AUGUST 26TH, 8:18am: Oden has passed his tryout, so his deal is official, Sportando’s Enea Trapani writes. The club’s sponsor company referred to the signing as official earlier this week on Facebook.
AUGUST 12TH, 7:04pm: Former 2007 No. 1 overall pick Greg Oden has signed with the Jiangsu Dragons of the Chinese Basketball Association, the team announced (translation by RealGM). The exact length and terms of the deal were not announced, though I would speculate that it is a one year pact. Oden was reportedly set to have a tryout with the club at the end of the month, so it’s unclear if this deal is contingent on that.
Oden last appeared in the NBA during the 2013/14 campaign when he played in 23 games for the Heat, averaging 2.9 points and 2.3 rebounds in 9.2 minutes per contest. It was the first NBA action since 2009/10 for the oft-injured 7-footer. His career numbers through 105 games are 8.0 PPG, 6.2 RPG, and 1.2 BPG to go along with a slash line of .574/.000/.648.
The 27-year-old center out of Ohio State reportedly drew eyes from the Mavericks, Hornets and Grizzlies earlier this summer. Oden sat out the 2014/15 campaign 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.
Oden got so many bad breaks with injuries during his NBA career. It would be good to see him succeed somewhere.
It would, really. If he could become a 20-point, 10-rebound guy in China, which isn’t out of the realm of possibility given the level of competition there, we’d at least see a vague hint of the player he might have been had he stayed healthy.
I just hope the Dragons will use Spurs-type approach with regard to his minutes. If he can stay healthy, maybe he signs with an NBA team once his season is over. Fingers crossed.