The Miami Heat were the team that opted to take a chance on Greg Oden. The injury prone potential draft bust worked to make a comeback in the NBA the Heat were the team to offer it to him. While Oden can certainly offer Miami a lot of talent and depth, he could also be a big risk. All-Star Dwyane Wade thinks he will be productive for the team.
Wade took a month off after the season ended and is now back into training mode as the season and training camp is not that far off. As Wade begins to focus on a new year with the Miami Heat, he is complimenting the team on the work they put in during the offseason. Oden will help the Heat achieve their gal on getting bigger in size whenever he is finally able to step on the court.
"I think it's great," Wade said to the Sun-Sentinel. "Greg has actually done a good job of trying to get his body back. He's 25 years old. He wants to play the game of basketball at a high level, like he knows he's capable of. And he's been snake-bitten a little bit, and I think he's done a good job of taking time off and trying to get healthy."
Wade promises that the Heat will take care of Oden's health and be careful not to rush him into any kind of situation. Wade recalls the way the training staff has taken care of his knees and notes that Oden will get the same treatment. Doctors told Oden that he should really give up on the idea of playing basketball after he underwent his third surgery, but the former No. 1 overall draft pick kept pushing and is now reportedly better than ever.
Wade described the Oden signing to when the team signed Chris Andersen and Shane Battier. At the time, not too many teams were targeting any of those players, but the Heat took a chance and it really paid off. Wade credits those subtle additions to being something that made the Heat a championship team.
"He can be one of those Shane Battier-Ray Allen summers, when we sign a guy, or Birdman, as well," he said, referring to last season's signing of Andersen. "We sign a guy that a lot of people weren't really looking at to be a big part of something and he can become a big of what we're trying to do."
Wade was sure to avoid any discussion on the free agency topic. The All-Star can decide to opt out of his current contract next summer along with LeBron James and Chris Bosh. All Wade would say was that he wants to be in Miami and there was nothing else to talk about.
