The Blazers could get used to having a center capable of blocking shots, clearing the boards and even racking up the occasional 30-point game. Now they will.
Portland re-signed Marcus Camby to a two-year deal worth up to $25 million. Camby was set to become a free agent this summer.
The Blazers front office has been forthright in its praise of Camby, with general manager Kevin Pritchard saying, “Marcus has been a great fit for us and is a big reason for our success.”
What no one in the organization wants to address, however, is this: Does this move signal the end of the “Greg Oden” era?
Oden was the team’s starting center before going down with a knee injury in Portland’s 21st game of the season. The injury was brutal, but most people assumed that once he was healthy again, Oden would re-emerge as a starter and key player. That seems highly unlikely, now.
Camby has been a starter his entire career and will be paid as such throughout the extension. On top of that, Camby’s impact has been huge: The Blazers have been a better team with him in the lineup (17-6) than they were in Oden’s 20 healthy games (12-8). It appears that when Oden returns, he will be heading for the bench.
With Oden joining Joel Pryzbilla on the bench next year, the Blazers will have $14.2 million invested in backup centers. Trading either seems unlikely, with both coming off major knee injuries. Pryzbilla ruptured his patella tendon again last month, making his availability for next season questionable.
The most likely scenario involves Oden receiving consistent, albeit light, playing time throughout next season as Camby’s top backup. Oden is owed about $6.8 million in the final year of his deal, when he will become a free agent. When that happens, Portland will be faced with a choice: Give Oden the fat contract he will undoubtedly ask for, or let him walk, admitting to the world that the Blzers made a mistake drafting him and making him a building block of the franchise.
Sadly, with the way their players have been dropping like flies, trying to predict what the Blazers roster will look like next season is a lot like trying to predict what year the Mariners will finally make it to the World Series — your guess is as good as mine. But with any luck, Portland will be able to stick with a Miller-Roy-Batum-Aldridge-Camby lineup next season and ride them into the playoffs.
This would be great for Portland; it would also likely signal the end of Oden’s time in Portland. The team did not use the No. 1 pick of the draft to acquire a backup center. It did it with dreams of watching its center dominate the paint, own the boards and swat shots with authority.
Luckily for the Blazers, those dreams came true after all. Enjoy the “Marcus Camby” era.

Alex Harkaway
Freelancer Alex Harkaway can be reached at [email protected]