Greg Oden all set to accept Portland Trail Blazers qualifying offer – NBA Update
Back on June 29, the Portland Trail Blazers had made an $8.9 million qualifying offer for a one year deal to their injury prone centre Greg Oden.
It seems that after nearly five months the number one draft pick of 2007 has finally decided to accept the proposal.
According to sources, Oden has been cleared by the doctor to resume light training and his agent, Bill Duffy, confirmed on Thursday that the centre will indeed sign the offer.
The news comes after there was a lot of speculation earlier in the week, that the Miami Heat, who do not have enough space in their salary cap, might get creative and make an offer to Oden to address their centre position.
Oden making the training camp is still a long shot, but if reports are to be believed, the seven foot star is expected to be back on the NBA court as early as late January.
It was this quick recovery that prompted the Trail Blazers acting general manager Chad Buchanan to root for Oden last week;
"We've shown a lot of commitment to Greg, both on and off the court, and I think Greg feels like he has some unfinished business here," Buchanan said."As far as his timetable for return, we're going to support Greg. When he's ready
to play, he's ready to play. We're not going to put a date on his return,"
If the deal is signed, it will make Oden an unrestricted free agent next season and this may not be such a good omen for the Trail Blazers. While Oden gets heavily paid for another season of rehabilitation at Portland, once he
acquires his groove, it will be time for him to look at better opportunities. Considering that good players of his species are very rare in the league, he is sure to find many suitors.
The situation will also test Oden’s claims of loyalty, which he has been making throughout the last four years. In the last four seasons, Oden has been able to be a part of only two. He missed his rookie season with a right knee
injury and after debuting in the 2008-09 season, he has only been able to play 82 games, averaging 9.4 points and 7.3 rebounds.
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