MIXUM
Suspended
- Joined
- Oct 15, 2008
- Messages
- 5,983
- Likes
- 44
- Points
- 0
Fire away with your hate emails blazer fans... but he speaks the cold hard truth and doesnt even mention brandons knee woes. Dont shoot the messenger LMAO http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=tsn-whatdoesmarcuscambys
Perhaps you saw our early morning story that Marcus Camby is close to a two-year, $21-million extension with the Blazers. That situation hasn’t changed terribly—they’re still not quite there—but Yahoo!’s Marc Spears has updated that the deal now involves $5 million in performance bonuses after the league rejected the first extension agreed to by Camby and the team.
This is an important move for Portland that solidifies their post situation for next year and beyond. Even at 36, Camby remains an excellent rebounder (11.8 per game this season, good enough for second in the league) and shot-blocker (2.0 per game, which put him at fifth in the NBA).
But in clarifying their starting center position, it also casts Greg Oden’s(notes) future with the team into serious doubt. Three years ago, Portland GM Kevin Pritchard selected him first-overall with an eye towards multiple championships. Now, it looks like he’ll enter next season—a contract year before restricted free agency—on the bench. (Yes, that’s also the lockout summer, but for now let’s assume that we’ll see a speedy resolution. I’m an optimist like that.)
So what does this mean for Oden? Camby can’t play a ton of minutes at his advanced age, but he would likely remain the team’s primary center in all situations. Oden, then, would be forced to fend for any minutes he can get, which would be even more difficult if the Blazers don’t find a way to move Joel Przybilla(notes) (who has a $7.4-million player option for next season) to a team in need of a shot-blocker.
What that means is that Oden will enter free agency as a bench player, not a starter. Some team will likely see fit to treat him like a starter-level talent—when healthy, he still looks pretty impressive—which will force Portland to make a decision about how Oden fits into their future plans with a non-rookie contract.
The Blazers have proven committed to their young core of Oden, Brandon Roy(notes), and LaMarcus Aldridge(notes), maintaining that they’re still the group who will lead them to a championship. To some extent, that’s been Pritchard’s group, and if he’s let go this summer, a personnel change would make sense. Either way, though, Oden leaving town would mark the end of an era in Portland, one that hasn’t yet worked out as well as planned.
However, moving to a new city might actually be in Oden’s best interests. While he’s struggled with injuries, his career is by no means already defined—the raw talent remains whenever he’s able to get on the floor. In Portland, though, he’ll always remind people that he once held promise as the defining big man of a generation, and that the team could have drafted Kevin Durant(notes). With another franchise, he’d have the opportunity for a new start with more realistic expectations.
Camby’s deal doesn’t guarantee that Oden will move on next summer, but it takes us one step closer to it. What once seemed like a dynasty in the making could be over after only four seasons!
Perhaps you saw our early morning story that Marcus Camby is close to a two-year, $21-million extension with the Blazers. That situation hasn’t changed terribly—they’re still not quite there—but Yahoo!’s Marc Spears has updated that the deal now involves $5 million in performance bonuses after the league rejected the first extension agreed to by Camby and the team.
This is an important move for Portland that solidifies their post situation for next year and beyond. Even at 36, Camby remains an excellent rebounder (11.8 per game this season, good enough for second in the league) and shot-blocker (2.0 per game, which put him at fifth in the NBA).
But in clarifying their starting center position, it also casts Greg Oden’s(notes) future with the team into serious doubt. Three years ago, Portland GM Kevin Pritchard selected him first-overall with an eye towards multiple championships. Now, it looks like he’ll enter next season—a contract year before restricted free agency—on the bench. (Yes, that’s also the lockout summer, but for now let’s assume that we’ll see a speedy resolution. I’m an optimist like that.)
So what does this mean for Oden? Camby can’t play a ton of minutes at his advanced age, but he would likely remain the team’s primary center in all situations. Oden, then, would be forced to fend for any minutes he can get, which would be even more difficult if the Blazers don’t find a way to move Joel Przybilla(notes) (who has a $7.4-million player option for next season) to a team in need of a shot-blocker.
What that means is that Oden will enter free agency as a bench player, not a starter. Some team will likely see fit to treat him like a starter-level talent—when healthy, he still looks pretty impressive—which will force Portland to make a decision about how Oden fits into their future plans with a non-rookie contract.
The Blazers have proven committed to their young core of Oden, Brandon Roy(notes), and LaMarcus Aldridge(notes), maintaining that they’re still the group who will lead them to a championship. To some extent, that’s been Pritchard’s group, and if he’s let go this summer, a personnel change would make sense. Either way, though, Oden leaving town would mark the end of an era in Portland, one that hasn’t yet worked out as well as planned.
However, moving to a new city might actually be in Oden’s best interests. While he’s struggled with injuries, his career is by no means already defined—the raw talent remains whenever he’s able to get on the floor. In Portland, though, he’ll always remind people that he once held promise as the defining big man of a generation, and that the team could have drafted Kevin Durant(notes). With another franchise, he’d have the opportunity for a new start with more realistic expectations.
Camby’s deal doesn’t guarantee that Oden will move on next summer, but it takes us one step closer to it. What once seemed like a dynasty in the making could be over after only four seasons!
