Blazers Extend Qualifying Offer to Greg Oden

The Portland Trail Blazers have told Greg Oden’s representatives that they will tender him the one-year, $8.8 million qualifying offer and make him a restricted free agent, Marc Spears of Yahoo! Sports reported on his Twitter account.

If the news is indeed true then interim general manager Chad Buchanan and the Blazers front office are making a bold statement.

Under normal circumstances, everyone would have expected Portland to tender a 7-0, 285-pound 23-year-old defensive ace, but Oden’s career has been anything but “normal.”

He has appeared in 82 games in his career, which is perfect for one season and awful if, like Oden, you were drafted back in 2007. Making matters worse, Oden likely won’t return to basketball until at least November (microfracture surgery recovery takes no less than one year) and that means the Blazers offered $8.8 million for a guy who might not play until 2012.

Of course, the move allows the Blazers to match anyone else’s offer to Oden. Just how high the bidding will go is anyone’s guess. If the owners get their wish and score a hard salary cap, Oden’s value really takes a dive. Teams who already have large salary commitments wouldn’t have the money to waste on a luxury purchase like Oden and anyone with cap space would likely want a player who, you know, plays.

The Blazers happen to be one of those teams with significant money on the books for 2011-2012. As of now Portland has committed $73.4 million, and that doesn’t include Oden or first-round pick Nolan Smith, who will earn roughly $1.3 million as a rookie. Only the Lakers and Magic have more money on the books for next year.

In all likelihood Portland is the only serious bidder for Oden, but gaining some leverage moving forward isn’t a bad idea for Buchanan. The Blazers could still get the defensive stopper they’ve always wanted and even if they do have to overspend, it beats watching an expensive investment walk away.

Lockout Ripples Affect Everyone

Nobody feels good about the NBA’s July 1st deadline for a new collective bargaining agreement. The owners might not vote to lock out the players immediately; there could be an extended negotiating period; but one way or another we’re headed for a work stoppage.

As talks wind down in Manhattan even the most-positive players, like Thunder forward Kevin Durant, are having trouble painting a happy picture for fans.

“I just hope things go smooth, we’re not locked out for as long as people think and we get back to what we’re supposed to do,” Durant told reporters, including the Associated Press’ Jeff Latzke, at his youth basketball camp in Oklahoma City.

Not only does the lockout prevent teams from signing free agents, but at least one franchise looks ready to wait until after a deal is reached to hire its next coach.

Perry A. Farrell of The Detroit Free Press wrote that the Pistons aren’t likely to hire the team’s next head coach until after a work stoppage because it makes sense financially. There won’t be a Summer League team, there won’t be practice and the team’s exact roster is anyone’s guess (Detroit could lose as many as six players via free agency).

President Joe Dumars apparently hasn’t been made any promises to his candidates. When asked when he expects to hear a response, former Hawks coach Mike Woodson told the Free Press, “I don’t think they are planning on doing anything until after July 1.”

Hopefully Woodson, Lawrence Frank, Patrick Ewing, Kelvin Sampson and Bill Laimbeer are patient, because it doesn’t sound like a decision will be coming anytime soon.

And the lockout’s ripple effect isn’t limited to head coaches. Cavaliers assistant Chris Jent will be going south on I-71 to Columbus to work for Thad Matta at Ohio State, according to a report by Jeff Goodman of CBSsports.com.

Jent has been the director of player development in Cleveland and also served as an assistant for the Cavs, 76ers and Magic since retiring as a player; so it’s a pretty big deal that he was willing to go back to the amateur ranks.

For Pistons and Cavs fans, and the NBA universe as a whole, this is all a tough pill to swallow. It’s no longer a question of whether or not business will stop. Rather, it’s a question of if the league will have a full season next year. ‘

“Hopefully we won’t have to miss any games and we come back on a normal schedule,” said Durant, “but we’ll see how it happens.”

{AUTHOR_BOX}How Long Will This Take?

One expert offered Washington Post Reporter Amy Shipley an estimate on how long a potential NBA lockout will last.

“We may not see movement until it gets close to the end of the year,” SportsCorp president Marc Ganis said. “Players have been so well-paid for so long, they can hold out for longer than most of the other sports. NBA players don’t have the same [financial] issues as NFL players, who are very eager to get back on the field

“This one is likely to be a long lockout,” he continued. “It could be half a season; it potentially could be a whole season.”

Maybe Jonas Valanciunas could have stayed in Europe for another season after all.

Speaking of Valanciunas

Valanciunas, the Lithuanian center who was taken fifth overall by the Raptors in last week’s draft, wowed the US under-19 team in a tuneup for a tournament in Latvia, reports Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun.

The America team, which was headlined by 6-9, 220-pound Florida center Patric Young, yielded 23 points and 11 rebounds to Valanciunas, who also added two blocks and a steal in a 108-75 Lithuanian victory. After missing four of his first five shots, Valanciunas hit five of his final six field goal attempts and made 11 of 15 shots at the line.

It was originally believed that the Raptors would have to wait a year before they could get Valanciunas, but Bryan Colangelo told Mike Ganter of the Toronto Sun that he can “confirm the buyout is in place.”

Tyreke Evans Gets It

Zach Harper of ESPN.com’s TrueHoop had a good piece on Tyreke Evans today. It seems the Kings combo guard is working with a not-for-profit insurance company, VSP Vision Care, to promote healthy vision with a youth basketball camp at the Dr, Ephraim Williams Family Life Center in Sacramento.

The piece goes on to talk about Evans’ battle with plantar fasciitis (“I used to wake up and fell like a knife was stabbing me in my foot”), but it’s his charitable work that really stands out. Simply running a youth basketball camp doesn’t make Evans Gandhi. What’s really impressive is that Evans seems to be growing when the organization needs him the most.

The Kings are hanging by a thread in Sacramento and the impending lockout isn’t helping. It’s not enough for Evans to be the Kings’ best player. Now he has to help the team win while building inroads throughout the community. Whether he likes it or not, he’s the face of a franchise that’s miraculously been saved by the league and the community. Now it’s time to show everyone how committed he is, and local-market camps such as this are going to help tremendously.

And winning won’t hurt either.

Prokhorov Steps Down from Onexim

Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov has stepped down from his role as president of the Onexim investment group, Colin Stephenson of the Star-Ledger reported. Prokhorov added to his billions of dollars by starting the firm in May of 2007, but it was his sale of Norilsk Nickel in 2008 that made him one of the richest men in the world.

Since then he has, obviously, purchased a majority stake in the New Jersey (soon to be Brooklyn) Nets and recently became the leader of Russia’s pro-business political party, Just Cause. The latter role might explain his willingness to step down from the wildly successful Onexim group.

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