Oden or Durant?

The draft is scheduled for tonight. The question remains, who will go number one? Durant is a kid with some talent, and will undoubtedly be a strong player in the league for years to come. But I can not see anyone justifying passing on Oden in the one slot.

What say you?

Is Oden the undisputed first overall pick in this year's NBA Entry Draft?

Yes, Oden is dead-bang 100% guarantee for sure without a doubt the number one pick. Carve it in stone and take it to the bank. And whatever other superlatives and analogies and metaphors can be generated to signify no doubt.

That's how sure I am.

Odds are good that that is the way it'll go...but...the Trailblazers absolutely loved Durants workouts.

Seattle loves Oden, so it would be a good thing if it worked out that way...

Seattle will get Durant, and that's not a bad thing. Durant is one of those Monster talents that come around very infrequently. But no GM in the NBA will pass on a center with the up side of a Greg Oden.

Oden's got the skills and size and maybe more importantly, the attitude that will make him a force in the NBA for years to come.

Barring injury.

I think the same about Durant. But when you can get a true center with those skills, you take him. Period.

Oh I agree, Portland has had fairly good luck with its big men in the past. A fella named Bill Walton (boooooo), and Arvidas Sabonis. Couple of big guys to build around, if Oden is half as good as those two were in their prime, he'll be pretty good, IMHO. Given Portlands history of stupid drafts, who knows what they'll do?

Kevin Durant, think a bigger Julius Erving with a smattering of Scotty Pippen. Seattle could do far worse is true.

By all accounts, and what I've seen, Durant "seems" like a good guy. I've watched Oden for several years, since I'm in Indy. I KNOW Oden's a good guy. Attitude wise and overall.

You know how nobody really wants to play with Kobe, and LeBron's become the consummate professional teammate? That's Oden, in a nutshell (meaning "LeBron-like"). The only question is can he hold up physically. Think of Walton with his foot issues, Danny Manning, many others. I have no reason to think Oden has any physical "issues" but with a guy that size, especially when he hasn't hit physical maturity yet, you just never know.

The only thing that will prevent Oden from being a perennial all-star and dominant player for years to come is some unforseen physical problem. He won't be a head case and will be a fan favorite.

And he's going #1 to Portland.

Guaranteed.

The only thing that worries me about Durant is that he's so frail. I don't care how skilled he is, he's gonna get blasted. As a result he's going to turn into more of an outside shooter because he won't want to go inside.

Definitely Oden #1.

Here's heaux-ping that the Rockets get "Big Baby" at 26. "Heaux-ping"....get it? No? Nevermind.

Peace

Originally posted by yeahright
I have no reason to think Oden has any physical "issues" but with a guy that size, especially when he hasn't hit physical maturity yet, you just never know.

He does have one physical issue (other than looking like Timothy from The Cay) and that is that one of his legs is significantly shorter than the other.

Some doubters say that will translate into back issues sooner or later.

That said, if I'm Portland's GM...Oden is a Blazer.

Originally posted by Dr Love
The only thing that worries me about Durant is that he's so frail.

I would have said that same thing a few years ago...well wait...I did say that same thing a few years ago but I was talking about Tayshaun Prince...and a few years before that I said the same thing about Rip Hamilton.

I'm learning my lesson this time. Durant will be INVINCIBLE!!

BUT Es.........Tayshaun's not counted on to score and Rip's mainly an outside shooter, and a damn good one at that.

I'm not saying Durant will be a bust by any stretch of the imagination, I just think he's going to have some serious struggles driving to the basket which is a big part of his game.

Peace

Originally posted by Essedarius

He does have one physical issue (other than looking like Timothy from The Cay) and that is that one of his legs is significantly shorter than the other.

Ohh I knew someone was going to play the Leg Card. If one is significantly shorter than the other, that means one is significantly longer than the other.

So it all balances out.

Exactly, what if the longer leg is his pivot leg for the turnaround jumper. Could be better than the "Dream Shake".

Peace

Well, no surprises here. Oden went #1.

I agree with Dr Love. Durant is going to be frail at the best of times, and will be incapable of penetrating to the rim. He'll be forced to shoot from the outside time and time again, and probably run the risk of injury if trying to force it too much.

Hopefully Oden is another Tim Duncan, and not the latest Michael Olowokandi.

I think Duncan and Oden are a fair comparison, in terms of types. No frills, solid fundamentals, bring the lunch pail and go to work. Duncan had 4 years of college, which I think helped him out. Oden's still very much a kid, despite his physical appearance.

He's got his head on right and I'm sure he won't develop an attitude problem. Let's not forget, he didn't even play a full season last year due to a right wrist injury (he's right handed) and never had 100% use of his right hand last season.

He shot free throws all year left handed.

His highs chool and college teammate and friend, Mike Conley Jr, went #4, to Memphis. Pretty amazing.

The last Indianapolis high school product to go #1 in the NBA draft was Oscar Robertson.

Durants what, 19 yrs. old? He's not even remotely done growing. I would venture to guess he'll be 6'10" and around 240-250, hardly fits the descriptive of frail.

This year, yeah, he'll take a bangin'...but a year of NBA weight rooms, he'll be fine.

I'm sticking to my guns on this one.

Next to Tayshaun Prince, Durant looks like a WWE superstar.

And Tayshaun has been going to the rack with authority since he came out of Kentucky. And every time he does it you just go..."What the hell?" because it looks like the RIM is thicker than his biceps.

Durant will fill out, sure. But I don't see him as an injury risk.

(The much bigger problem in Seattle is what the HELL we're going to do with all our 2/3/4 combo players!!??!)

Couple or 3 years ago, Eastern Conference finals. Pacers look like they could - go - all - the - way.

Game winding down, Pacers in command. Reggie on a breakaway layup goes all lackadasical. Tayshaun comes OUTTA NOWHERE off the wing and slaps it away.

Good night, Pacers. Game, set, match.

Seattle's GM ought to call Bird. We'd love to dump Jermaine. And given the Pacers ability at personnel moves lately, we'd probably take whatever you've got to unload and some expired Quizno's coupons in return.

What's the feeling on JO there in Indy?

I feel like I haven't seen him play HARD in a long time.
Is it injuries? Attitude?

Until I get some answers, I'm holding on to my Quiznos coupons, expired or not.

The general concensus amongst those in the know (me and 3 buddies) is he's an overpaid stiff. Good practice player (supposedly) but disappears against formidable competition. He does ok against the Eastern Conference creampuffs, but isn't "The Guy" he's paid to be. Not a first option player, but would be serviceable on a team where he wasn't the focal point.

We'd dump him in a heartbeat. After the Artest Debacle and the Steve Jackson Strip Club Incident, this franchise is on a road to nowhere anyway. We can be mediocre without paying JO 20 mil per.

It's unfortunate about Jermaine O'Neal because he's extremely talented. He really doesn't have too much talent surrounding him though. I think a lot of these guys try to play their way off of teams. I think that's what he's doing. Just my opinion.

We'd love to have him in H-Town next to Yao. Ahhh....the days of the "Twin Towers"!

Peace

I would of preferred to see Oden go back to Ohio State. When I had heard he entered the draft, I was actually very disappointed. He may have went number one, but I still think it would of done him better to go back to college for one more year.

Thoughts?