In a 26-minute meeting with reporters Monday, Trail Blazers general manager Rich Cho was asked repeatedly about Oden's future.

The 7-foot center will become a restricted free agent on July 1, and the Blazers have from the end of the NBA Finals to June 30 to tender a qualifying offer to Oden. Cho said if Oden continues to work hard in his rehabilitation, he was "pretty sure" the team would tender the offer.

"All the indications from a medical standpoint are that it's come along well," Cho said of Oden's left knee. "I see him in here every day, working hard. He's getting a sweat up every day. He wants to come back, and come back and play well." Cho said Oden could become a key piece alongside LaMarcus Aldridge, who emerged this season as the Blazers' leading scorer.

"I think if you put him next to L.A. andGerald Wallace, we'd have one of the best front lines in the league," Cho said.