We are not typing about HYPE here. Yes Lebron was HYPED beyond any athlete ever. But that was the result of his media machine which put him on ESPN for high school games. I was talking about skill set and pure raw talent. Scouts would still put Greg Oden ahead of Lebron in my opinion even teams would have him ranked higher. It's the same reason Hakeem went ahead of Jordan back in the day. Again Ewing was HYPED because of the NY media when the Knicks had the 1st pick. Shaq to me was probably the most complete center prospect ever. See in the era of Wilt there wasn't this kind of scrutiny on player scouting and watching ever single tape and hiring dozens of scouts. I still believe a team will go for a center like Oden over a wingman like Lebron almost every time. Lebron is pure HYPE and Oden is RARE in the history basketball.
i agree on the Oden part and that has been my philosophy as well. But LeBron was not just HYPE; he didn't have a NY media hyping him up, the whole nation hyped him up. He had all that hype because of the unreal amount of talent he had in HS. It is a fair argument, who would go first if they were in the same draft, LeBron or Oden? I understand the rare center thing, but I don't think there has ever been a wing prospect, or a prospect in general, ever as hyped up as LeBron, thus I think he would go ahead of Oden. I mean some teams are "considering" Durant over Oden...if some teams are doing that, imagine how many would consider LeBron over Oden. Durant's got a sweet jumper though lol.
I think Lebron getting some much hype was because he was the clear cut favorite. I mean there was nobody close to him in the draft. Darko Milicic - was unknown at the time and nobody thought we would go second to Lebron. Carmelo Anthony - He had a big NCAA tournament and but people still doubted that he could carry it over to the next level. Dwayne Wade - The steal of the draft but he was again not that polished and relied too much on his explosive 1st step. Lacked mid range game and scouts thought he was undersized a wingman trapped in a pg type body. All these factors made Lebron that much more appealing. If Kevin Durant was alone in this year's draft then he would probably get the same hype. I think we can both agree Oden may not be the better player compared to Lebron or Durant but again in terms of prospects Oden is too good to give up and so if all 3 were in the draft they would go like Oden, Lebron and Durant. All 30 teams would take Oden 1st but some teams might switch Lebron and Durant as they are very similar and interchangeable. Centers are the most the valuable commodity in the league.
I have to disagree here. Lebron didn't start getting hyped up right before the draft. He was on the cover of SI as a HS junior. Lebron is the bigger prospect by far. And you compared him to Kobe in an earlier post. Kobe wasn't even close as he lasted until the double digits in the draft.
Suns will never win a championship or even go to the Finals! Their best chance was in 05 with joe johnson and quitten richardson. Its all down hill from here! Suns = Kings
People I am amazed how soon this turned into "Who is the next MJ?" contest. I thought we were just talking about DRAFT PROSPECTS. No one was debating LBJ's future or how good he is. All I was trying to say is that if you put Lebron and Greg Oden in the same draft as PROSPECTS then it is my opinion that Oden goes off the board first no matter who is drafting. People is that so hard to understand without turning this into a pissing contest?
Carmelo PROVED it against College talent while Lebron was dominating kids Rocket River that was my take. . . i guess i was wrong
lol after reading this article I might agree and digress, but it's one hell of a toss up imo. http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/draf...tory?columnist=ford_chad&page=DraftWatch-Oden
As long as the Rox aren't winning the championship, I hope King James wins 8 titles, but here is something I read a few days ago that makes sense and stopped me from making the "MJ comparison." If you want to check out the entry its referring to, its the one dated May 18, 2007 "What, exactly, did MJ teach us" http://myespn.go.com/nba/truehoop
I don't think they will dump Kurt Thomas. He is their only legitimate defender in the paint. If you have read the Suns boards lately, Amare has scored a bunch of points in the playoff but he is being bashed left and right by the Suns fans for being a liability in defense. They will let Kurt Thomas go only if they can get another low post defender.
