The Works: What's Next for Greg Oden?

Filed under: Trail Blazers, Wizards, NBA Rumors, NBA Free Agents, The Works

In today's Works: how Greg Oden and Yi Jianlian are going to make things difficult for their teams come June and the world's most comprehensive list of military-related NBA names and nicknames.


QO Madness

After the sting of Greg Oden's latest tough break wears off, the intrigue sets in. The big question right now is whether the Blazers will cough up the mammoth qualifying offer needed to make Oden a restricted free agent during this offseason. The QO question is typically academic, given that most players worth keeping won't sign the QO, it's typically a small-dollar contract and it always lasts just one year. Players want long-term security, not one-season leases on their NBA careers.

Offering a QO is just another tentacle of franchise power when it comes to first-round picks, the final flourish of big business advantage for the owners. (This is why I was so angrily flummoxed when Memphis declined to tender Ronnie Brewer a cheap QO.) But there are particular factors at work that make Oden's QO a real tough sell to the Blazers.

First of all, it's freaking $8.8 million. That's a lot of money, about 14 percent of this year's salary cap.

If Portland offered, it would guarantee Oden would be a Blazer for 2010-11 -- provided Oden didn't get an outrageous offer as a restricted free agent. If Portland didn't offer it, Oden would become unrestricted, and his career in Portland would essentially be over. The question for the Blazers: is giving Oden one more shot to save his career in Portland worth reduced free agent flexibility and potentially paying the tax?

Source: http://nba.fanhouse.com/2010/11/19/the-works-11-19/

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