5:44pm: Oden also worked out for the Hornets last week, and indeed did so for the Grizzlies earlier this spring, Charania reports as part of a full story.
5:42pm: Greg Oden will work out for the Mavericks this week as part of a mini-camp the team is conducting, reports Shams Charania of RealGM, citing league sources (Twitter link). Mini-camps are usually the domain of players merely trying to latch on for summer league, but it nonetheless represents another small step in the latest comeback effort for the former No. 1 overall pick. The Grizzlies had been thinking about bringing in Oden for a mini-camp of their own, as Charania reported last month.
Oden sat out this past season as he faced multiple charges related to domestic violence. He avoided jail time as part of a plea agreement in February in which he pleaded guilty to a felony battery charge and the three other charges against him were dismissed.
The now 27-year-old Oden, whom the Blazers took first in the 2007 draft, played sparingly for the Heat in 2013/14, averaging 2.9 points and 2.3 rebounds in 9.2 minutes per game across 23 regular season appearances. It was the first NBA action since the 2009/10 season for the oft-injured 7-footer.
Why do the mavericks need Oden? They need Aldrige and Jordan for the big guys and we can sign O’neal too but the mavericks don’t need Oden they need Aldrige and Jordan
It would be an end-of-the-bench move; you have to fill out the end of your bench somehow, and you might as well do it with someone who has a decent amount of upside.