From Blazersedge via Marc Spears of Yahoo! Sports:
Blazers told Greg Oden’s management earlier this week they will tender 1 year, $8.8 mill qualifying offer to make him a restricted free agent.
That’s a gigantic offer to put on Oden’s plate considering he has played in about a third of the regular season games possible since entering the league. By signing Oden, that would put Portland at around $67M in salaries for 2011-12 for 11 roster players.
Oden’s worth is curious in this instance — considering his injury history and the pool of free agent talent at the C position I’m not sure why the Blazers are holding on to Oden, especially with such a high price tag. The risk/reward factor around the league for Oden is far too great for most teams and fans to buy into the former No. 1 draft pick at $8.8M. The Blazers don’t seem to have that same aversion. Curious, seeing how there’s a few players the Blazers could pick up for far less than Oden’s $8.8M this offseason including: Joel Przybilla, Chris Wilcox, Chuck Hayes, Josh McRoberts, Leon Powe, Juwan Howard, Jamaal Magloire, Dan Gadzuric, Kris Humphries, Aaron Gray and Tony Battie.
The above list isn’t exactly going to match Oden’s numbers in production over a stats-adjusted 82-game stretch, and many of them don’t have the sex appeal of his size, but how long will it be before Oden plays those 82 games compared to the rest of the guys available? Maybe I’m reasoning as a jaded Portland fan but I cannot be convinced that a 7-footer with one leg that is an inch shorter than the other will ever be able to stay healthy. Physics don’t allow it, and that’s certainly something to chew on.
In reality, the situation is more complicated than I’m making it out to be. First, free agency is a total farce at this point in time. When it will start, how salaries will be affected by the CBA and who wants to go where won’t be settled for months. It could be that the Blazers are looking to hold on to Oden, give it one last shot while they bide their time and see how things shake out with SG Brandon Roy before fire-selling the guts of a once-great team. It’s like taking a swig out of a questionably-aged gallon of milk. The sniff test (the 2010-11 season) just wasn’t enough. You have to taste it to be sure. Of course, this is assuming that the owner of the Blazers, Paul Allen, who recently said of firing Rich Cho, “It is better to move sooner rather than later,” has had a sudden change of heart.
I’d be interested to hear what readers, especially those outside of Portland, think of Oden’s supposed 1-year $8.8M offer. How will this affect the Blazers, what do you believe the strategy is and do you think Oden will accept? I’m too close to the situation at this point in time. Right now, all I want to do is push it back across the table.
