Oden hopes to return this season

Yes, it was all Nate's fault. He just didn't play Oden enough while Oden sat on the sidelines in a cast.

 

His size and strength were as much (if not more) important to his dominating presence than his athleticism. Once he got the ball down low, you couldn't body him out of position. Yes, you could double-team and strip the ball loose, but he was starting to learn how to avoid that when he went down for the last time. Just keeping him off the boards was occasionally a full-time job for two players.

 

Boats 'N Ho's

 

Oden could barely jump even in his good stretches with us. He was just too big.

 

greg had amazing advanced stats, but he was even better than that really, his strength destroyed the opposition inside

 

Back where? To the bar?

He's nothing more than a bad memory who didn't take his conditioning at all seriously. The guy admits he drank too much, and he's been photographed multiple times recently in bars.

 

Dude is getting as heavy as one!

 

He also average 6 fouls per/36, and that was while he was supposted "athletic". The guy is 25 years old right now and has had multiple surgeries since his wonderful per/36 season when he couldn't stay on the court because of fouls. If a team wants a big oaf to wave his arms in the lane and foul people, Oxen would probably be a great fit.

 

For comparison's sake, LMA is 27 years-old, and some hand-wringers are concerned he will soon be past his prime.

 

Imagine if he signs with Miami, makes the playoff squad, plays 5 minutes, gets a ring. He'll have managed to go straight from college to retirement with quick pit stops at Amazingly Rich and Gots Ringz Like Shaq.

 

Or will. He's garbage.

 

Pretty sure Kingspeed has patented the use of the word "garbage".

 

Man, all of this hand wringing over a guy who has never demonstrated any ability to stay healthy whatsoever. I'd put the odds of a truly successful comeback at somewhere south of 5%. All of those microfracture procedures, and so little actual contact and wear and tear.

God bless him if he can finally manage to stay even moderately healthy and be even semi-reliable as a player for some team.

 

An efficient big oaf with good blocking and rebounding ability who fouls a lot? I'd reckon he'd be a great fit on many playoff teams. He'd never play more than 20 minutes in any game anyways, the 4 fouls he'll probably commit per game aren't really much of a negative.

 

There are still people who, deep down, think that he can be productive if he can stay healthy.

The thing is, he can't stay healthy. Would Brandon Roy have been one of the best shooting guards ever if he could have stayed healthy? Possibly, but he simply couldn't/can't keep playing basketball. Oden is the same way.

I remember debating with Minstrel years ago, and he (as well as others) said that they weren't ready to give up hope on Oden staying healthy. They would say that one injury wasn't related to the other and that his injuries were not career threatening, so he should be able to come back healthy. He never did. It was just one setback after another. I wonder if he truly couldn't stay healthy, or if he simply gave up and stopped putting the effort in.

Either way, I was glad when the team finally cut him. I was tired of the Oden cloud hanging over the team and the fans. Will he come back? Is he worth the extension? It was better to just cut the ties and move on from that part of our history. We blew it, we know it, let's get rid of the ultimate reminder of that blunder.

 

Then KP will be vindicated. I believe the quote was "One will win scoring titles, the other will play 5 minutes on a contender and get a ring"

 

Now that's just funny

 

http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/225518/Heat_Remain_Interested_In_Oden

I bet he plays a decade of injury-free basketball for the M'eat.