Size and defense were problems for the San Antonio Spurs before the Los Angeles Lakers traded for Dwight Howard. That trade made it even more important for the Spurs to improve their interior defense, whether that be from guys like Tiago Splitter getting better or from the team picking someone up through trade or free agency. We’ve heard the name Andray Blatche and there are still guys like Darko Milicic out there. Early Wednesday morning Fox Sports’ Sam Amico tweeted another possibility, this one with the biggest boom or bust potential of them all.
“One NBA GM listed three teams he considers frontrunners for Greg Oden (in no order): Spurs, Pacers and Magic. The GM made sure to stress, however, “that’s just my best guess.” Oden is currently back at Ohio State, working toward a degree in sports and leisure.”
There’s nothing concrete there. This doesn’t mean the Spurs have expressed interest in Oden, it just means that one general manager thinks they’d be a good fit. Perhaps that GM heard that from Oden’s agent Mike Conley, Sr. or someone else close to Oden’s camp. Considering the other options out there, taking a flier on Oden would be as good a move as possible. He probably wouldn’t be very costly and if he doesn’t work out then they’ll part ways with him and keep their core and chemistry in tact.
Oden has gone on record to say he’d like to play this year, but he’s not going to rush back if he’s not ready. Smart move by Oden since he thinks this is part of the reason he hasn’t been able to stay healthy. While Oden may not be available for several months, perhaps the Spurs should try to sign him soon, get him to San Antonio to continue rehabbing, while getting him accustomed to the Spurs system and culture. San Antonio would also be a great spot for Oden because is their a more out of the spotlight contender than the Spurs? Everyone’s got either LA or Oklahoma City penciled in to face Miami in the Finals.
There’s a lot of reasons the Spurs should make a run at Greg Oden but there’s one big reason why they shouldn’t. He’s played 82 games over the last four years… total. I still think it’s worth the risk.
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