Well at least that is what happened in my basketball draft a couple days ago. And was the right choice.
But that got me to thinking about some arguments with the pops about the same topic. The 2007 NBA Draft; when Greg Oden went first overall to Portland and Kevin Durant was picked by the, then Seattle Supersonics at #2.
And this is why it was the right way to go although it hasn’t turned out that way, just yet.
There is no doubting that Oden was an absolute beast in college. He only averaged a little more than 15 points, and 12 boards a game but he had the ‘Shaq’ effect going for him. And still does. He can block shots, rebound and get people talking about his freethrow shooting. Not to mention he’s one of the truly funny people there is. (case in point: the ESPYs) He led his Ohio State team to the finals and only fell to Florida in the end.
Kevin Durant was the Naismith Player of the Year, which is a feat for anybody but a big time accomplishment for a freshman. He averaged 25 ppg and 11 rebounds on a very young Longhorn team. He was on in primetime many more times which showcased his talents. But they lost in the 2nd round of the tournament. And the next year, Michael Beasley came in the Big XII and eclipsed all his stats and we see what has he done in the league?
And what Portland needed wasn’t as important as what they didn’t need that year. Brandon Roy was one of the up-and-coming superstars of the league. He’s one of the youngest second tier scorers in the league. And he didn’t some kid coming in and taking all of his touches. Not to mention Outlaw and Alridge (who is still one of the most underrated players in the league) are young and fit the same mold as Durant.
Who was to know Durant was going to turn out like he did? Nobody. But I hope he averaged 35 PPG, 10 RPG and 8 APG and I take home the glory of ‘Fantasy League Champion’.
There was ONE person that KNEW that Durant would turn out like this - oh yes, the wise one knew!!
ReplyDeleteYou make some good points about the situation in Portland at the time that Durant and Oden were drafted, but Durant would still have been worth the changes that would have had to have been made to adjust the team. And, Oden was not the same commodity that Shaq was in 1992.
The thing that we couldn't predict was how much Oden was going to struggle with his health, etc. That was just unfortunate for him and the Trailblazers.