The Cleveland Cavaliers are set to offer former No. 1 overall pick Greg Oden a two-year contract with a third-year option following the Feb. 21 trade deadline, according to the Akron Beacon Journal's Jason Lloyd.
Cavaliers to offer Greg Oden 2-year contract after trade deadline, report says
Cleveland is reportedly gearing up to revive Greg Oden’s career following this year’s NBA trade deadline.
Jonathan Daniel
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By Lloyd’s math, the Cavaliers have approximately $4 million of cap space to spend, but it was thought that they were preserving that for a potential trade. At least six different teams are known to have interest in signing Oden yet the Cavaliers seemed to be one of the few willing to offer the big man more than just a league minimum salary. Oden is not expected to play this season so this seems to be a preemptive strike from Cleveland to get a jump on the rest of his suitors.
Oden has only played in 82 games since the Portland Trail Blazers called his name first to begin the 2007 NBA Draft. He missed his entire rookie season due to knee injuries before working up to getting action in 61 games the next year. But after being limited to just 21 games during the 2009-2010 due to the same nagging ailments, the Blazers decided to release him and he hasn't found work since.
The Oden-to-Cleveland connection does make sense though with the former Buckeye still living in Columbus and doing much of his rehabbing at the Cleveland Clinic. Oden’s agent, Mike Conley Sr., said last week that Oden has already had multiple visits with the Cavaliers and now his signing with the team just seems like an inevitability.
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