Report: Greg Oden to try out for CBA’s Jiangxu Tongxi Monkey Kings

In an injury-riddled career that has seen him appear more on training and operating tables than the basketball court, it looks as though the former Ohio State star Greg Oden will attempt a comeback to the court one more time. Reports are stating that Oden will have a one-week tryout for the Jiangsu Monkey Kings of the Chinese Basketball Association later this month.

“The former top pick of the NBA draft will have a one-week workout with Chinese team Jiangsu Kentier¹ at the end of this month. If Oden passes the tryout, he will sign a one-year contract with the Chinese club,” E. Carchia of Sportando said.

Playing in the Southern Division of the CBA, the Monkey Kings had a record of 10-28 in their first season in 2014. The Monkey Kings already had former NBA player Von Wafer on their team and recently signed former NBA player MarShon Brooks.

The first overall pick of the Portland Trail Blazers in the 2007 NBA Draft, Oden has had significant injuries ever since he was drafted by the Portland Trail Blazers, and even in his lone year at Ohio State.

If healthy, the 27-year-old could have plenty of potential. He is not only 7 feet tall, but has shown skills both offensively and defensively. In six NBA seasons (only three of which he actually played in), Oden averaged 8.0 points, 6.2 rebounds, 0.5 assists, and 1.2 blocks in 19.3 minutes. He has played in 105 career NBA games, 82 for the Blazers and 23 for the Miami Heat. He has played in just 26 games in his last five seasons.

Oden is a risk the Monkey Kings are willing to take because of his size, a relatively rare commodity in China. If healthy, he could be an effective center in the CBA and dominate his competition in the Chinese league. His strength and skills would be hard for other big men to compete with.

Oden is expected to arrive in the Monkey Kings’ home city of Changzhou by the end of the month.

Here’s hoping the former Buckeye in NBA big man can stay healthy and show that he has something left.

1. Multiple spellings and team names have been used in reports, but all were variations of Jiangxu. [↩]