Greg Oden's $8.8 million qualifying offer will be exercised by the Portland Trail Blazers just hours before the deadline to do so, according to Marc Spears of Yahoo! Sports. This will make Oden a restricted free agent, but the Blazers will retain his rights and could have him play at that salary whenever next season begins if they cannot agree on a long-term contract and if no other team makes him a contract offer.
Greg Oden Qualifying Offer Picked Up By Portland Trail Blazers, Oden To Become Restricted Free Agent
There was a lot of speculation that the Blazers would not exercise the qualifying offer and make Oden an unrestricted free agent. This would have saved Portland that $8.8 million and indicated an official parting of the ways between them and the man they picked No. 1 overall in 2007. Instead, the Blazers have elected to hang onto the hope that Oden could be a part of their future, though it’s still possible that Oden ends up leaving the organization this summer.
Oden is still recovering from another microfracture surgery on his knee. He still has no timetable for his return.
For more on Oden and the Blazers, visit Blazers Edge.
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