Would the Blazers take Durant over Oden if they could reverse history?

Most likely.

Kevin Durant has become one special player... Oden hasn't had enough time to prove himself since he hasn't even seen a lot of playing time..

 

I said from the beginning that Durant is something special, and Oden was overrated.

K-Dizz is the type of pure scorer you find once every 5 years, and his 3 point shooting percentage this season has been great. He has also become a much better rebounder.

 

I'd question their sanity if they wouldn't.

I understand they needed a big and all that. It doesn't matter in this case.

 

both very good, but durant.

 

Oden is Raw, just because you're big and athletic doesn't mean you're going to be a great player.

Durant is all about SKILL, thats it, I would take the skilled player over the one based on prospect, Durant could help the Blazers way more, Pryzbilla does better what Oden is supposed to do.

 

A definite yes. The small forward position is by far the Blazers' weakest link, and Joel Prizbilla is a serviceable center when Oden is out. A combo of Brandon Roy and Kevin Durant at the wings? With Fernadez coming off the bench? That's a scaring thought.

 

Yes, one of their weakest positions if they have any, is the small forward position. They already have a great defensive post center in Joel Pryzbilla, He's a very good post defender too. He usually gives Yao, Duncan, the elite post guys group trouble. He is extremely underrated as a player too, It's almost like he's a taller version of Chuck Hayes which is scary.

Russell Westbrook, Jeff Green and Greg Oden wouldn't be that bad to be honest either. What the Thunder are missing is an interior big man who can defend the paint and score in the paint. They really should have taken Tyson Chandler in my opinion. Because if they did, they probably would have had a chance to make the playoffs next year and for years to come.

Pretty good thread though, interesting thought too.

 

Actually, from the very beginning, there were a truckload of KD doubters on this forum. Only a few of us thought he would be special. He was referred to as "a joke" during his rookie season and many here just thought he would be nothing more than an inefficient volume shooter. Most didn't consider his age, the fact he had a true "joke" as a head coach and that the last 2 months of his rookie KD shot over 50%.

Even earlier this season, several still took shots at him. Where are the doubters now?

It's still too early to judge Oden. He's shown me enough this year that he will be a very good player IF he stays healthy. But he's gotta stay on the floor.

 

20+ years ago the Blazers selected Sam Bowie over michael jordan because they already had a great scorer in C.Drexler
2 years ago the Blazers selected Oden over Durant because they already had a great scorer in Brandom Roy.
If history would have to repeat itself, 10 years later the Rockets will trade for Roy and win 2 championships!

 

Oden just looks like a bust waiting to happen. He's 20 years old but looks 40 and is the very definition of "injury-prone". I know here in the Portland a lot of people are already down on him and despite of the Blazers' success this year there is already whisper about what it could have been if they took Durant.

 

you might be on to something here.

 

Disagree with most here. This is Oden's 1st NBA season. He's putting pretty solid numbers for a rookie playing 23 minutes with good FG %. Durant's rookie season wasn't that great. Oden will pan out in the future.

 

Agree and let us not forget he's coming off a major surgery! It took Amare almost 2 years to return to full form and he already had previous NBA experience.

 

Rookie of the Year award generally means a great rookie season. People still have thoughts of Durant from last years summer league chucking away to terrible results, and it carried on into the season. Though he got much better as the year went. And Durant almost was LEGITIMATELY selected to the Olympic team.

Not even near gonna write off Oden of course. But for SURE you take Durant over Oden, as I'm thinking the Blazers also would do now themselves.

 

I think Durant is going to be a very good offensive player in the NBA for a long time. But I'm not sure yet if he'll just be a great stats collector on bad teams, or if he'll actually develop into a leader on a playoff contender.

The really special players usually make an impact on the win totals early in their career. Look at the team improvement for Wade, LeBron, Paul, etc. I know the Sonics/Thunder were rebuilding when they brought in Durant, but they should have improved this year. Durant's individual numbers look great, but again the really great players made their team better even at a young age. I'm not sure that can be said about him yet.

As for Portland, they've got Brandon Roy, and a number of talented wing players on their team. Assuming Oden eventually develops into close to what we projected him to be (great defensive force and rebounder, very good low post scorer), then he's the right choice.

 

if durant continues to score like he is... then teams will start to double team him and stuff. thus allowing him the opportunity to make his teammates better.
look at the other young guys he plays with they are all doing good too. that team was absolutely CRAP when he was drafted. I think the thunder will improve a lot next year, especially with top west teams starting to fall off.

i was in the Durant camp because he just has the touch. But thought Blazers made the right choice at the time. they had Roy and Outlaw was showing signs of good development and Aldridge is a jump shooter so they wanted a banger.

 

I don't think they regret taking Oden but I also think if you presented Portland with the option to simply trade the two right now they would take Durant. You almost have to.

 

Oden = Bowie