Blazers Don’t Want Oden Playing Basketball

The Blazers drafted Greg Oden with the first overall pick, then Greg Oden suffered a season-ending knee injury. Greg Oden had microfracture surgery, and has just been cleared to participate in light drills. Greg Oden then played in a pick-up basketball game. The Blazers, unsurprisingly, were a bit upset.

Said coach Nate McMillan to the paper, “I know he is excited to be moving again, but as I talked to him about it, he said ‘Coach, I promise I wasn’t running hard …’. And I was like — ‘I really don’t care’.”

“In a couple of years he will understand how stupid that was. I understand it, because I’ve done it. You are a pro, you want to walk into a building like that and feel good about yourself, you know, play with some guys. You don’t move hard, you know, just shoot some jump shots … yeah, I’ve done it. But we just have to remind him, especially in his situation, where he is coming off an injury. That … that, you just can’t do that.”

I really hope that Greg Oden wasn’t just playing in pick-up games, but was instead hustling chumps. He shows up, all limpy from microfracture surgery and looking like an old man, slow plays for a couple of games, then ends up winning some money with his white friend from Indiana who has a good jump shot and an annoying girlfriend.