Report: Greg Oden to hold off signing a deal until the summer

The Greg Oden free agency chronicles continues as we get a new scoop that the former number one pick is taking his time.

As Oden announced he wanted to return to the league, teams such as the Miami Heat developed interested and quickly contacted him in hopes to sign the big man so he can play this season. Later on, he narrowed down his choices to a selected few. The race to sign the big man came with the pressure to sign him before anybody else does.

However, according to Marc Spears of Yahoo! Sports, Oden says he isn’t rushing back and wants to take his time.

"Injury-riddled center Greg Oden probably won’t sign with a team until the off-season, his agent Mike Conley told Yahoo! Sports."

Though Oden is taking his time, other teams might be impatience, loss interest and look somewhere else. Teams like the Cleveland Cavaliers, who need a big man now more than ever with an inactive Anderson Varejäo out, may be one of those teams to drop out of the race.

However, it’s smart for Oden to take his time. No need to rush back under any circumstance. If Oden works on his game better and proves that he can play anywhere from 10-20 minutes on any given night, more teams are likely to sign the big guy. Just like Derrick Rose of the Chicago Bulls, Oden doesn’t want to come back until he is 110% or healthy enough to play. Patience is a virtue and in Oden’s case, interested teams will need a lot of patience.