I was with you too. Not that Melo is a bad player. He is still close to a top 10 player in the league. This Suns team is built better for the playoffs. With Bell and Thomas (along with Marion) they have much better defense. The Suns were very close to beating SA and probably winning the title. Had Amare or Diaw kept their butts on the bench or had Barbosa not got worked into a funk where he misses his normal shots--the Suns probably win. They were not that close before even with Johnson. How about some trades: Marion + Thomas + their 3 first rounders for KG (probably 4/5, 24, 29) Minny could then look to dump Marion for picks and expiring contracts. OR Amare + Diaw + pick 24 for KG or this one with Minnesotta getting all 1st round picks from both teams plus another from us down the line...I think we could sub Snyder for VS is that is what Minny wanted, 1 less contract year Phoenix Trade Breakdown Outgoing Shawn Marion 6-7 PF from UNLV 17.5 ppg, 9.8 rpg, 1.7 apg in 37.6 minutes Kurt Thomas 6-9 C from Texas Christian 4.6 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 0.4 apg in 18.1 minutes Marcus Banks 6-2 PG from UNLV 4.9 ppg, 0.8 rpg, 1.3 apg in 11.1 minutes Incoming Rafer Alston 6-2 PG from Frenso State 13.3 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 5.4 apg in 37.0 minutes Kevin Garnett 6-11 PF from Farragut Academy (HS) 22.4 ppg, 12.8 rpg, 4.1 apg in 39.5 minutes Change in team outlook: +8.7 ppg, -0.1 rpg, and +6.1 apg. Houston Trade Breakdown Outgoing Shane Battier 6-8 SF from Duke 10.1 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 2.1 apg in 36.5 minutes Rafer Alston 6-2 PG from Frenso State 13.3 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 5.4 apg in 37.0 minutes Bob Sura 6-5 from Florida State No games yet played in 2006/07 Vassilis Spanoulis 6-3 PG from Greece (Foreign) 2.7 ppg, 0.7 rpg, 0.9 apg in 8.7 minutes Incoming Shawn Marion 6-7 PF from UNLV 17.5 ppg, 9.8 rpg, 1.7 apg in 37.6 minutes Marcus Banks 6-2 PG from UNLV 4.9 ppg, 0.8 rpg, 1.3 apg in 11.1 minutes Change in team outlook: -3.7 ppg, +2.4 rpg, and -5.4 apg. Minnesota Trade Breakdown Outgoing Kevin Garnett 6-11 PF from Farragut Academy (HS) 22.4 ppg, 12.8 rpg, 4.1 apg in 39.5 minutes Incoming Kurt Thomas 6-9 C from Texas Christian 4.6 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 0.4 apg in 18.1 minutes Shane Battier 6-8 SF from Duke 10.1 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 2.1 apg in 36.5 minutes Bob Sura 6-5 from Florida State No games yet played in 2006/07 Vassilis Spanoulis 6-3 PG from Greece (Foreign) 2.7 ppg, 0.7 rpg, 0.9 apg in 8.7 minutes Change in team outlook: -5.0 ppg, -2.3 rpg, and -0.7 apg. Successful Scenario Due to Phoenix, Houston, and Minnesota being over the cap, the 25% trade rule is invoked. Phoenix, Houston, and Minnesota had to be no more than 125% plus $100,000 of the salary given out for the trade to be accepted, which did happen here. This trade satisfies the provisions of the Collective Bargaining Agreement. [/b] Phx gets KG and upgrades the back-up 1 (Banks for Alston) for Marion, Thomas (expiring contract) Houston gets Marion and takes on Banks for Battier, Alston and mostly expiring contracts and picks. Minny gets Battier + mostly expiring contracts (Thomas, Sura, etc) and gains five 1st round picks (4 this year, 1 future one from us). Minny this year would have probably the 4th pick (Phx/Atl), 7th pick (own), 24 (Phx/Cle), 26 (Hou), 29 (Phx), 41 (own) for this deep draft. Lots of talent to build on (could try to land Oden/Durant via trade of 4 + 7, or just stand pat) and be in great cap shape for 08/09 and thereafter.
'Simple' ... offer Phoenix Sura and Juwann for Banks and Diaw and Atlanta's #5 (if that is the one) and voila, Suns' lux tax problems end and the Rox are on the precipice.
