10/28/2016 by RotoWire Staff | RotoWire

Greg Oden: Announces retirement from pro basketball

Greg Oden said in a recent interview with Dana Benbow of the Indianapolis Star that he no longer intends to play professional basketball.Regarded as a potential franchise player after declaring for the 2007 NBA Draft following a lone season at Ohio State, Oden required microfracture surgery on his right knee shortly after the Trail Blazers drafted him No. 1 overall and incurred a number of lower-body issues thereafter. He ended up playing in just 82 games over his five seasons with the Trail Blazers before he was waived in March of 2012. Though it was expected that Oden's foot issues would force him into an early retirement, he resurfaced in the 2013-14 season to play 23 games with the Heat, but injuries had rendered him a shell of his former self by that point. He last played 25 games in the Chinese Basketball Association last season and though he remains just 28 years old, he decided it was best to pursue a new line of work.