There wer concerns about Oden's health pre-draft:
Teams will be taking a close look at the medical evaluations of the top picks leading up to the June 28 draft. They'll especially focus on likely No. 1 choice Greg Oden, Joakim Noah and Al Thornton, who have been flagged with preexisting injuries by NBA doctors.
According to a team executive who has seen medical evaluations of a physical undergone by Oden three weeks ago at the NBA predraft camp in Orlando, the 7-foot center has a couple of worrisome issues. His right wrist has not regained full flexion after being broken last year, and he has a bulging disk in his back.
The team executive noted that "big guys always seem to have bad backs.'' But he did express concern about Oden's wrist. "The people I talked to said it was pretty serious,'' the executive said. "Sometimes the wrist never comes back.''
I've also heard an unrelated rumor -- which did not show up in the Orlando physical -- that another team is expressing concern about the long-term health of Oden's knees.
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Here’s what the Blazers do know: They can’t depend on their young center. Not yet, at least. Maybe not ever. He’s 20 years old, and his injury history is beginning to read like that of a 12-year veteran. He missed the start of his one season at Ohio State after having surgery on his right wrist. He missed all of his first season in Portland after having microfracture surgery on his right knee. He suffered a mild right ankle sprain last month at the start of training camp.
Maybe this, like the ankle sprain, doesn’t turn out to be serious, either. But some league executives who have seen Oden’s pre-draft medical report are skeptical of his ability to stay healthy for the long-term. Asked late Tuesday what in the report raised concerns, one Eastern Conference player personnel director was succinct with his answer: “Everything.”
Oden’s right leg is slightly longer than his left, which can create hip alignment problems, a condition that bothered former San Antonio Spurs center David Robinson late in his career. The physical also showed Oden had a bulging disc in his back. His knees were another potential area of worry.
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