With all the hullabaloo (yes, I said hullabaloo) over Greg Oden in the draft, it was interesting to see Gilbert Arenas' take on it. He says they should nab Kevin Durant. http://www.nba.com/blog/gilbert_arenas.html
portland should exchange picks with seatle. then portland could get another pick, or a future pick. seatly picks oden, cause they need a lowpost scoring, and then portland can pick durant.
Neith Randolph or Aldridge are the defensive force Oden will be. I still think they should draft Oden. They already have Roy in the backcourt.
Gilbert has a little bit of bias since durant is from the DC area. Durant is an even bigger legend in DC than he is in Texas.
Gilbert has no idea there are things that are done when you don't have the ball. Portland would be idiots for passing on Oden.
I wouldn't say that, Durant is still a stud that can play both sides of the ball and damn near impossible to defend. The kid is 6'10" with handles and a jumpshot. He is Dirk with better handles and post moves.
I think so too. I think for Portland Durant is every bit as good a pick as Oden. For Seattle, Oden is much more desirable. I see no conflict with Durant and Roy--in fact I think they would be a great compliment.
Also, does anyone else remember the last time Portland passed up a phenom and instead drafted for need? They got a big man.
oden for portland makes the most sense. seattle can land durrant to replace shard who just opted out.
Gilbert is smoking that doobie.. The obvious choice is draft Oden and trade Randolph. Build a team with Roy/Aldridge/Oden as their core. Randolph is the odd man out.
Oden will be a solid 15-10 guy in the NBA. But Kevin Durant is a once-in a lifetime player, ala TMac, KG, Dirk. Drafting for size over talent is dangerous. I agree with Arenas completely.
I was young at the time, but from what I understand people were bashing Portland AT THE TIME for taking Bowie ahead of Jordan. No one is going to bash anyone for taking Oden or Durant so it's not even a close comparison IMO. The better comparison would be if Oden was taken by Portland and Seattle took someone other than Durant because they wanted a different position. That's not going to happen, but that seems like a better comparison to me.
If the Blazers are adamant about picking Oden #1, shouldn't they at least entertain some offers for Aldridge? Here's a crazy idea: Aldridge Miles To Sacramento for Brad Miller #10 pick If that pick can net the Blazers Brewer, Noah, Jianlian or Julian Wright. Why is this sane for the Blazers: 1. They cut off their cancer (Miles) and never have to hear from him ever again. 2. They move a player that, although has enough talent to be a pretty damn good center, would be redundant if they pick Oden. 3. Get back a serviceable center. His contract is lengthy (3 more years) but would be a great back up for Oden and could be their offensive player at the 5 spot. 4. That #10 pick can get them the SF they still need. BBrewer, Noah, Jianlian or Julian Wright...one of them should be around at this time. Any one of these guys would be great for them at the SF spot. Why is this sane for the Kings: 1. New coach needs to have some new players he can develop. I don't know who they are going to have as their coach, but I can think of worse situations to be in. Aldridge, Martin, Garcia, and Bibby? That's not that bad of a team at all. 2. They get a center that they can groom and develop. Aldridge will have a bit more freedom to play without having to worry about Oden. 3. Maybe Artest and Miles will go crazy and knock some sense into eachother. Blazers: C: Oden PF: Randolph SF: Udoka (or Brewer or Noah or JW or Jianlian...) SG: Roy PG: Jack Kings C: Aldridge PF: SAR or Thomas SF: Artest SG: Martin PG: Bibby
They'd be better off trying to dump Zach Randolph to a team like the Knicks. Not to be a homer, but LaMarcus played really well the last couple of months of the season. If the Blazers do get Oden, they should pair him with Aldridge.
Oden has a weak offensive game. It's raw an undeveloped. Not saying that he can't get better but lets be realistic here. He's new and full of athletic potential but everybody knows that does not automatically convert to NBA Legend. Wilcox on the Supersonics was full of potential too but he's not all that. Oden will have to improve his offensive game to be a force. He may do that or he might not be able to do that. It remains to be seen. He could turn out to be Sam Bowie or another Dwight Howard. Who knows.
There's no way Portland would do this. Lamarcus was a top 2 pick last year and played extremely well, getting better as the year went on. He has great athleticism, skill, and a jumpshot. He is not redundant with Oden, they would be the new twin towers. And one that might actually stay together unlike Robinson-Duncan and Hakeem-Sampson. Think about this: Shane Battier was traded for a #8 pick, you don't think Aldridge could net more than #10 and an unathletic center who's past his prime?
I don't remember it that way. Bowie was a very gifted center who was plagued by injuries. MJ was a 15 PPG player who just exploded when he got into the NBA. He exceed expectations.
