My post were legit questions. For the last bunch of big men who went #1, what were their situations like? Kwame was exposed early as not being a good player, yet kept getting contracts for the next decade. He was getting trashed in the WAS sports scene. Kandiman was shown early to be not a good player, but kept getting contracts for 8 years. He was trashed in LA (even while playing for the JV Clips). Some of our Canadian friends know better than I, but I seem to recall that even Bargnani's contract was laughed at in the TOR area. Eddy Curry was dumped on in NYC for being injured, out of shape, etc. All I'm saying is that big men get trashed in the media in lots of places, and I'd say far worse than they do here--especially if they're high-hope disappointments. Greg at least can show that he's a good player when uninjured. He'll probably, even if injured this season, get a decade's worth of contracts, from us or someone else.
Exactly right. The only way Oden benefits from playing this season, is if he is 100% healthy and can knock everbody's socks off with his play. Even that assumes he is willing to re-sign with the Blazers at any price. He can sit, and still get a deal elsewhere.
And not one of those guys had even a 10th of the hype that Oden did coming out of college. Tell me Brian, how many of them are still with the team that drafted them?
Then I'm incredibly confused about the negativity here. People are concerned that he's going to leave Portland even in the event that we will pay him more than any other team can? That seems like a pretty good "problem" to have. What am I missing?
There's a huge difference between "worst case scenario for keeping him" and "he's guaranteed to leave." The two concepts are barely even related. This may be the worst case in terms of keeping him long-term (as he could already be signed long-term, removing the chances of him leaving) but the Blazers still have a solid chance to retain him if they want to, by virtue of being able to pay him much more than anyone else. As for soft issues that others bring up (like Oden "wanting a fresh start"), those can be argued in any direction you choose. Maybe he's tired of the pressure here so he'll be predisposed to leave. Or maybe he wants to give something back after disappointing for a lot of money so he'll be predisposed to stay. Since none of us are in Oden's head, it's close to worthless to even bring these types of factors up for the sake of analysis.
Until G.O. gets injured again, he's a healthy beast once-a-decade post coming off a surgery that should not hamper him going forward. Until B-Roy gets injured, grinds his knees to dust, or starts pouting, he's at a minimum a good backup with the occassional "amazing" still left in him. Until shown otherwise, LaMarcus has become the unquestioned leader of the team, is a bona-fide all star, improved his game (again) and put on 15 lbs of muscle. Until there is a major windstorm, Chris Johnson has added 15 pounds of muscle, worked on his offensive game, and is good for 10 minutes a night. Unless people think LaMarcus is a liar, Williams and Babbitt have improved by leaps and bounds. Nico and Matthews will be better than last season. Crash will be acclimated to his role on the team. Book it. OK, so Camby is probably done. It happens. Why in the world wouldn't G.O. want to play in Portland on a team featuring LaMarcus Aldridge and the rest of this roster? It's a good roster, funded by a rich owner. It's preseason. Preseason is a time for optimism. If not now, then never. Let's party.
That's ridiculous. We're not talking about just leaving "some" money on the table. We're talking about 10's of millions of dollars! There's no freaking way he walks away from that.
We're talking about tens of millions dollars if Oden plays enough and well enough to be worth it. If he doesn't, who cares if the Blazers keep him? In other words, if Oden is worth keeping around, the Blazers have a huge advantage in keeping him.
Everyone is assuming that it's as black and white as: 1. Greg comes back and tears up the NBA. Now he's worth the max. or 2. Greg comes back and gets injured again or sucks. Now nobody wants him. What if it's not that simple? What if it's just as convoluted and difficult as it has always been with Greg since we drafted him? 3. Greg comes back, doesn't get injured again but only has a so-so season. (flashes of brilliance followed by "meh" games) What do the Blazers do then? Do they give him the max? Tyson Chandler is supposedly worth max money. Why wouldn't some team offer Greg a big contract? The fear isn't that we will have to throw max money at an All-Star quality Greg Oden, the fear is that we will have to throw max money at the enigma that is Greg Oden coming off a somewhat promising season. I have always worried that we would have to give Greg a big contract without ever having really seen enough to prove that he's worth it. I still think he wants out of Portland, and why couldn't he force a trade if he convinces the team he wants out?
You are right it is not black and white. No one knows how it will end including G.O Things can change. Too many variables. Not sure why anyone thinks they know what the outcome will be.
Nah, he is gone. He doesn't even want to give the Blazers a shot to match an over market rfa offer, so he is announcing this before the fa period begins.
Summer of 2012 is going to be a big FA year. Signing the QO was brilliant on every level. There will be teams with cap space to make him a max offer. If he has a great season, he could be in the top 3 free agents. He might even be in the top 3 if he doesn't play a game.
I love that many here have come back even more delusional than before the lockout. Reading this thread, one would think that maxing Oden is a no-brainer. Are you being serious? Yes, Portland can offer more on a max deal. Big deal. At this point, either Oden gets maxed, which would make me lose al remaining faith in the idiots running the team, or Oden is gone. I can't believe anyone would find this a positive development.
I just think this sends a message. Why would Oden pass up the chance to get a guaranteed contract when he hasn't had a single injury free season? This is a guy who has suffered some kind of knee injury in every season since he has been drafted. It would take a complete moron to pass up a guaranteed deal of four seasons with that kind of track record, so I believe his reasoning is not money related. I think he wants to leave. That's just what my gut tells me. I think Greg wants out of Portland and a fresh start and he's willing to take a chance and play a season without a secure future so that he can pick and choose his destination next summer.
clearly he didnt want to lock himself into a 4/30 type of deal, he wants to dominate this year and get a huge deal next year. players do this all the time. he might stay he might leave, nobody knows people that are saying hes gone have no fucking clue, take that guess to vegas and get some odds if you are so fucking sure
