Oden a Celtic? (merged threads)

[birdwatcher]

I'd take a chance in him as long as Portland wouldn't drive up the price. He's a restricted FA, no?

Anyhow, he's still very young, and I know he's had multiple surgeries, but look at guys like Grant Hill--everybody thought he was done years ago and now he's a sought after veteran for contending teams every summer and he's not missing many games, even at an advanced NBA age.

Who knows, after the new CBA, we could be looking at partially guaranteed contracts or other elements that could help us get out from contracts gone bad.

[2short]

blazers, oft injured very good center......
think bill walton people 

[pearljammer10]

I expect a team to pay Oden more than the MLE. Im not so sure I like the idea of trying to get him. If hes going to cost almost as much as Perk why didnt we just resign Perk?

[outcry]

I expect a team to pay Oden more than the MLE. Im not so sure I like the idea of trying to get him. If hes going to cost almost as much as Perk why didnt we just resign Perk?

Oden is a lot more talented and has upside. In my opinion, it'd be worth the risk to sign him.

[homericepisode]

I expect a team to pay Oden more than the MLE. Im not so sure I like the idea of trying to get him. If hes going to cost almost as much as Perk why didnt we just resign Perk?

I think if both Perk & Oden's lateral movement limitations end up being the same after their injuries, Oden is a better option. He's long, can still jump, rebound & block shots. I think Oden could recover better on help defense because of his length, where as Perk has been noticeably struggling--he's just never been that athletic to begin with.

[byennie]

Oden is obviously a huuuuge health risk, and it's perfectly sane to assume we wouldn't want ANY player with that much risk.

However... I must say, people rarely give him credit for how good he has been, and not just in college. His closest comparison on the court is Dwight Howard and the gap isn't as far as you might think... per 40 minutes they both averaged about 20/15/3 in '09-10. Oden had a bit of a fouling problem and obviously he got hurt, bad, again, however if Oden pulls a Grant Hill and comes back 80% of what he was, he could still be a top-5 center in this league. 14/10 and 2 BPG in 30 minutes would be realistic, IMO if his health is stable (albeit not what it once was). And a good defender and teammate to boot, playing the most valuable position on the court.

Maybe it's not the move for the Cs, hard to say (mostly, they gotta trust their doctors and look at the price tag), but someone ought to take another gamble on the kid if there's a reasonable medical hope for him.

2 years, MLE depending on the medical prognosis wouldn't be crazy IMO. That's $10M guaranteed for Oden, and the Cs will give him one of the best opportunities out there to salvage his career. If he can make a comeback, the Cs can either try to lock him up or move him as part of a bigger deal (Dwight Howard?). If not, they miss out on whatever else if left on the MLE market, which might not be that great, and Oden is still set for life (assuming he's smart, which he seems to be).

[jaybahs]

They gotta do something at the center position ... It's a gamble ... but this "window" is closing up quick ... Time to gamble ... SPEND ... HOPE ... and SPEND some more. I wouldn't mind this signing ... If this kid can stay finally stay healthy he's chomping at the bits to play ... and he'll play hard.

[Mr October]

Oh man.... the injuries scare me. But if the guy can get healthy, the center position in ripe for the taking in today's NBA!

Based on his size and defense alone he would rank as a top 5 center.

You'd really have to trust your doctors to make the right choice when evaluating him.

[BASS_THUMPER]

he is gonna be injury prone the rest of is nba life

[Bahku]

he is gonna be injury prone the rest of is nba life

This. The kid is amazingly talented, but I just don't see him as being worth the risk ... I mean if he had even a moderate amount of game-time sans injury under his belt I might feel differently, but he is one of the most injury-plagued players that has come along in many years ... at least at his level of expectation. I wouldn't do it ... we've been down that road too far already.

[saltlover]

I think Oden is just a dream of an idea.  He will get more than the MLE, because someone will offer him the MLE, and therefore Portland will offer him more to keep him.  I suppose the GM change might slightly change that, particularly if it's someone who's currently outside the organization and has no vested interest in keeping him is picked.  But even then, it's very difficult to believe that some team with cap room won't hope to hit a homerun and get what could be a rare franchise player, even if it's not a surefire thing.  I'd love him here for the MLE, risk and all, because it's not like he'd provide much less than JO did for most of this past season.  But again, he's going to get more than we can offer him, so there's no point in getting those hopes dashed when free agency starts.

[Celtics18]

If the price is right, yes.  Double yes.  The pay off could be enormous, and what is there to lose on this?

 

[zerophase]

...given this team's history of healthy players becoming injured once they sign on, we probably shouldn't take our chances with signing a perennially injured player.

[PortCelt]

We can debate the pros and cons of 'O' until his fate is determined, but the fascinating component is the PR nightmare that would ensue. In the eyes of the fans, and punditry, Danny is being held in the gallows over the Perk trade. This maneuver would insure a death sentence unless 'O' manages to make us forget the urban myth (Perk). Until that blessed day comes it would be rapture time in Boston for Danny. Can you imagine the pressers? If he can navigate through that kind of terrain then send him to Washington. Congressman Ryan needs some help convincing the electorate that reforming Medicare is not akin to throwing grandma off a cliff.

[jc3celticsphan]

I think we can make the salaries work actually. Nenad Krstic S&T @ 5.5 million for 2 yrs (which is a fair contract) + Marquis Daniels' trade exception is financially sound under the old CBA.

sounds good... lets pray he doesnt get injured