Charlotte Bobcats/ Greg Oden

 Oden would be better off signing where he said he wants to play and his agent (Mike Conley’s father) is trying to get him to play- the Indiana Pacers for a small contract, backing up Roy Hibbert. It’s a defensive minded team and he could ease in to the situation. If he were on the Bobcats, he would be just miserable and on top of that would take on a bigger work load than he can handle.

I like your thinking… But Oden has said he wants to play for the Heat. Also with his knees I don’t think you’ll get more than 20 mins a game from him.

The Bobcats see Biyombo as their long term starting C and would need to shift Diop first but Oden could be an option for them to look at.

 Love it , bring Grandpa Oden to the "Queen City".

 http://www.indycornrows.com/2012/3/16/2878671/agent-greg-oden-indiana-pacers-nba

http://www.slamonline.com/online/nba/2012/05/agent-greg-oden-%E2%80%98has-interest%E2%80%99-in-the-miami-heat/

Guess Heat and Pacers are on his list.

4P

3P

Dammit

My computer had an aneurysm.

Everyone talks about Phoenix’s medical staff so that could be an option, I’ll also throw in Atlanta who have always maybe lacked a legit big man option for certain match ups.

Oden plays SOMEWHERE where he can be effective without being broken. 

     yeah, both need a serious shot at redemption.  but how often does that kind of double redemption happen when a fractured talent ends up in a thoroughly dysfunctional organization?  if charlotte had a glimmer of organizational wisdom then maybe it would work out.  there are places (like my team, the detroit pistons, for example) where a formerly great franchise has fallen on hard times but the structure is still in place for some level of success.  detroit has good trainers, joe d has been effective in the past, the roster’s not filled with headcases, has beens, and never wases, and lawrence frank is a decent enough coach.  so it might not be disastrous for oden.  but charlotte?  can charlotte do anything right?  they can’t build a roster despite numerous lottery picks.  their owner seems univolved and disinterested.  their gm incompetent.  their coaching and player development non-existent.  plus they shipped all their best players for a whole lot of nothing in return.  as for their core of bismarck, kemba and gerald henderson "great" is not the adjective i’d use.  they are still young tho’…  frankly the team is a mess and sending oden there would be like sending a terminal patient to the world’s lousiest, most bug infested hospital.  any positive outcome would be purely coincidental.

     miami makes the most sense.  no pressure.  chance to become a valuable player on a perennial title contender.  and all he has to do is beat out guys like joel anthony and ronny turiaf to become the de facto starter.  plus, if he shows anything the miami crowd is gonna embrace him in a big way.  and let’s not forget, if he fails there or doesn’t live up to meager expectations, he’ll get little to no blame.  other good places for oden would san antonio or boston; similarly unpressured situations, at least in san antone where he’ll be playing behind timmy, tiago, and bonner and can be brought along slowly.  boston will be a little tougher, i think the crowd is desperate for a young star but at least he should have k.g. to shield him somewhat (that’s if k.g. doesn’t head to miami his own self.)  but boston has a great organization and established players in place so if he can just put them a little over the top, it should do wonders for his confidence.  after that, places like phoenix, houston or detroit might be his next best option.  he won’t beat out gortat in phoenix, hell, he might not beat out robin lopez, but the suns have a great training staff.  basically, oden needs a solid franchise, that will protect him from criticism, bring him along slowly, have reasonable expectations of what they’re getting and treat him like a valuable but not indispensable project.  miami still sounds like the best destination.  a chance to play (something he’ll get much less of in say, indiana which is still a good choice because it’s a very well run franchise), a chance to not be the savior.  and most importantly a chance to win ‘ships while rebuilding a career.

No pressure in Miami? There’s always going to be pressure in Miami, everyone from Chalmers to James is scrutinized in Miami, and I think going to a more obscure team would be better for him.

I like the idea of Oden in Charlotte, but I heard he was going to take another year to work on his body and be 100% healthy before he came back to the NBA, so this might all be moot.

I think a team like Charlotte (small market bottom dwellers) needs to swing for the fences in free agency.  And if you can get Oden for a minimum contract it’s a potential low risk/high reward situation. I think it’s a great idea.