Greg Oden to have arthroscopic knee surgery

Since Greg Oden was drafted in 2007, he has scored 773 points, grabbed 602 rebounds, blocked 117 shots, and now — will have undergone four knee surgeries.

The Trail Blazers announced that the center will undergo an arthroscopic procedure later today in Vail, Colo., to remove debris from his right knee.

As to how this will affect his expected return date, Portland’s acting general manager Chad Buchanan said by text that “until we get a prognosis from the doctors, it would be all speculation on a timetable for his return.”

Oden had season-ending microfracture surgery on his left knee in November of 2010, 11 months after fracturing his left patella. He was initially expected to return at about this point in the season, but on the first day of training camp, Blazers management said that he had suffered a “setback” that would prolong the recovery process.

The diminished faith in Oden’s return became even more apparent when it was reported that the $8.8 million qualifying offer Portland tendered him in the summer had been reduced to $1.5 million in the fall.

Interestingly enough, the right knee had not been giving Oden any problems recently. That said, last season’s microfracture surgery was performed to repair an injury that occurred without incident, and this latest procedure lends even further evidence to the 24-year-old’s fragile nature.

Oden, the former No. 1 overall pick, has played 82 games in his four-and-a-half career — the equivalent to one NBA season. He holds career averages of 9.4 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game. In the 2009-2010 season, he averaged 11.1 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.3 blocks in 21 games.