Would Greg Oden fit in at Miami?

File Photo: Injured player Greg Oden of the Portland Trail Blazers attends a game against the Indiana Pacers

After their well-publicized championship parade that brought in as much spotlight as their run in the 2012-13 season, the Heat are back to fixing their squad for next season. One of their biggest weaknesses this past season was their problems with back court. The playoffs, especially the Eastern Conference Finals, saw the opponent’s centers tantalize Miami’s, who found it surprisingly hard to close games out early. This raises the big question: who will the Heat sign as their next big man?

Over the past couple months, Greg Oden, the former number 1 pick in the NBA draft, has been heavily linked to the Heat. The Ohio State product that beat out the likes of Kevin Durant and Al Horford in the 2007 Draft has had his fair share of controversies as well. Firstly, he never played an entire season at the Portland Trail Blazers – the team that drafted him. Secondly, his knee issues creep up as often as his press coverage of him failing to live up to the tag of being selected “first overall”. Now, let us face it – he is not going to be playing day in, day out the same way he did at college which saw him take his team to the NCAA Championship game.

But can the Heat salvage anything off Greg Oden? The answer is a rather yes.

The 2012-13 NBA Finals showed the basketball fraternity how good the Miami Heat roster is. But it also exposed the frustrations of Chris Bosh to add points on the scoreboard. This next season, Bosh will probably want to be playing more on the frontcourt than expect to be focusing more on defense. This is reason number 1 for the Heat to sign a cheaper center in the free agency – someone who comes in the price tag of Greg Oden. Despite being mocked by the media for his “frailty to stand straight” on a NBA court, the 7 feet center will be an asset to the Heat if signed. Pat Riley, after his meeting with Greg Oden this past week, seemed confident in the 27- year-old’s workout with the team. There is also further onus on the Heat to add to their big man line up. Juwan Howard is likely to retire while Jarvis Varnado is never going to be able to matchup to other big men in the league. Who else does the Heat have? Udonis Haslem can be mediocre in defense while Joel Anthony is just any other piece on Miami’s roster constantly being switched in and out of the D-league. Also, Chris “Birdman” Andersen still hasn’t been confirmed for next season at Miami. As we look more and more into this back court issue for Miami, the impetus grow on Pat Riley and the Heat’s backroom to sign Greg Oden.