Trail Blazers extend qualifying offer to free agent Greg Oden

When team president Larry Miller envisions the Trail Blazers bringing the NBA Championship to Portland, he does so with the image of Greg Oden playing center.

So on Wednesday, the Blazers took the first steps toward ensuring Oden remains in Portland, extending an $8,788,681 qualifying offer to the oft-injured center,  who becomes a free agent on Friday. By extending the qualifying offer, the 23-year-old Oden becomes a restricted free agent, meaning the Blazers have the right to match other offers.

The amount of the offer is set by league rules, which dictate the offer to be 125 percent of the player's last salary. The Blazers had until 9 p.m. on Thursday to extend the qualifying offer.

“We are committed to him, because we think a healthy Greg Oden helps this team,'' Miller said. “We've invested a lot in Greg, and him being healthy is one of the keys to us being able to bring a championship home to Portland.''

The commitment comes after the Blazers have paid more than $19 million in salary to Oden over four injury-riddled seasons, during which he has played 82 games, the equivalent of one regular season. Three times his season has ended because of knee surgery, twice ending his season before it began.

“At the end of the day, it's not Greg's fault that he has not been able to be healthy,'' Miller said. “He has caught some bad breaks. But we still believe in Greg.''

Oden on Wednesday was examined by Dr. Richard Steadman in Vail, Colo., and was determined to be on schedule in his recovery from November microfracture surgery on his left knee. Steadman performed the surgery, and estimated a 12-month recovery period. Oden is entering his eighth month of  rehabilitation.

Miller said he spoke with Oden shortly after the doctor's appointment to notify him of the team's decision.

“Greg was extremely excited about getting the offer and he reiterated to me that he wants to be in Portland and help the organization win,'' Miller said. “He appreciates the fact that we have stuck with him.''

Wednesday's qualifying offer does not guarantee Oden will remain with the Blazers. Once the NBA labor dispute is settled, teams can make offers to Oden, after which the Blazers will have seven days to match. Miller said the Blazers have not established a threshold for how many years, or how much money, they will match.

“At this point, we are not going to give up on him,'' Miller said. “When we drafted him, we believed – as did most people around the NBA – that he is a game changer. And he has shown us in some of the games when he was healthy, we still believe that he can help us win. So based on what we believe Greg can bring to the table, it was not a difficult decision for us.''