Let's just take a second to imagine where we'd be if Oden had not been injured this season. Let's just, for the hell of it, pretend that maybe he missed ten games this season (tweaked ankles and various bruises as the culprit, after all, this was an injury-prone season) and continued to improve like he was before. What would this team look like? Where would we be?
The Blazers would still be playing right now. Oden being around all season would have been a great boon to us, and probably would have led to a win total of about 55 or 56 games. That would have put us in at probably the number two spot in the conference, with an easy road to the Western Conference Finals through Dallas and San Antonio.
Steve Blake will have been both a scapegoat for at least one game, and also a hero for yet another for hitting a dagger three pointer. Travis Outlaw would be doing the work that could have theoretically led to his preseason prediction of getting paid like out of this world. Indeed, Travis could have been that option we needed to create his own shot when Brandon went out during the playoffs and Bayless and Andre went ice cold.
Instead, we did the only move that we could, and arguably one of the best trades of the Pritchard era, exchanging the two for Marcus Camby. Still, that trade would have been entirely unnecessary, even with the Joel Przybilla injury.
Without the injury, Oden would have continued to grow as a player, and probably be considered as one of the top three centers currently active in the Western Conference. With the emergence of Andre Miller as the Blazers' go to point guard, Oden's role would have grown even more, as Andre would look to oden to continue to make plays in the post.
But now that's just wishful thinking.
Instead, we got an injured Oden. At the time of the injury, we even had hopes that perhaps Oden could make a comeback late in the season or perhaps in the playoffs. The playoffs are long over, and the only recovery news we've heard is that the Blazers organization is "optimistic" for training camp. That's frightening.
Oden's injury is a contributor to the dire straits now faced by Kevin Pritchard. If Oden pans out is anyone thinking of firing Kevin Pritchard? Of course not. Still, the stigma of taking Oden over Durant even if it was The Right Move, has brought him to this place.
Finally, the Oden injury has ended much of the promise and hope around this Blazer team. Two years ago, it was, "We just have to be patient and we're going to be racking up championship after championship." Now it's, "Please don't get hurt." All of our hopes for a championship are pinned to a center that has been out injured for two thirds of career. This team is not good enough to contend for a championship without Greg in the middle.
Still, there's a flip side to that last sentence. This team is good enough to contend for a championship when Oden is healthy. He is the second most important player on the team. He's the gamble you have to take, especially now. We've already lost big-time with picking over Durant. It would be an even bigger blunder to give him up for nothing, especially as he's already proven himself as a worthwhile contributor.
So, Greg, what else is there to say: Get better. The Blazers desperately, desperately need you.
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