Hindsight is 20/20, but imagine if Portland had drafted Kevin Durant?

[doublejs07]

Kid COULD average close to, or over 30ppg in the near future. Dude is nowhere close to scratching his potential, and won't be 21 until right before thestart of the 09-10' season. On the flip, Portland has Greg Oden. Who, by some accounts has had his desire for the game of basketball questioned. IMO,Oden has had some unfair comparisons to some NBA legends that goes back to when he was in high school. The expectations were ridiculous. A Portland lineupfeaturing B.Roy, and Durant would have been something special in due time. Portland is a fun team to watch, and they are going to be a perennial power in theWest for a long time. However, I think they could have been even better had they taken Durant over Oden in the 08' draft.

 

[n3ff 3000]

Yeh I didn't realize how well Durant was playing this year...42% from 3....But I think to be fair we should give Oden some time to develop, although theguy cant stay healthy for ++%$

. IF he does stay healthy and develop into the player he was hyped up to be that team will be a PROBLEM.

 

[doublejs07]

Originally Posted by N3FF 3000

Yeh I didn't realize how well Durant was playing this year...42% from 3....But I think to be fair we should give Oden some time to develop, although the guy cant stay healthy for ++%$

. IF he does stay healthy and develop into the player he was hyped up to be that team will be a PROBLEM.

Yeah...I totally see your point. Oden does need time to develop, but people were calling him NBA ready since he was in 11th grade. In looking atthe #'s Sam Bowie outproduced Oden in their 1st year....health became an issue for Bowie (Oden's health has been a problem also), and the rest ishistory...obviously Oden still has a lot of time to figure out his game, but if Durant becomes a bonafide superstar and Oden kinda goes through the motions,this may be one of the more epic busts in league history.

 

[yungmatt]

Durant
Roy
Aldridge
=
A Problem for the NBA

 

[n3ff 3000]

Originally Posted by DoubleJs07

Originally Posted by N3FF 3000

Yeh I didn't realize how well Durant was playing this year...42% from 3....But I think to be fair we should give Oden some time to develop, although the guy cant stay healthy for ++%$

. IF he does stay healthy and develop into the player he was hyped up to be that team will be a PROBLEM.

Yeah...I totally see your point. Oden does need time to develop, but people were calling him NBA ready since he was in 11th grade. In looking at the #'s Sam Bowie outproduced Oden in their 1st year....health became an issue for Bowie (Oden's health has been a problem also), and the rest is history...obviously Oden still has a lot of time to figure out his game, but if Durant becomes a bonafide superstar and Oden kinda goes through the motions, this may be one of the more epic busts in league history.

Yeh but Bowie gets crapped on even harder because of who went directly after him

I mean obviously he was a bust, but due to the fact MJ went right afterhim he's basically the guy you think of when you think of busts...and Ryan Leaf of course

 

[the yes guy]

I don't really see Portland ever benefiting from Greg Oden. He just doesn't strike me as a game changer, and they have good big men besides him. ButDurant on that team, with other scoring options...

 

[pacmagic2002]

Who was the gm when the chargers drafted Leaf????

 

[pokeyneil30]

^bobby bethard

 

[lamarownsem]

Portland needed a center more than another wing player.

 

[disgruntled 2]

Originally Posted by LamarOwnsem

Portland needed a center more than another wing player.

QFT. During the draft, there was no doubt that KD was gonna be an incredible scorer, but Portland needed a center and I think Oden is a good fit. You can finda Kevin Durant almost every two years, and youd be lucky to find a Greg Oden every 10(maybe im reaching with this).

 

[i nasmatic i]

It's a shame Kevin Durant has to essentially be the most productive player in the league to even warrant a discussion.

 

[lnmymind]

Originally Posted by Jay Gutta

Originally Posted by LamarOwnsem

Portland needed a center more than another wing player.

You can find a Kevin Durant almost every two years, and youd be lucky to find a Greg Oden every 10(maybe im reaching with this).

People are still saying this after what we've seen?

 

[long beach vincey]

Originally Posted by lnMyMind

Originally Posted by Jay Gutta

Originally Posted by LamarOwnsem

Portland needed a center more than another wing player.

You can find a Kevin Durant almost every two years, and youd be lucky to find a Greg Oden every 10(maybe im reaching with this).

People are still saying this after what we've seen?

I agree. Not even so much that we haven't seen Oden, but from what we have seen of Durant.

Glad I'm not a Portland fan, I'd be sick to my stomach every day.

 

[high class scum bag]

Oden is a bum. We could've drafted durant and got brooke lopez in the 08 draft.

pryzbilla is just fine at center. I've watched nearly every blazers game this season and oden is going to take a while to develop.

He needs to lose weight, improve his footwork and develop a post move.

QFT. During the draft, there was no doubt that KD was gonna be an incredible scorer, but Portland needed a center and I think Oden is a good fit. You can find a Kevin Durant almost every two years, and youd be lucky to find a Greg Oden every 10(maybe im reaching with this).


do you watch basketball or do you just skim through channels?

 

[kobe8is]

imagine if Portland had drafted Kevin Durant?

No thanks!!!!!

 

[651akathepaul]

I don't know. He might've just been another young star potential face lost in the crowd, or putting up mediocre numbers. No way with all that talentwould he be as productive as he is with the Thunder. ANd if he was as productive, then he's taken it away from Roy or someone else.

 

[vctry20]

playing devils advocate:

what if Portland traded the pick to Minnesota for Garnett?

 

[vctry20]

Originally Posted by Jay Gutta

Originally Posted by LamarOwnsem

Portland needed a center more than another wing player.

QFT. During the draft, there was no doubt that KD was gonna be an incredible scorer, but Portland needed a center and I think Oden is a good fit. You can find a Kevin Durant almost every two years, and youd be lucky to find a Greg Oden every 10(maybe im reaching with this).

What had Oden done besides being tall as %%@@? I dont see him as one of those guys who comes around every ten years unless we're talking about freaks ofnature.

 

[blaxoid]

This is of course a fair point to make now, but I think it's also fair to say that Durant would have developed slower in the Portland system. On thattrashy team he's on now he's had the green light and that has definitely helped him adapt - in Portland there were stars ahead of him (BRoy/Aldridge).I think he would still be good, but not nearly as good as he is now on the Thunder.

Either way, I'm gonna give the argument maybe another 2 years, then we'll see, but Durant is playing great right now!

 

[frontrunner4life]

Originally Posted by DoubleJs07

Dude is nowhere close to scratching his potential

• Pts 23.9
• Reb 6.2
• Ast 2.4

nowhere close to scratching his potential? Is he gonna avg a triple double?

 

[430AM]

If Durant played for the Blazers he would get no where near as many touches on offense as he does on the Thunder.

 

[jonfarr]

Originally Posted by LamarOwnsem

Portland needed a center more than another wing player.

 

[vctry20]

Portland fans will take it to the grave, theyll never admit it

 

[mw2889]

^Exactly what I was thinking, hes not going to get much better than he already is.

 

[jdmfanatic]

Originally Posted by High Class Scum Bag

Oden is a bum. We could've drafted durant and got brooke lopez in the 08 draft.

pryzbilla is just fine at center. I've watched nearly every blazers game this season and oden is going to take a while to develop.

He needs to lose weight, improve his footwork and develop a post move.

QFT. During the draft, there was no doubt that KD was gonna be an incredible scorer, but Portland needed a center and I think Oden is a good fit. You can find a Kevin Durant almost every two years, and youd be lucky to find a Greg Oden every 10(maybe im reaching with this).

do you watch basketball or do you just skim through channels?

vctry20

There's one that admits it, what are you talking about?