OT - Portland's Pick

[MilTown]

Extremely tough call. Oden is the safe pick, but Durant has NBA superstar written all over him. You make the call.

[herboturbo]

I never really understood this debate.  Oden is a freak of nature - a 7 footer with a center's body that moves like a guard.  Dude averaged 16 and 10 with a broken shooting hand, WITH A BROKEN SHOOTING HAND.  Durant will be good and has the *potential* to be better over the long run than Oden, but unless you have a team with 2 awesome centers, and no team has that, you cannot pass on a sure-fire hall of fame pivot man

[Pakuni]

Hmmm ... I'd take Oden as well, though it's much closer than Herbutro seems to think. Oden is no freak of nature, and he's certainly no surefire hall-of-fame pivot. He's a 19-year-old with tons of upside, but also pretty raw and with a limited offensive repetoire. I think his upside is closer to Alonzo Mourning than any other current or past NBA player, which would be pretty darn good.

FWIW, "freak" is a word that's way overused these days to describe athletes.

[MilTown]

It's way too early to call Oden a sure fire hall of famer at this point. I like Oden's height, shot blocking and athleticism, but I don't like his lack of developed post moves and lack of bulk. I also didn't like his tendency to pick up cheap fouls and early fouls. He left his feet way too much looking for the block. If he had showed more post moves and maybe a face up 10 footer in college, he would be a no brainer #1, but at this point his offense is a big ? for me. I do understand that he was playing with an injured shooting hand, but I have to believe it was healed enough to the point that it was a non-factor.  

[Ready2Fly]

I disagree that Durant only has the "potential" to be better than Oden in the long run.  He vastly out-played every other college player this year - including Oden.  I've never seen anyone dominate the college game like him (granted, I'm only 23).  Also, in terms of immediate impact, Oden's will be mainly on the defensive end, while Durant could average 20 & 10 or better this year.  Plus, it seems like Durant has that calm, reptililian desire to conquer everything in his path like I've seen in Jordan and Wade.  

Of course, if it turns out to be Olajuwon and Jordan all over again, neither team loses, both teams win - and win big.

[muwarrior87]

While Oden has a lack of developed post moves, Durant has a lack of body. A kid that tall that weighs under 200 pounds and can't bench near his body weight will be spending a great deal of the offseason having to bulk up to become a real force.  While many compare him to KG, he is not as strong as Garnett and I dont think he will really shine for a few years where Oden could definitely help his team and help them drastically next year...let him prove me wrong.

[Murffieus]

Oden wil be a very good NBA center----but not in the class of Shaq, Jabbar, Rusel, Olajowon, Chamberlin, or Duncan----tires easily----has a nice jump hook but will need moves to go along with it ala Shaq-----not quick as Shaq.

Durant meanwhile has a good chance of being another Kobe.

My choice is Durant----but think Oden will o #1!

Sleeper in this year's draft is Spencer Hawes----may be as productive as Oden after a few years in the NBA but as a PF----has more upside than Oden!

[MilTown]

Durant played against some of the top talent in the country last year, and his lack of a chiseled frame didn't seem to cause any problems. He will get stronger as he gets older, but right now, I think his lack of weightlifting strength is non-factor. The guy has basketball strength. He has leverage, quickness, wingspan and height.

[Avenue Commons]

Oden wil be a very good NBA center----but not in the class of Shaq, Jabbar, Rusel, Olajowon, Chamberlin, or Duncan----tires easily----has a nice jump hook but will need moves to go along with it ala Shaq-----not quick as Shaq.

Durant meanwhile has a good chance of being another Kobe.

My choice is Durant----but think Oden will o #1!

Sleeper in this year's draft is Spencer Hawes----may be as productive as Oden after a few years in the NBA but as a PF----has more upside than Oden!

I'm with my main man, Murf, 100% on this one, and I hope my Bulls grab Hawes with the #9 pick.

[MilTown]

I don't know anything about Hawes, but it sounds like the Bulls will go with Hawes or Noah. I was down on Noah for a while, but I think he will fit in well with the Paxon/Skiles style. He may come across cocky, but he plays hard, and works hard, and is a winner who brings everything he has on the court. Outside shot is a problem, but with Gordon, Deng, and Hinrich, he won't have the opportunity to shoot anyway.

