Would Greg Oden fit in at Miami?

File Photo: Injured player Greg Oden of the Portland Trail Blazers attends a game against the Indiana Pacers

After their well-publicized championship parade that brought in as much spotlight as their run in the 2012-13 season, the Heat are back to fixing their squad for next season. One of their biggest weaknesses this past season was their problems with back court. The playoffs, especially the Eastern Conference Finals, saw the opponent’s centers tantalize Miami’s, who found it surprisingly hard to close games out early. This raises the big question: who will the Heat sign as their next big man?

Over the past couple months, Greg Oden, the former number 1 pick in the NBA draft, has been heavily linked to the Heat. The Ohio State product that beat out the likes of Kevin Durant and Al Horford in the 2007 Draft has had his fair share of controversies as well. Firstly, he never played an entire season at the Portland Trail Blazers – the team that drafted him. Secondly, his knee issues creep up as often as his press coverage of him failing to live up to the tag of being selected “first overall”. Now, let us face it – he is not going to be playing day in, day out the same way he did at college which saw him take his team to the NCAA Championship game.

But can the Heat salvage anything off Greg Oden? The answer is a rather yes.

The 2012-13 NBA Finals showed the basketball fraternity how good the Miami Heat roster is. But it also exposed the frustrations of Chris Bosh to add points on the scoreboard. This next season, Bosh will probably want to be playing more on the frontcourt than expect to be focusing more on defense. This is reason number 1 for the Heat to sign a cheaper center in the free agency – someone who comes in the price tag of Greg Oden. Despite being mocked by the media for his “frailty to stand straight” on a NBA court, the 7 feet center will be an asset to the Heat if signed. Pat Riley, after his meeting with Greg Oden this past week, seemed confident in the 27- year-old’s workout with the team. There is also further onus on the Heat to add to their big man line up. Juwan Howard is likely to retire while Jarvis Varnado is never going to be able to matchup to other big men in the league. Who else does the Heat have? Udonis Haslem can be mediocre in defense while Joel Anthony is just any other piece on Miami’s roster constantly being switched in and out of the D-league. Also, Chris “Birdman” Andersen still hasn’t been confirmed for next season at Miami. As we look more and more into this back court issue for Miami, the impetus grow on Pat Riley and the Heat’s backroom to sign Greg Oden.

What can Greg Oden offer?

Even if the entire world looks down upon Greg Oden and his battles with injuries, the man sure can play. At college, he was one of the best players coming out and in the few games he started at Portland, he was effective in grabbing defensive rebounds and in shot blocking. Those are two key domains the Heat need to build on for next season should they go for a three-peat. Oden can also be a floor general when needed as he can command any other center with his intimidating physique. He seems to be willing to negotiate on his price range as well – something the Heat, as an entire franchise, have sacrificed to keep Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh and LeBron James in South Beach, Florida. Most importantly, if the Miami Heat can give a chance to Eddy Curry, anybody who is around 7 feet tall and weighs 230 pounds deserves to play among the defending champions’ ranks.

What should Greg Oden expect for himself at Miami?

Starting off, Oden needs to stay fit to even feature on a nightly basis at Miami. Should he achieve that, he would be handed a measly five to ten minutes run to begin with. But Oden has constantly been lauded for his work ethic and team spirit, and with that he could surface to running the floor on a more frequent basis. If Greg Oden can put up 6.5 PPG, 5 RPG and at least a block or two in the twenty minutes handed to him, Erik Spoelstra will be more than happy to keep him at Miami.

But that is for the long run. For now and in the coming weeks of the 2013-14 season, Greg Oden needs to stay fit and live up to his tag that once saw him drafted ahead of future Hall-of-Famer, Kevin Durant. Not many can doubt Greg Oden’s talent or potential. But only Greg Oden can answer us if he can stay fit and play on the roster of the NBA’s finest. If the Heat does sign the center for cheap, they would not be making a mistake but just taking a calculated chance. And today’s NBA is all about wise calculations.