The competition in the Eastern Conference for the Miami Heat ramped up this offseason, forcing the Heat to get creative with their own improvements. With most of their money tied up in the Big 3 of Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh, Miami has turned to two former high draft picks with baggage.
The most famous of the two, Greg Oden, has not played since 2009 due to constant knee injuries and microfracture surgeries. Oden is attempting a comeback for perhaps the final time, and if he can stay healthy might be exactly what the Heat lacked last season.
He practiced for the first time as a member of the Heat on Tuesday, going for half the session. "It felt good. I did the first hour. A lot of non-contact, up-and-down stuff, but it felt good, just being out there, first time in a while, happy I got it completed," Oden said.
In a bit of encouraging news, Oden actually felt like he could have done more. "They had to pull me off today," Oden said. "I wanted to go out there and do it, buy I've got to take steps."
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra reiterated that point. While Oden could make the Heat even more devastating, they do have center Chris "Birdman" Andersen in tow, making Oden's development less urgent.
"It's step by step, practice by practice, minute by minute," Spoelstra said. "So he was able to do about a half-hour of work today, the majority of it non-contact, and that was a big bonus and we'll move on from here."
The second big-name draft bust the Heat brought into the fold was Michael Beasley, who was actually selected second overall by Miami in 2008. His career has been derailed by periods of ineffectiveness combined with off-the-court drug issues. This could be his final shot for NBA success.
"I came in today scared, kind of nervous," he said. "I didn't know what to expect, and if the guys would accept me 100 percent."
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