Heat sign Greg Oden

Greg Oden chose to take his talents to South Beach, agreeing to a two-year deal with the Miami Heat on Friday. In many ways, the 2007 No. 1 pick has become the poster child for unfulfilled promise thanks to the injuries that have derailed his career. More than a half decade ago, Oden was the biggest prospect since LeBron James, a surefire first pick in the NBA draft as a high school underclassman, and now, in an unexpected twist of fate, he gets to play alongside James.

What does he bring to the table? How will he fit in the Heat's schemes? Here's a scouting perspective on what the Oden signing could mean to Miami.

Scouting report: Who Oden was

It's easy to forget what made Oden a can't-miss prospect years ago if you focus on his trials and tribulations as a professional. What made him special was a rare mix of size, strength, athleticism, agility and IQ, particularly on the defensive end.

Physically, he's an imposing presence as a bona fide 7-footer with excellent length and reach. Most of his offensive game originated out of post-ups, where he exhibited an underrated amount of touch around the rim. Oden would get deep seals on rim runs and finish over either shoulder using either hand (an unexpected benefit of breaking his right wrist in his single season at Ohio State was the development of the use of his off hand).

He was a terror on the offensive glass, routinely grabbing an offensive rebounding percentage in the 15 percent range. His size and reach allowed him to keep balls alive, and his explosiveness (at the time) helped him finish with authority. Oden was been surprisingly underused as a pick-and-roll threat throughout his career, but there's no reason to believe he wouldn't be an effective roll man, given his ability to set solid screens to free up ball handlers and the inability of most defenders to stop him from rolling to the basket.

It should come as no surprise that Oden was never really a spacer (he has taken only four field goal attempts from outside 14 feet in his NBA career), but he knew how to use space effectively by moving off the ball and cutting to the front of the rim from short corners.

The defensive end is where he made most of his impact as a rim protector and anchor for team defenses. Oden brought the incredibly valuable combination of being a strong post defender while also being able to get out on pick-and-roll coverage and show hard. His above-average defensive IQ made him an ideal defensive backstop, as he was able to direct traffic and thwart would-be attacks on the basket. An elite shot-blocker, Oden was able to corral the loose ball (a la Bill Russell) and was an excellent defensive rebounder, with a defensive rebounding percentage in the mid-to-high 20 percent range.

What impact can Oden have for Miami?

Greg Oden could help the Heat against teams with effective frontcourt players.
Although the Heat are sitting on back-to-back championships in their current small-ball incarnation, it is no secret that they struggled the most with teams with size. At various points in the playoffs, Miami's front line was terrorized by the likes of Tim Duncan, Roy Hibbert, David West and Joakim Noah, be it from classic post-up play or a barrage of offensive rebounds. Although bringing back Chris Andersen was a solid move to shore up some of the rebounding issues, the Heat still lack a bona fide big defender who can handle some of the larger bodies in the league.

Assuming Oden can return to (and maintain) a satisfactory level of health, he can fill that need as a big, savvy defensive player who can discourage drives to the hoop and challenge shots at the rim. He'll need to be able to show that he can still move his feet laterally and cover ground, as Miami's team defensive scheme involves a ton of help-and-recover action.

Offensively, Oden will be relegated to dirty work as an offensive rebounder and screen setter in the half court. He'll see a lot fewer post-up opportunities than he did when he was looked at as a franchise player. His ability to run the floor and get deep seals early in the clock will dictate a lot of the touches he gets in the post. More importantly, his ability to move off ball will be a boon for his offensive production, especially in minutes he gets alongside James, and he'll need to be able to finish above the rim with the authority he did earlier in his career.

Lastly, we might finally get to see him in more pick-and-roll sets, and, even if he doesn't get the opportunity to finish out of them, the attention he'll draw from opponent defenses will open up opportunities for others on the floor.

The big question: Can he stay healthy?

It goes without saying that any analysis on Oden carries with it a huge caveat: Unless he can prove he can stay healthy, any talk about his potential impact is the stuff of fantasy. His injury history has been well-chronicled, as well as his fight with the demons of negativity.

The hope is that playing in Miami, on limited minutes, alongside the best player in the NBA will alleviate much of the physical and mental pressure of having to perform and live up to the expectations of draft night 2007. The reality is that, even if he's healthy enough to play regularly, the amount of athleticism he'll have been able to retain after all the injuries and years of inactivity will determine a great deal of his success in the second act of his career. The NBA has changed greatly to a game of spacing and agility, and it is harder for bigger and slower players to adapt without wholesale organizational synergistic effort (like Indiana with Hibbert).

All Oden has to do is fill a role for probably about 12-15 minutes a night for this to be a worthwhile investment for Miami. For Oden himself, I suspect being able to play regularly after all the setbacks he has experienced will be the sweetest joy in and of itself.

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