entirety of his five year stay here? And that sounded reasonable to you before you typed it out?
The best thing about waiving him is you all (and the team) should have closure. There are no more expectations of the guy. You can't expect the team to pay him in perpetuity; he has enough money to rehab on his own. In fact, the team gave him a nice $1M deal, knowing the situation was a dead end. I say good luck to him, and at least the Blazers can use his roster spot for someone who can play now.
Has anyone else noticed that the Blazer front-office have been very quiet on this? The day Oden was waived there wasn't even a blurb on Blazers.com. Thabeet had more coverage on the front page than Oden did. Kinda weird.
