Greg Oden is about to miss another season with his second microfracture surgery, the team has announced. Another injury to his knees, something that has to make you question if we will ever see the injury plagued former No. 1 overall pick on the court again. The Basketball Gods have it in for this man, sadly.
The team also announced that Brandon Roy will be out two games.
Oden missed his rookie season due to microfracture surgery on his right knee. Last December he injured his left patella and missed the rest of the season. It is that left knee that now will have the microfracture surgery (which helps stimulate cartilage growth).
Since being drafted, Oden has played in 82 of a possible 256 regular-season games. When he plays, Oden has has been good, he just hasn’t played much.
Oden had had some mild workouts recently, usually before games, in hopes of getting back on the court. He had a more strenuous one on Sunday, which was followed by fluid buildup in the knee that had to be drained, team doctors told the media. Out of that came more tests and finding the need for the surgery. There was not one specific incident the injury was attributed to.
The Trail Blazers did not sign Oden to an extension, meaning he will be a free agent come July 1 (he is the first No. 1 overall pick not to be offered a deal after his rookie contract since Kwame Brown). It will be interesting to see what kind of interest is out there for him. Other players, such as Zydrunas Ilgouskas, had knee issues that looked like they would end a career but were able to bounce back and be productive. Oden, however, will apparently never be productive on the level expected of a big man taken in front of Kevin Durant.
