This isn’t how Greg Oden saw his career going. The 31-year-old should have been angling for one more long-term contract in what most people expected to be a long career.

Injuries robbed him of that, but not of his passion for basketball. Now the former number one overall pick is focused on a new path: coaching.

“I’m done playing. I helped out at Ohio State for the past three, four years. So I just kinda hit the bug on me," he told MassLive. "I enjoy working with the players. I enjoy that side of it.”

The pursuit of that coaching career brought him to Boston. He was invited by the team to help out and take the floor with players and to help in their evaluation.

“Just to help out with the pre-draft stuff and see what happens from it," Oden said. "I’ll take that opportunity from it. It’s the freakin’ Celtics.”

Helping the Celtics evaluate players leads to a sort of evaluation of Oden. The more he can take part in things like this, the more he can show how he works with players.

This is also a part of the feeling-out process for Oden, too. He’s looking to stay involved with basketball, and getting into coaching means finding and making the most of opportunities like this.

“Honestly, whatever side I can get into," he said. "But I do like being on the court with the players.”

For Oden, the draw to coaching means creating a new basketball legacy through other players. Even though his body didn’t cooperate, his mind is full of basketball knowledge that he has enjoyed sharing in this new chapter.

“Seeing them guys get better, knowing you had a little hand in getting them a little bit better," he said of the draw to coaching. "I think that was really good.”