In my mind, BY FAR  the most important consideration when choosing between Oden and Durant is:  which might be the least likely to sustain a serious, career shortening injury?  Such an injury would be devastating to all the hopes and aspirations we Blazers fans have been entertaining.   However, lacking dependable crystal balls, tea leaves or Jean Dixon, is there a somewhat objective method that can be used to hazard an educated guess?

Don't know for sure, but I'd wager K.P. and his team have/are expending considerable time assesing this critical aspect.  How many and what type of injuries have these players suffered in the past during their short college careers?  During  high school,  middle school and on down?   Have tendonitis, knee soreness and stiffness been occasional problems?.  How was Oden's hand injury sustained?   How normal are their feet,  leg and body structure (remember that Walton had such horribly high arches that one coach stated  how God had played a very cruel joke on him by giving so talented a player such bad feet).    

If there were only one of these franchise player's available to us, we'd maybe be more likely to just make the pick and  dismiss such an evaluation.   But since we have two to choose from, I'd think we'd be determined to make every attempt at evaluating their 'injury potential' down to the nth degree (all the while realizing such an evaluation would be  far from an exact science).  Still, if the call is close between the two, I would certainly think it  should be one of the critical factors.  

As an aside - but certainly related - am I the only one who is somewhat concerned that Oden requires so much sleep?  According to an Ohio newspaper article, he needs/chooses to take very frequent naps, which often preclude normal activities.  It's probably  a positive thing that he's responsible enough not to ignore his body's demands for sleep. And maybe it's not a concern; after all, he's still a teenager and teenagers tend to sleep a lot.  But, could this need for an unusual amount of  sleep be indicative of an energy problem?  If an energy deficiency were real, would it affect his ability to bring a high charged, enthusiastic  effort to every game during  the long  NBA 82 game schedule?

Know what though?  I'm not worried.  I suspect K.P. and his guys are not leaving this particular stone unturned.  

Is there anyone else out there who thinks this should be an important consideration, or are  you instead wanting to just pick the guy who has the potential to help us the most and let the cards fall as they may injury wise?