外電來自Oregonlive
Don't write the obituary on Greg Oden's Trail Blazers career just yet.
Trail Blazers president Larry Miller on Thursday said the franchise has not
given up on the oft-injured center, and that he foresees the team making an
$8.8 million qualifying offer this summer in order to retain his restricted
free agent rights.
"If Greg Oden plays up to his potential he is worth that,'' Miller said of
the $8.8 million qualifying offer. "We will see where (rehabilitation) things
are at that level. But at this point, I don’t see us not giving the offer if
Greg is doing the things we need to see him doing to get back on the court.
That’s how I feel. If he is doing those things, we want to keep Greg around.
I don’t feel like I’m ready to give up on Greg Oden. I don’t think anybody
in our organization is ready.''
Oden, who will undergo microfracture surgery on his left knee on Friday,
becomes a free agent on July 1, 2011. The Blazers have until June 30 to
tender a qualifying offer to Oden, which would allow the team to keep him as
a restricted free agent.
If Oden is restricted, the team has the right to match any offer made to
Oden. If the Blazers don't tender a qualifying offer, Oden becomes an
unrestricted free agent, and any team can make an offer.
Oden, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2007 draft, has had three season-ending
knee surgeries in his four seasons in Portland. He has played 82 games - the
equivalent of one NBA regular season - while being paid a combined $19.3
million.
"We want Greg to be a part of this team,'' Miller said. "I still think Greg
Oden is going to be an impact player in the NBA, and that’s the way we are
going to approach it. We want to see Greg give the effort to rehabilitate,
but I have no doubt he will do that because he has done it and proved he has
done it before. Now, I understand doing it once is one thing, and doing it
twice is another. And three times is a challenge. But I think Greg will do
it, I think he will put out the effort.''
Miller said he spoke with Oden on Thursday, during which Miller said he tried
to cheer up Oden.
"I told him, ‘We will get through this, then shock the world.’ He got a
kick out of that,'' Miller said. "We will get through this and shock the
world ...''
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※ 編輯: JerrydBatum 來自: 125.227.192.85 (11/19 09:23)