San Antonio Spurs: Team Won’t Miss Out Much On Greg Oden

Greg Oden finally made the decision that he will attempt to salvage his career with the Miami Heat, turning down a handful of other teams, including the San Antonio Spurs.

While the Spurs clearly believed they could help him revitalize himself on the court, they didn’t bite too hard and give that second-year player option like Miami did. Though they were turned down, it’s best for the team to not get caught up in bringing Oden’s career back to life and focus on the bigs they already have.

Greg Oden wasn’t much of a must-have free agent for the Spurs, who are just coming off a Finals appearance. (Flickr.com photo by Keith Allison)

As for whether Oden could have actually broken through and earned a spot in the rotation is a huge question mark already, as he would have already had Tim Duncan, Tiago Splitter and Boris Diaw clearly ahead of him. Unless the player turns out to be a big-time rising talent or proven solid option, the Spurs often want their players to adjust for at least a season before getting rotation minutes on the team.

As the roster stands now, Oden would also have to face Matt Bonner, Aron Baynes and newly acquired Jeff Pendergraph. Bonner is now a situational player who has seen his minutes decline during this past playoff run, but Baynes and Pendergraph would have easily made a better case to make for the next spot on the big man depth chart.

While Oden has yet to play an NBA game since 2009, Baynes was successful in the D-League this year after the Spurs signed him in January, seeing his potential as too good to wait until the offseason. The 6’10” Australian averaged 13 points and 8.4 rebounds with the Austin Toros and held his own against Dwight Howard when he was called upon to start in the first round against the Los Angeles Lakers.

While the Spurs are not known for their flash and dunks, Baynes makes it a point to finish with authority with every chance he gets in the paint. While he is slow-footed and not the best passer, he’s a high-energy guy that can see more minutes after a training camp with the Spurs.

After deciding to end his time with the Indiana Pacers, Jeff Pendergraph signed for a bigger contract with the Spurs this summer. Though he never got consistent minutes, Pendergraph averaged 14 points and 10 rebounds per 36 minutes last season.

Though he also has a quite a ways to go in order to play big minutes with San Antonio, Pendergraph at least has health on his side and was also recruited by former Indiana assistant coach Jim Boylen, who also went to the Spurs this summer. He’s a low-risk player, but clearly the Spurs saw some potential in him to bring him down to Texas on a guaranteed deal, unlike Oden.

Whereas Miami doesn’t really have a center spot solidified through the year, as evidenced by Chris Andersen coming in midway through the year to play big minutes, the Spurs are a rhythm team that needs their rotation in place by the time the playoffs come around. Oden’s ability to stay healthy already puts his chances of that at risk.

Oden obviously had (or still has) potential to be a great player in the league, but for a team like San Antonio that demands consistency and that’s looking to go all-in before their core has to break up, which may be soon, Oden was not the right fit at all.