Report: Greg Oden had same knee procedure Kobe had

Greg Oden said he won't be on the floor again next season, but he's trying to return someday. (Getty Images)

Greg Oden is trying to save his NBA career before it dies, well, before it ever really started. He's said he's going to take all of 2012-13 off to recover from a fourth knee surgery and then will attempt to make a comeback of sorts after that.

He's already evidently expressed interest in joining the Heat. Which seems like a pipe dream at this point because of his health. He has to get healthy first, so to do that, he's getting experimental. According to ESPN.com, Oden had the same controversial knee procedure that Kobe Bryant and Alex Rodriguez have underwent.

The procedure is non-evasive, and Oden had it done two weeks ago in New York to "accelerate" the healing process on his left knee, according to the report.

"Greg had long planned to have this procedure done,'' one of the sources said. "He thought he'd wait until his knee was completely healed, but the doctor said Greg would get the greatest benefit by doing it now because it would help his recovery.''

Kobe had the procedure last year in Germany, which is called Orthokine. Rodriguez had it in Germany as well after Kobe recommended it. Gilbert Arenas has also had it done.

It's a complicated thing, but basically it's this: The doctor takes blood from the patient, does something with it to make it a serum, and then re-injects it into the patient's knee (or ankle, or whatever). The idea is that the blood will stop pain and inflammation. Somehow.

According to the report, seven teams stay in contact with Oden's representation to monitor his progress. He's only 24 and could have a decent NBA career ahead if he could simply get healthy. That almost seems like an impossibility, but Oden's clearly taking the necessary measures to get there. He's a seven-footer, which makes him valuable but also means he carries around a lot of size and weight on those knees.

But he's a player with a lot of talent. There's a reason he was the consensus No. 1 pick in 2007, over Kevin Durant. He was seen as a game-changing big man, someone who could be one of the top defensive centers ever. There have been glimpes, but he hasn't been able to stay healthy long enough to fulfill any of that promise.

Oden has had three microfracture surgeries (two on his left, one on his right) and a surgery to repair a broken kneecap. In five-year career, he's only played in 82 total games and hasn't played since Dec. 2009. In those 82 games, he averaged 9.4 points and 7.3 rebounds.