Just read Oden is going to have knee surgery... Tough break for the Blazers... Hope he doesn't turn into another unfortunate pick for the Blazers.
Oden set for knee surgery
The Blazers' rookie center will undergo an exploratory procedure after experiencing pain
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
JOE FREEMAN
The Oregonian Staff
The Trail Blazers' promising season took an unexpected gloomy turn Monday, just three weeks before it officially was set to begin.
The team announced that Greg Oden, the talented rookie center who was selected No. 1 in this year's NBA draft, is expected to undergo exploratory arthroscopic knee surgery Thursday after enduring ongoing pain in his right knee.
Blazers officials would not comment beyond a four-sentence news release issued Monday evening that said Oden underwent a magnetic resonance imaging last week and results revealed that he might have cartilage problems in the knee.
A team source told The Oregonian that the MRI results were inconclusive and that the damage could be as minor as a cartilage injury or as major as a ligament tear. The source added that if doctors find something more severe, they would operate immediately Thursday.
Oden's agent, Mike Conley Sr., said Oden does not recall a specific incident that caused the injury, only that he experienced nagging pain last week.
"He cannot remember injuring his knee at all," Conley said. "I guess he just felt some discomfort. Greg can't remember when he hurt it."
The Blazers selected Oden ahead of Kevin Durant with the top pick in June's draft, a move many experts believed would help shape the team into a championship contender in the coming years.
Oden was expected to team with other gifted young players such as 2006-07 rookie of the year Brandon Roy and NBA first-team all-rookie selection LaMarcus Aldridge to form one of the league's best young lineups.
Any severe injury to Oden would greatly derail the Blazers' rebuilding efforts.
A timetable for Oden's return will be set after the arthroscopic surgery, which will be performed by Trail Blazers team physician Don Roberts at Southwest Washington Medical Center in Vancouver.
Joe Freeman: 503-294-5183;
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