Pelicans to meet with Oden {EDIT-Oden chooses Miami,P.61}

Yes please but I wont get my hopes up

Low risk - high reward.

If Dell managed to sign him for minimum then that would be great!

Not happening. Other teams can offer the same role for more money. A competitor could offer him the same money and a crack at the title.

http://youtu.be/8Hi3VVVWQlw


Man it would be good to this Gordon

If the Spurs make him an offer I don't see anyway that he turns them down.

I wouldn't mind him coming here. His injury is different from other guys with degenerative knees in that, his game was never about explosion, but about just being tall. I would pay for that, but at this point, I think we have better talent in Withey, Stesma, and Smith. They are fresh, and proven, Oden hasn't played a game in 3 years.

I'd love to sign him. This is a low risk high reward especially since we would just offer a small contract. I doubt he'd sign with us but if he did, I would be grinning ear to ear

Remember Brandon Roy's "comeback"? That's the most likely outcome.

I find it similar to how Cavs signed Bynum

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Originally Posted by Smow-

Remember Brandon Roy's "comeback"? That's the most likely outcome.

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Well as long as we don't give him 5 million per year (we can't), were fine.

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Originally Posted by bustahyndes

I find it similar to how Cavs signed Bynum

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except the cavs gave bynum $6MM guaranteed

Low risk, high reward, and in a position of need. Do it, Demps. We are going in with a horrid 5-lineup as is. A lucky roll of the dice with Oden being even a tad over serviceable would do wonders for this roster.

*First time posting on the new Pelicans format, by the way. I'm so amped for this season.*

So let's have some fun with this. Role play - you are Dell. What is your pitch? Keep in mind the other teams that are interested and the fact that you can only offer the vet minimum. Pitch. Go!

Does have connection was Monty at Portland.

Would Eric approve of this?

It's an extreme longshot that we would be able to sign him. Monty would have to sell him on whatever personal relationship they have as well as the opportunity to play with a young exciting team. Also, the fact that we do not have an entrenched center and the potential that he could eventually even earn a starting postion next to Davis (therefore not being buried on the bench) would be the most enticing thing we can offer. That could give him exposure for his next paycheck.

We can offer him flexible minutes with our versatile frontcourt. If his body holds up, he can start. If he isn't ready he can come off the bench or wait a while and our roster wouldn't suffer greatly. We can offer a team full of young men around his age. We can offer him a coach he is familiar with, a chance to win. He takes less money now and if he proves worth more we will have space later to pay him. He does not need to be the center of attention due to all of the talent already acquired. He will face zero pressure. He can focus on finding his post-injury niche on this team and in this league. (it's a little out of order as a quick type up at work but you get the point)

First, let's look into the psyche of Greg Oden the best we can with the limited resources we have by using this personal interview: http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/...plagued-career

What we can immediately learn from this is that Greg does not like attention, and "[he doesn't] like when people come up on the street to talk to [him], and it's why [he doesn't] like to do interviews." While typically being a smaller market is a disadvantage, I'd argue that it might actually be an advantage here. Can you imagine all the attention that would be on him if he went to a place like Miami or even Dallas? Chris Andersen became a star in half a season for Miami. What would it be like for Oden, a former number 1 pick? The pressure and the stakes would be higher, and as we saw with Portland, there can't be any unnecessary pressure on him. The team that gets him needs to be patient and work with him. We can be patient. We have other options at center, and we're not title hunting this year and likely won't be until 3 years from now.

In Portland, the person that was guiding him was an alcoholic and "[he] was on [his] own a bunch and didn't have veteran teammates around to help [him] adapt to the NBA lifestyle." In New Orleans, he will be with a team with a good culture, a great coach that he is familiar with, and players that he has known. Also, for what it's worth, Monty has always been very good at limiting players minutes and giving players rest when needed (take notes, Thibs). For a guy with an injury history, it should be reassuring to know that he won't be run into the ground and his minutes will be handled properly.

Lastly, perhaps the biggest issue with our pitch: money. We don't have the money to give him an offer some other teams do. But perhaps this isn't as big of an issue. Greg says, "I just want to play basketball. I could've signed with a team after Portland cut me and just sat on the bench and collected paychecks, but that's not my style. That just seems really unethical. Besides, money doesn't matter to me. I've got enough money. All I want is to get 100 percent healthy and get back on the court."

If he's true to his word, then it doesn't matter. He just wants to play and hopefully, it'll be for the Pelicans.

Drew Brees wants him on the team.

Bam. Signed. Sealed. Delivered.

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Originally Posted by MichaelMcNamara

So let's have some fun with this. Role play - you are Dell. What is your pitch? Keep in mind the other teams that are interested and the fact that you can only offer the vet minimum. Pitch. Go!

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This is a young team that isn't pressured to win a title yet so he can be eased into the lineup and still gain some significant minutes when he's healthy. You'll have to build a nice relationship with him to offer him vet minimum. Maybe when some money clears off the books in the future they can say we'll offer you more as long as you're productive and healthy

I agree with these pitches so far.

Keep expectations low. Sell him on the fact that we care about Greg Oden the person first, Greg Oden the player second.

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Originally Posted by Eman5805

Drew Brees wants him on the team.

Bam. Signed. Sealed. Delivered.

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O yeahhhhh

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Originally Posted by MichaelMcNamara

So let's have some fun with this. Role play - you are Dell. What is your pitch? Keep in mind the other teams that are interested and the fact that you can only offer the vet minimum. Pitch. Go!

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youthful team on the rise with major quality surrounding him, owner who is dedicated to winning pronto, brand new state of the art practice facility, one of the most unique cities in the world with amazing cuisine, excellent living areas abound, as energetic and supportive a fanbase as can be found anywhere, become a part of the original and ongoing Pelican legend....

Oden does not have to play that much with the squad we have. He can work his way back into the league gradually while still getting payed. Can we offer him the most money? No; we do have an exciting team though. Money aside we are his best opportunity. I can see him possibly getting overworked somewhere else.

If we get Oden, I will dance like the friggin' gopher thing off of CaddyShack. Best offseason ever lol