He hasn't played in an NBA game in almost four years. He's had five surgeries on his knees, including three dreaded mircofracture procedures. He's not in great shape and he's not even playing five-on-five, at least publicly.
And yet teams just can't help themselves. There's no "if" when it comes to Greg Oden's return to the NBA. It's "when," and that very well could be this week, according to sources.
After hosting several teams for workouts in Indianapolis last week, Oden, now 25 years old, is closing in on picking one of the several teams lining up to sign him, including the two that met in June's NBA Finals, the Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs, and other possible playoff teams such as the restructured and re-named New Orleans Pelicans.
"Whenever you see somebody that big move well you can't help but get excited about what he could be," said one team official who has been tracking Oden.
"He needs to get in better shape but that will come," said a coach who attended a recent workout. "He does look pretty good."
"He's not that far off microfracture [surgery]," a team executive said in regard to Oden, who last had the procedure in Februrary 2012. "He still has a way to go to getting his knee where it needs to be, but there are possibilities."
Oden certainly has the talent. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2007 NBA draft, Oden has averaged 9.4 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in 82 career games. In 21 games in 2009-10, he produced a player efficiency rating (PER) of 23.14, the eighth-best mark in the NBA.
But no player has ever been able to come back after the kind knee trauma he has endured in his six-year career. Most likely because they would have given up by now.