Rumor: Memphis Grizzlies still interested in Greg Oden

RealGM is reporting that their league sources tell them the Memphis Grizzlies are potentially going to bring former 2007 #1 overall pick Greg Oden into their free agent camp in June.

RealGM Sources: Memphis Grizzlies exploring center Greg Oden, the 2007 No. 1 overall NBA pick. http://t.co/MmRs4uRwVF

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) May 30, 2015

Why this makes sense:

• The Grizzlies gave Greg Oden a workout back in the spring of this year.
• Mike Conley and Greg Oden were close friends in college and have remained so.
• Both Conley and Oden share the same agent: one Mike Conley, Sr.
• The Grizzlies need contingencies if and when Kosta Koufos leaves in free agency this summer.

Why this doesn't make sense:

• Greg Oden has only played 212 minutes of NBA basketball since 2010.
• The Grizzlies style of play tends to wear players down throughout a season.
• I haven't been made aware of any breakthroughs in cybernetic knee implants.

My take:

Sure, why not? I mean, the Grizzlies nearly had Michael Beasley with them on opening day last year; they shoot a decent clip on reclamation projects. Obviously, the idea here would be to have Oden play minimal backup minutes for Marc (or... you know... whoever else it ends up being in worst case scenario) and, as we know, Joerger doesn't really ride his bench for a ton of minutes.

I'm not giving Oden great odds at making the roster. But don't forget: the Grizzlies magically got 89 games out of Mike Miller in 2013-14.