Oden won’t get an extension from Portland
After only appearing in just 82 games during his first three seasons in the league because of different injuries, Greg Oden is set to become a restricted free agent next summer after the
Portland Trail Blazers decided not to offer a contract extension.
According to Oden’s representative Bill Duffy, the 22-year old centre will not sign an extension until Monday’s deadline.
Oden, who was the top overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft, will become the first top-overall pick to not be offered a contract extension after his third year in the league since Kwame Brown,
who was the Wizards’ first-overall in 2001.
"There's too much that he needs to do,'' Duffy said of Oden, who is still recovering from a serious injury he sustained on December, which caused him to miss the entire season.
Duffy also added that both parties agreed that it was the right decision, and said that any contract extension was never discussed during the off-season.
"It's really a foregone conclusion,'' Duffy said. "To evaluate what he's done so far, it's incomplete.''
The first-round draftees in 2007 have until Monday, November 1, to sign an extension with their respective teams.
Second-overall pick Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder and ninth-overall pick Joakim Noah of the Chicago Bulls were the only players from that batch who has already signed a contract
extension.
The Atlanta Hawks are also expected to reach a contract extension with 2007 third-overall pick Al Horford before the deadline, but analysts believe that no more team will offer an extension
because of the proposed collective bargaining agreement that will be implemented next summer.
"Owners really don't want to give them out because they believe there will be a collective bargaining agreement in place next summer that is more favorable to them,'' said an agent, who believes
that the new CBA will lower the player’s salaries next year.
Phoenix Suns and forward Jared Dudley’s camp are also negotiating a deal, but agent Mark Bartelstein said that nothing is imminent as of now.
"We're talking, but it's hard to predict what will happen,'' said Bartelstein. "We'll see if we can get something done that makes sense.''
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