Post by FLCeltsFan on Jun 20, 2007 19:29:39 GMT -5
sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/ian_thomsen/06/18/draft.injuries/index.html
Teams will be taking a close look at the medical evaluations of the top picks leading up to the June 28 draft. They'll especially focus on likely No. 1 choice Greg Oden, Joakim Noah and Al Thornton, who have been flagged with preexisting injuries by NBA doctors.
According to a team executive who has seen medical evaluations of a physical undergone by Oden three weeks ago at the NBA predraft camp in Orlando, the 7-foot center has a couple of worrisome issues. His right wrist has not regained full flexion after being broken last year, and he has a bulging disk in his back.
The team executive noted that "big guys always seem to have bad backs.'' But he did express concern about Oden's wrist. "The people I talked to said it was pretty serious,'' the executive said. "Sometimes the wrist never comes back.''
I've also heard an unrelated rumor -- which did not show up in the Orlando physical -- that another team is expressing concern about the long-term health of Oden's knees.
"We haven't heard anything about his knee,'' said agent Bill Duffy, who represents Oden in association with Mike Conley Sr. "One thing we are aware of is that his hip alignment is off. One of his legs is longer than the other, but he's obviously had that for a long time.''
Oden's wrist is continuing to improve, said Duffy, who writes off the medical concerns as typical predraft scrutiny.
According to a team executive who has seen medical evaluations of a physical undergone by Oden three weeks ago at the NBA predraft camp in Orlando, the 7-foot center has a couple of worrisome issues. His right wrist has not regained full flexion after being broken last year, and he has a bulging disk in his back.
The team executive noted that "big guys always seem to have bad backs.'' But he did express concern about Oden's wrist. "The people I talked to said it was pretty serious,'' the executive said. "Sometimes the wrist never comes back.''
I've also heard an unrelated rumor -- which did not show up in the Orlando physical -- that another team is expressing concern about the long-term health of Oden's knees.
"We haven't heard anything about his knee,'' said agent Bill Duffy, who represents Oden in association with Mike Conley Sr. "One thing we are aware of is that his hip alignment is off. One of his legs is longer than the other, but he's obviously had that for a long time.''
Oden's wrist is continuing to improve, said Duffy, who writes off the medical concerns as typical predraft scrutiny.
