# Greg Oden signs with Jiangsu Dragons of Chinese league



## Basel (Mar 31, 2005)

> Former No. 1 overall NBA draft pick Greg Oden has signed a one-year, $1.2 million deal to play for the Jiangsu Dragons of the Chinese Basketball Association, according to multiple media reports.
> 
> The 7-foot Oden, who was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers over Kevin Durant with the top pick in the 2007 draft, has been limited to 105 games due to multiple microfracture knee surgeries and other issues. He last played for the Miami Heat in 2013-14, appearing in 23 games after a three-season layoff.
> 
> ...


http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/1...iangsu-dragons-chinese-basketball-association


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## R-Star (Jun 13, 2002)

Championship move.


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## BlakeJesus (Feb 1, 2006)

Hopefully he can stay healthy.


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## Ma Baker (May 12, 2015)

It's sad that he couldn't play in the NBA that much because everyone was expecting great stuff from him


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## Dissonance (Jul 21, 2004)

BlakeJesus said:


> Hopefully he can stay healthy.


Probably got injured the minute after you said this.


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## Bubbles (Nov 12, 2005)

R-Star said:


> Championship move.


Bingo. Maybe it is time for @BlakeJesus to revert to his old username.


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## jayk009 (Aug 6, 2003)

Greg Oden will be back in the NBA guaranteed.

If he does stay healthy (which is obviously a big IF) he will be back by next season. I'd be interested to see how he does in the CBA..If he doesn't look like Shaq out there I would be severely disappointed.


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## ChrisWoj (May 17, 2005)

jayk009 said:


> Greg Oden will be back in the NBA guaranteed.
> 
> If he does stay healthy (which is obviously a big IF) he will be back by next season. I'd be interested to see how he does in the CBA..If he doesn't look like Shaq out there I would be severely disappointed.


You need the disclaimer: if he proves he can stay on a basketball court on a regular basis. He needs to get a season of some kind under his belt before a team will pick him up. He does have the size and youth on his side for you to be right, but only if he proves he can actually get out there and play basketball without crumbling to pieces.


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## R-Star (Jun 13, 2002)

Wasn't he relatively healthy with the Heat and still looked like garbage out there? He's done. He isn't playing a meaningful minute again in the NBA. He couldn't have been in a better situation than he was in Miami playing a nothing role on a championship favorite and even then he disappointed. 

People need to look at this guy and Embiid and start taking big men with injury histories is college a lot more seriously.


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## jayk009 (Aug 6, 2003)

R-Star said:


> Wasn't he relatively healthy with the Heat and still looked like garbage out there? He's done. He isn't playing a meaningful minute again in the NBA. He couldn't have been in a better situation than he was in Miami playing a nothing role on a championship favorite and even then he disappointed.
> 
> People need to look at this guy and Embiid and start taking big men with injury histories is college a lot more seriously.


He actually looked pretty good to me when he was with the Heat. 

I mean, he didn't do much on that team but IMO they brought him in just in case of injury and not necessarily to have a meaningful role. I think if it was a situation where they had injuries and they were forced to use him then he would have been a plus contributor..It's just if there are no injuries then why mess with a rotation that is already working. 

He is still more athletic and coordinated then 90% of 7 footers in the NBA even after all his injuries. 

If he goes to China and averages 25 points/15 rebounds and 3 blocks a game then he will get a look in the NBA. If you think 15 rebounds is high, Eddy Curry averaged 11 rebounds a game in China so anything is possible.


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## R-Star (Jun 13, 2002)

jayk009 said:


> He actually looked pretty good to me when he was with the Heat.
> 
> I mean, he didn't do much on that team but IMO they brought him in just in case of injury and not necessarily to have a meaningful role. I think if it was a situation where they had injuries and they were forced to use him then he would have been a plus contributor..It's just if there are no injuries then why mess with a rotation that is already working.
> 
> ...


Meh, I don't know if I agree with that 90%. Maybe I didn't see enough, but from what I saw he looks like Frankenstein out there to me. Slow. Stiff. Plodding.

He's not NBA quality anymore.


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## jayk009 (Aug 6, 2003)

R-Star said:


> Meh, I don't know if I agree with that 90%. Maybe I didn't see enough, but from what I saw he looks like Frankenstein out there to me. Slow. Stiff. Plodding.
> 
> He's not NBA quality anymore.







I mean this is just a highlight reel so you have to take it with a grain of salt but when I watched him playing I never felt like he was slow stiff or plodding. 

I think his lack of playing time is a combination of conditioning issues/politics/having no defined role on a team with many defined roles.

Also, he didn't do himself any favors with this domestic assault and past alcoholism problems which IMO is the reason he is not on an NBA team and not his ability on the court. But IMO as time goes on people will be more willing to forget this.


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## R-Star (Jun 13, 2002)

jayk009 said:


> Greg Oden - Miami Heat - YouTube
> 
> I mean this is just a highlight reel so you have to take it with a grain of salt but when I watched him playing I never felt like he was slow stiff or plodding.
> 
> ...


All it is is nice feeds and put backs. Jason Collins could do that. 

He had over 2 fouls on the 9 minutes a game he played. 

An athletic center to me is a guy who can cut to the basket, beat a defender and go for a jam. If you're just getting a nice Wade or Lebron feed, or a put back and kicking your legs around on the dunk that doesn't scream athleticism to me.


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## jayk009 (Aug 6, 2003)

R-Star said:


> All it is is nice feeds and put backs. Jason Collins could do that.
> 
> He had over 2 fouls on the 9 minutes a game he played.
> 
> An athletic center to me is a guy who can cut to the basket, beat a defender and go for a jam. If you're just getting a nice Wade or Lebron feed, or a put back and kicking your legs around on the dunk that doesn't scream athleticism to me.


Disagree on the Jason Collins part, Alot of being able to be in a position to receive nice dishes for easy dunks is being able move away from the ball and having that kind of offensive awareness is something that not every player has. Also, what you describe is an example of an athletic center..but they don't have to do that. Shaq was very athletic and he didn't do any of that stuff. Deandre Jordan is probably the most athletic center and his entire offense is put backs and getting nice feeds. 

Also, if you are getting alot of putbacks then it shows that you are out jumping your opponent which in itself shows that you are athletic. He also had a couple of nice blocks. But to me what Oden has over alot of other 7 footers is his coordination and ability to carry his weight...and not necessarily his pure vertical jumping ability...if that makes any sense.

The fouls would for sure be an issue if he maintained the same rate as he increases his minutes but sometimes foul rates can be alot higher or lower then it should be in extremely small sample sizes..It may or may not be an issue but I'm saying that he should be in the NBA and not saying he will be a NBA all star.


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## RollWithEm (Jul 16, 2002)

I wish there was an NBA team called the Dragons.


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## Bogg (May 4, 2009)

I like that China is becoming a more and more viable destination for guys on the fringe of the NBA, or big names on their last legs. Good for the game having basketball take off in a country that big. Now we just need them to kick some Chinese players stateside again - hopefully the coming few year-classes have a couple high-level guys.


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