Could Greg Oden be the missing piece in South Beach? (Getty Images)

Since forming during the summer of 2010, the Miami Heat's Big 3 have badly needed help in the middle. Could free agent center Greg Oden be the man to fill the void?

The Miami Herald reports that Oden, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft, has interest in joining LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in South Beach.
Greg Oden, 7-0, hasn’t played since 2009-10 and is recovering from his fifth knee surgery in five seasons. A Grantland.com story said that "right now" Oden's plan is to take next season off to rehab, then come back in 2013-14. But his agent, Mike Conley Sr., told us Oden is positioned be ready to play in December or January "as far as being effective and in shape" and will explore options in the coming months, with the possibility of joining a team next season. But nobody obviously can know for sure when he will be ready.

The Heat hasn’t called but “Greg has talked about Miami," Conley said. "He has interest. He’s not retiring.” Oden, the No. 1 pick in the 2007 draft, has played just 82 career games for Portland (which released him in March) and averaged 9.4 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.4 blocks.
Last week, Oden admitted to becoming an alcoholic during his time with the Portland Trail Blazers and expressed plans to take the 2012-2013 season off completely. 

You never want to deny a professional athlete the opportunity to make a comeback, but a return to the NBA would be a particularly unlikely accomplishment for Oden. He was released by the Blazers in March shortly after undergoing surgeries on both knees and he hasn't appeared in an NBA game since Dec. 5, 2009.

In a February interview with CBSSports.com, Blazers Acting GM Chad Buchanan laid out in detail the medical issues facing Oden, which included a total of five knee surgeries, including three microfracture surgeries, plus blood clots in his left ankle and persistent pain and swelling during his rehabilitation process. Buchanan admitted that Oden never got particularly close to a return to the court during his time in Portland and that he was never cleared for full-contact basketball activities after his Dec. 2009 patella fracture. In that time, Oden underwent three additional knee surgeries and is currently facing months of rehabilitation from the most recent of those.

Of course, Oden wouldn't be Miami's first major reclamation project. The Heat brought in Eddy Curry after a number of workouts, and he appeared in 14 games for Miami this season, the first NBA action the former lottery pick had seen since the 2009-2010 season. Curry was thought to be unsalvageable and the Heat still somehow found a way, so it's accurate to say that nothing is impossible.

Signing Oden at this point is a no-risk proposition for any team. He comes at the league's minimum salary and requires nothing more than a roster spot and a medical staff. The question is whether there is any potential reward to be found. Unlike with Curry, this isn't just a matter of him going on a hardcore diet to drop 100 pounds. The question is whether his knees -- operated on time and again -- can take the kind of punishment required to get cleared to play basketball, let alone compete in NBA games night after night. Years of health setbacks suggest that a full return is a longshot, at best.

If Oden could fill even 10 minutes a night, signing him would be a worthwhile cause. Even if he lacked his old mobility, he's still tall, long and coordinated. Unfortunately, his recent rehabilitation history strongly suggests that even that type of modest contribution isn't likely.