NBA Rumors: Indiana Pacers Must Gamble on Free-Agent Greg Oden in 2012 Offseason

To the surprise of many, the Indiana Pacers have burst onto the scene in 2012 as one of the top-notch contenders in the Eastern Conference, currently ranking fifth at 25-17 on the year.

Adding a big man to the rotation might be the secret ingredient to take this team from an NBA playoff contender to an NBA championship contender.

According to Oregon's KVAL, Portland Trail Blazers center Greg Oden will become an unrestricted free agent in the next several days. He has also expressed interest in possibly playing for the Indiana Pacers.

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"I know Greg would love to play in Indy," Mike Conley Sr., Greg Oden's agent said. "I know that's something he'd definitely be interested in."

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In adding Oden to the lineup, inevitably, there comes the injury risk. Upon being selected in the 2007 NBA draft as the No. 1 selection for the Trail Blazers, he has played just 82 total games. The 82 games wouldn't begin until 2008 and ended abruptly in 2010.

The main issue has been his knees. He has had to undergo multiple surgeries because of knee issues.

In the 2009-10 season when Oden played 21 games for the team, he averaged an impressive 11.1 points and 8.4 rebounds in just 23.9 minutes per game.

Yes, in just under 24 minutes per game, Oden was putting up top-notch numbers.

This is at 24-year-old that has plenty of years left in him. After a promising college basketball career and several spurts of greatness in the league, there's no reason why the Pacers couldn't use him to back up Roy Hibbert off the bench.

Considering the type of production Oden can produce in limited minutes, the Pacers would be smart to bite on Oden and give him a chance in Indy.