NBA Rumors: Trailblazers Bold but Blind to Keep Greg Oden on Board

Holding onto Greg Oden may be the most morally righteous thing for the Portland Trailblazers to do, but it hardly assists their pursuit of success on the court.

According to The Oregonian, Oden has suffered yet another setback in his quest to get his fledgling NBA career back on track and may miss his second season in a row and his third full campaign overall as a result. Said team president Larry Miller:

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"Following Greg's most recent physical examination and evaluation, we've determined that he has suffered a setback. We're hopeful, but are less confident that he will return to the court this season. We've stood by Greg from the day he was drafted and we continue to do so with this agreement."

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Oden was originally set to re-sign with the Blazers, who made him the No. 1 overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft ahead of Kevin Durant, for one year at $8.9 million. The team has since renegotiated the terms of the deal, though the specifications have yet to be officially announced.

The Blazers, who are still operating without a general manager, certainly deserve a pat on the back for showing such loyalty to a player who's given them such a poor return on their original investment, though good-hearted gestures like this will hardly help the team get back to the business of winning basketball games.

Portland needs all the financial flexibility it can muster after emerging from the lockout with a payroll of $66.3 million, well over the league's salary cap.

Of course, with Brandon Roy's balky knees forcing him into an early retirement, the Blazers will be able to subtract just under $15 million from their official cap number, leaving whoever takes over in the front office with enough cap room to sign an impact free agent or two.

Whether that means signing a replacement for Roy or another big man remains to be seen, though the team would've been able to pursue quality players at both positions had it renounced its rights to Oden in the first place.

Now, the Blazers will once again have little choice but to bide their time and hope that Oden can make good on his once-considerable promise while risking that the rest of their roster may waste away before long.

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