[mu03eng]

Everyone over looks the fact that Oden's legs are different fricking lengths.....I mean serious this is a big issue.  My brother had this problem and eventually had to have major sugery that required 10 months to recover from and 4 years later he really isn't over the thing.  What if the same happens to Oden???


Besides Durant is a 3....why does he need to bench press his body weight?

[Ready2Fly]

MilTown - agree with everything you said about Durant.

mu03eng - I never knew that about Oden's legs.  I'm shocked that hasn't been talked about more.

Murf - agree with you about Durant, disagree with you about Hawes.  I only saw him a couple of times, but he didn't seem all that he was cracked up to be.  And if he can't rebound as a 7 footer in college, what does that translate to in the NBA?  I think absolute best case scenario he'll be Rik Smits (not too shabby), worst case Bryant Reeves, most likely scenario hovering in a middle ground between Darko and Bogut. 

Oden's upside is Hakeem Olajuwon & downside is Dikembe Mutombo. Hawes' upside is Rik Smits and downside is Bryant Reeves.  0.000001% of the country believes Hawes has more upside than Oden, and I'm not even sure you really believe that.  And please do not lecture me that his coaches were just using him wrong, and that he'll be perfect in the wide post.

[muwarrior87]

Besides Durant is a 3....why does he need to bench press his body weight?
[/quote]

I only bring that up because the NBA is a very physical league. Durant can play a great college game, and a game that I love to watch a lot more than the NBA. But the NBA is a lot more physical.  People that cannot throw their weight around at least a little, either get hurt, or beat up constantly game after game.  You put Durant up against most 4's, which he is, and a lot of 3's, and he'll get beat up. Even if he's as quick as he is, he is going to get worn down if he does not get stronger.  He will be good, if not great, but he needs to be stronger and more physical if he wants to be great and have a long, successful career.

[Ready2Fly]

muwarrior87 - I agree with you that he will need to put at least some weight on.  I'm sure he agrees with that assessment too.  I'm also sure he'll do whatever it takes to get to the top of the league.  If that means he has to hit the weights hard, he'll do it.  Jordan's slight frame was a criticism at the beginning of his career, and he did everything necessary to make sure that would not hold him back.  Durant will do the same.

[mu03eng]

About Oden's health

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/basketball/320896_sonx22.html


As far as Durant's weight.  He is 19, hasn't grown into his body, and is as fierce a competitor as MJ.  If you saw the Texas-Kansas game you would have been just amazed, absolute assassin.  I agree that he will need to put on bulk but I think that will come with time.  I think the wearing down arguement is a little bit of a falsehood.  AI was hung with that when he was drafted and at 33 I don't see him wearing out.

[MilTown]

It's going to be interesting to watch tomorrow night. If it's my call, I'm going with Durant. He is going to be an electric player. I think ultimately he will go to Seattle. It will be good for Seattle as they will use him as a barganing chip in the stadium/relocation issue.

[77ncaachamps]

I picked Oden...but I fear in 5 seasons he'll be looking like Evan Almighty.

So, I say Durant: he's long, springy, and has a shot.

But the critics will point to their previous drafts (Outlaw, Webster) and say, "WHY DURANT?" So it's either Portland follows their last draft (Aldridge and Roy) and take the best available or just "fill a need" and tab Oden.

[jmayer1]

I would liken Oden a lot to Patrick Ewing when he came out of Georgetown; a real good defensive player but the offensive skills were lacking.  Eventually Ewing became very good at the offensive end and I think Oden has the ability to do that as well.  Also, anybody who says Spencer Hawes (a.k.a Robert Swift) has more upside than Greg Oden either doesn't know much about basketball or just trying to stir something up (I would say the second in Murf's case).

Durant is gonna be a superstar in the league.  He needs to gain more muscle to play the 3 in the NBA, which is definitely what I think he will play (not the 4).  It's not fair to compare anybody to Jordan, but Durant will be a lot like TMac I think.  He will not be as much of a banger as Garnett nor the defensive presence, but will be more of a scorer.

As for who I would take: I'm glad I'm not the GM for the Blazers so I don't have to make that choice.

[Phi Iota Gamma 84]

They are both Freshman and they both have upside.  I go Oden.  Texas athletes don't seem to pan out.