Miami Heat non-committal about bringing back Greg Oden

A summer ago, the Miami Heat were competing with multiple teams to sign Greg Oden and were heavily celebrated when the big man eventually joined the team.

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Now, Miami isn’t even sure they want the former No. 1 overall pick (or Michael Beasley) on their roster.

From Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald:

"Even with at least three roster spots to fill, the Heat continues to be non-committal with free agents Michael Beasley and Greg Oden, with the team neither closing the door on a return in conversations with their agents nor offering them a contract to this point, either.(…)As for Oden, the Heat has not informed his agent, Mike Conley Sr., if the team wants him back.“They said they’ll get back to us,” Conley said. “A couple of teams have inquired. He wants to be able to play.”"

It’s understandable why the Heat haven’t made their minds up on bringing back Oden to this point. While the center stayed relatively healthy and avoided any major setbacks injury-wise last season, the Ohio State product was unable to have any sort of significant impact on the court.

He averaged just 2.9 points and 2.3 rebounds per game in 23 appearances with Miami. More telling: Oden played just eight minutes throughout the Heat’s postseason run, proving coach Erik Spoelstra had little trust in the big man to produce in important situations.

Miami can only offer Oden, or any other free agent, the veteran’s minimum that is worth $1.4 million.