Blazers Add Sean Marks, Wait for Return of Greg Oden and Joel Przybilla

Skilled Argentine center Fabricio Oberto retired this week, leaving the Portland Trail Blazers down a big man. Actually, they are down three big men, with Greg Oden and Joel Przybilla still recovering from knee surgeries. But in the immediate, there's a real need for another center to give incumbent starter Marcus Camby (age 36) some rest. As such, Ben Golliver of CBSSports.com reports Portland will sign veteran roleplayer Sean Marks, who beat out a crew of free agent bigs in a Friday workout.

New Zealander Marks last played for the Hornets, where he spent a season and change as a deep bench option. He played just 14 games last season, and went unsigned as a free agent this summer. Prior to his stint in New Orleans, Marks spent eight seasons as a back-up for the Raptors, Heat, Spurs and Suns. But prior to joining the Hornets, he never played more than 319 minutes in a season, cementing his status as a true fringe NBA player. He spent training camp with the Wizards, but was cut during preseason.

It's unclear how quickly that will change in Portland. Camby has averaged 30 minutes a game through six for the Blazers, with power forward LaMarcus Aldridge playing 40 a night (up from 37 last season) and second-year forward Dante Cunningham playing 17 minutes a game. Oberto played just 45 minutes total over five games. Marks' minutes should cover what Oberto offered at the center position (where Aldridge and Cunningham are defensive liabilities) and help allow Camby to rest.

Does Camby need to rest? He played 31 minutes a game with the Clippers and Blazers last season, and ended up playing 74 games on the season. When Przybilla and Oden return, barring a trade, Camby figures to go down to no more than 25 minutes per game; the old adage "you can sleep when you're dead" may apply here. Camby can rest when he's not the only effective center on the active roster.

The Blazers have announced Przybilla will be added to the active roster November 26; the center, however, maintains that he's ready to play now. There seems to be no timetable for Oden's return; it was initially expected that he'd be ready for the start of the season, but progress has been slow.