Oden to have surgery, will miss '07-'08 season

Trailblazers center Greg Oden will have microfracture knee surgery, effectively ending his chances of playing in the upcoming season.

Oden, the first overall selection in the 2007 NBA Draft, had arthroscopic exploratory surgery on his right knee earlier this week in order to determine the proper action to be taken to alleviate discomfort he had been experiencing. Unfortunately for the young center, what the doctors found was extensive cartiledge damage.

The treatment for this kind of damage is the newly popular microfracture surgery, where small breaks are made in surrounding bone tissue in order to stimulate cartiledge growth. It's a risky procedure that will ultimately result in extensive recovery and rehab time. However, if successful, Oden could be back on the court in a year.

Allstars Jason Kidd and Amare Stoudemire have both enjoyed fantastic results from microfracture surgery and still play in the NBA.