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Jeff Goodman of ESPN reports that the Boston Celtics are one of five teams hot after the number one pick in the 2007 NBA Draft, Greg Oden.
ESPN
Greg Oden will likely choose from a group of suitors that includes the San Antonio Spurs, Miami Heat, Cleveland Cavaliers, Boston Celtics and Memphis Grizzlies, a source close to Oden told ESPN.com.
It's fitting that the Celtics are still after Greg Oden considering all this talk of tanking this coming season. It was during the 2006-2007 season that everyone had hoped the Boston Celtics would tank, tank, and tank some more in order to increase their chances of winning the NBA Draft Lottery and land themselves the league's next great center, Greg Oden.
Of course, we all know how things unfolded with Oden. After a right knee injury knocked him out for his rookie year, he has never been able to get completely healthy. Oden has only played 82 career games in the NBA and has not played in a game since December 5, 2009.
But why are so many teams after him? Well, that's easy. Greg Oden has actually been a pretty damn good player when healthy. Oden has averaged 9.4 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.4 blocks in 22.1 minutes per game over his career. During the 2009 season he actually started to look like the player everyone had expected him to be, until he injured his left patella.
He's still only 25-years-old and could be a valuable contributor in limited minutes. What if he can stay healthy for one full season? For a team looking to contend, Oden could be the difference between winning an NBA championship or losing in the first round.
And for the Boston Celtics, in a weird way, things would come full circle. In a year when everyone was hoping to tank for Oden, he could join on with the team that many are now hoping end up tanking for another player by the name of Andrew Wiggins.
I think it makes a lot of sense for the Celtics to sign Greg Oden. Whether or not the C's are looking to compete this year is a moot point to me. In a situation where we try to compete, Oden could become a valuable big man on the roster. And even if the Celts are looking to tank, Oden could be an extremely valuable piece to deal close to the trade deadline. He's a low risk/high reward signing and I would love to see Boston take a chance on him. Like most of you reading this, I am glad things panned out the way they did in the 2007 NBA Draft. I'm glad we didn't get Oden then, but I would love to have him now.