Oden will miss season

Greg Oden's highly anticipated NBA rookie season ended before it even started.

Exploratory micro-fracture arthroscopic surgery performed on the heralded Portland Trail Blazers center yesterday revealed cartilage damage in his right knee. The top pick in the 2007 NBA Draft will likely miss the 2007-08 season. The 19-year-old is expected to be on crutches for up to eight weeks and needs 6-12 months for full recovery.

"I did see Oden as he came out of surgery," said Blazers general manager Kevin Pritchard, in a media teleconference. "One of the hardest things I've ever had to do was look him in the eyes and say, 'How you doing?' And he looked at me and probably said he was sorry 15 to 20 times. And I could tell that he felt the weight of the organization, the weight of the world. It shows you what kind of person he is because he's a phenomenal kid.

"That was as challenging for me as a general manager to see a kid take that responsibility on himself and say, 'Look, I'm very sorry,' for something he couldn't control. It was very refreshing and it gives me a lot of hope that he's going to work hard and get back to full strength."

Oden averaged 15.7 points and 9.6 rebounds for Ohio State last season and led the Buckeyes to the NCAA national championship game as a freshman. The drafting of the 7-foot, 250-pounder brought strong hope to a Blazers franchise mired in losing and off-the-court drama in recent years.

Oden has had injury problems over the last year, including a wrist issue that required surgery. After discovering right knee swelling following a jog in Portland Sept. 6, the Blazers gave him an MRI that revealed a major concern. After consulting with three doctors, the Blazers, Oden, and his agent, Bill Duffy, decided to have surgery performed by Vancouver surgeon Don Roberts, who is best-known for his successful micro-fracture knee surgery on ex-Blazer Zach Randolph, now with the New York Knicks.

While Oden was told presurgery that microfracture surgery was a possibility, Roberts didn't determine it was needed until after the procedure began. Roberts broke the news to Oden after the surgery was completed. Pritchard said Roberts told the Blazers that Oden has "an unbelievable chance of recovering fully" and "this surgery looks as promising as any." Oden is expected to rehabilitate in Portland and isn't expected to try out for USA Basketball's 2008 Olympic team.

"There are things about this that are positive for Greg," said Roberts, in a statement. "First of all, he is young. The area where the damage was is small and the rest of his knee looked normal. All those are good signs for a complete recovery from micro-fracture surgery."

Oden isn't the first heralded Blazers center whose playing career has been affected by knee problems. Such was also the case for Hall of Famer Bill Walton and Sam Bowie, who was selected over Michael Jordan in the 1984 NBA Draft.

"There is no mold for any player," said Pritchard. "Greg has had a couple injuries. But this one is a nongenetic, nonchronic injury." Without Oden, Pritchard believes the Blazers have enough big men to carry the team, including former Celtic Raef LaFrentz, LaMarcus Aldridge, Joel Pryzbilla, and newcomer Channing Frye. The Blazers dealt Randolph, who averaged team-bests of 23.6 points and 10.1 rebounds, to New York on draft night after selecting Oden.

"We don't have the depth we would have had with Greg out of the lineup," Blazers coach Nate McMillan said during the teleconference.

Celtics executive director of basketball operations Danny Ainge was saddened by the Oden news.

"I've been on teams where guys have received knee injuries," Ainge said. "It's never fun for anyone when they get hurt. I felt bad for him. This is no fun. He's a good kid. Greg Oden knows he's the No. 1 pick in the draft, but even if he was the 20th pick I'd feel bad."