NBA Free Agency: Cleveland Cavaliers still interested in Greg Oden

NBA free agency has started and while, the Los Angeles Lakers and Houston Rockets fight for the right to give Dwight Howard a max contract, the Cavaliers have more modest targets. Once again, Greg Oden is on their radar, according to Yahoo! Sports.

Oden, 25,has received interest from the Miami Heat, San Antonio Spurs, Cleveland Cavaliers, Boston Celtics, Dallas Mavericks, Sacramento Kings, Indiana Pacers and Memphis Grizzlies, league sources said. The No. 1 pick in the 2007 NBA draft hasn't played since Dec. 5, 2009, because of multiple knee injuries.

As you can see, Yahoo! lists the Cavs as just one of several teams interested in acquiring Oden. This isn't the first time that the Cavs have been linked to Oden, however. There were multiple reports throughout the season that Cleveland and Oden had mutual interest. Oden was even sighted sitting near the Cavs bench during a game against the Memphis Grizzlies, despite being there to support his friend, Mike Conley.

With that many teams interested, Oden might not come as cheaply as we previously assumed. I would give him up to $3 million for this year and then have the following years be based on how much he can actually play. He was a very good player when able to stay on the court and his agent claims that he's healthy and in a good state of mind. I would think that the Cavs have a fairly good shot at signing Oden if they want to. Chris Grant has plenty of cap room at his disposal and the Ohio connection seems to be a legitimate factor. Two Fear the Sword writers even saw Oden hanging out with friends on the streets of downtown Cleveland earlier this year.

What do you think? Should the Cavs take a flier on the former Buckeye and #1 pick?