Sports Column

Some things to ponder as Oden's rehab begins

On Sports

By dwight jaynes

The Portland Tribune, Sep 18, 2007, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (5 Reader comments)

A few things to consider about Greg Oden’s situation:

• I trust the Blazers, if they say Oden’s MRI was “pristine” before they took him in the June draft. But, even more, I trust the man I’ve known for years who works for another NBA team, who told me three weeks before the Blazers disclosed Oden’s injury, that Oden had “one knee that didn’t look like it belonged to a 19-year-old kid. It worried us.”

This source did not see an MRI but was going on some tests from the predraft camp in Orlando. I don’t know if this merely speaks to the medical expertise of another franchise or lack of same from the Blazers. I really don’t know what to think.

But I will say that the same source also warned me about a disk problem in Oden’s back. That said, I’m not so sure, given his talent level, that I wouldn’t have taken Oden anyway. Finding a talented big man without medical issues is very nearly impossible.

• Something else is going on behind the scenes.

As Darius Miles continues to make remarkable progress in his comeback from microfracture surgery, there’s no question a good part of his recovery has been the work of rehab specialist Robin Pound, who helped Amare Stoudamire bounce back from the same procedure. Pound, I’ve heard, is getting sensational results with Miles.

But is that what the Blazers want? Or would they rather Miles not do so well so they could use medical reasons to get his contract off the salary cap? I don’t know, but Pound is here with Miles – for the time being.

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