Rivers ‘reminisced' with Oden during recent meeting

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BOSTONDoc Rivers has spent the past couple of days focusing on today's opponent, the Los Angeles Clippers.

But that didn't stop him from taking time out of his preparation to spend some time with free agent Greg Oden.

"It was just a chance to get to know Greg a little better," Danny Ainge, the C's president of basketball operations, told CSNNE.com on Saturday.

Oden, who was waived by Portland in March, plans to spend this year rehabilitating his surgically repaired knees which have limited him to just 82 games played in five seasons.

The Celtics are among the many teams to express interest in signing the top pick in the 2007 NBA draft next season.

"I said hi to him," Rivers said. "We reminisced about high school days when I watched him in AAU. But other than that, I thought far more about the guys we're playing (today) than next year."

While his career has been marred by injuries, the 7-foot-1 center has proven to be a solid defensive presence when healthy.

In Portland, Oden averaged 9.2 points and 7.3 rebounds along with 1.4 blocks per game.

His struggles to stay healthy came on the heels of one season at Ohio State where he helped lead the Buckeyes to the 2007 NCAA Final Four.

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