There’s a 24-year-old free agent center who’s affordable, has impressive career rebounding averages and has interest in playing for the Heat eventually once he recovers from his latest knee surgery, according to his agent. The only problem? It’s a very big one: He's not healthy and can't seem to stay healthy.
Greg Oden, 7-0, hasn’t played since 2009-10 and is recovering from his fifth knee surgery in five seasons. A Grantland.com story said that "right now" Oden's plan is to take next season off to rehab, then come back in 2013-14. But his agent, Mike Conley Sr., told us Oden is positioned be ready to play in December or January "as far as being effective and in shape" and will explore options in the coming months, with the possibility of joining a team next season. But nobody obviously can know for sure when he will be ready.
The Heat hasn’t called but “Greg has talked about Miami," Conley said. "He has interest. He’s not retiring.” Oden, the No. 1 pick in the 2007 draft, has played just 82 career games for Portland (which released him in March) and averaged 9.4 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.4 blocks.
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Oh, and interesting tidbit:
Though Shaq said Bosh has “to take four to six weeks off and is probably out for the rest of the playoffs,” the Heat is hopeful he can return at some point in the Eastern Finals, depending on how he responds to treatment.
