Greg Oden, Blazers Refuse to Discuss Recovery from Knee Surgery

Nobody knows what to make of Greg Oden and the left knee surgery he’s still recovering from. Mostly because Oden and the Portland Trailblazers won’t publicly discuss the matter. Reports the Portland Tribune: “What’s going on with Greg Oden? Portland’s 7-foot center continues with his recovery program following November 2010 microfracture surgery to his left knee. Why he isn’t back by now remains a mystery. When I approached the No. 1 pick in the 2007 draft in the locker room before Sunday night’s game with Cleveland at the Rose Garden, he told me, ‘I’m still not talking about it right now.’ Or about anything, I guess. Since he flew to Vail, Colo., for a meeting with Dr. Richard Steadman — the specialist who performed the surgery — in early December and spoke with The Oregonian’s Jason Quick, Oden hasn’t done any media. Team trainer Jay Jensen won’t talk about Oden, and interim general manager Chad Buchanan speaks only in vague terms about the oft-injured, oft-maligned would-be player. I can’t get an answer as to what Steadman and the other medical people saw in Oden’s December MRI that was termed by team president Larry Miller a ‘setback,’ slowing his progress toward a return to on-court duty. ‘It wasn’t as encouraging as we’d hoped,’ is all Buchanan will say. One report said the MRI showed a problem area in a non-weight-bearing ligament in the knee, but nobody with the club will confirm that. Oden evidently had no symptoms or anything to cause alarm. What, then, was it? ‘I’d prefer not to talk about specifics,’ Buchanan says politely. Oden continues his daily rehab workouts as prescribed by Steadman at the Blazers’ practice facility with Jensen and strength/conditioning coaches Bob Medina and Todd Forcier. Shooting, jumping, limited running. No three-on-three drills. No scrimmage sessions. ‘Taking it slow is the best way to put it,’ Buchanan says.”