From all accounts, Greg Oden will be donning a Miami Heat jersey next season.
According to media reports, Oden has signed with the defending champion Heat. The deal is set for two seasons, with a player option in the second year.
Even though Oden hasn’t touched the hardwood in a competitive manor since early December of 2009, reports following his workouts say that he is moving smoothly and is quite mobile. Prior to settling down with the Heat, Oden had been working out with other NBA teams.
Despite the good news, Oden and the Heat are being cautious about how to use him. According to reports from Oden, the agreement hinged upon an understanding that Oden would not be heavily used in the initial season of his return.
Almost four years away from competition is a lot of rust to shake off, and it seems as though the Heat are going to use the first season of his contract to let Oden ease back into things and see how he adjusts with the second season.
The two seasons Oden is set to spend with the Heat will likely be a test run to see if he can return to competition and do so at the level of a two-time championship team. Prior to being sidelined by injury, Oden was averaging about nine points per game on 57 percent shooting from the field.
It will be interesting to see if he can return to, if not surpass, those numbers in the Heat camp as the next two seasons unfold.