Prior to the Draft would any of the GM's ..

by Lenwen76 on Nov 28, 2009 1:21 PM PST Comment 14 comments

Would any of the GM's in the NBA have taken Durant ahead of Greg prior to the actual draft ?

I am tired of everyone trying to bust on Portland for taking Greg Oden first in the draft. So now I have it in my mind to try to find even just 1 GM that would have taken Durant in the top spot (out of the teams that had the shot to land the #1 Draft choice).

I understand thier only trying to troll/hate on portland but its to the point that I simply want to prove them all wrong.

So the question is .. out of the 5 teams that had a chance to land the #1 draft choice that year (07 NBA Draft)

5- Seattle

4- Memphis

3- Atlanta

2- Seattle

1- Portland.

Would have any of the top 5 GM's that year taken Durant over Oden ?

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I think every team would have taken Greg. The scouting report on Greg was so ridiculous, a GM would be fearful I think of losing his job for not taking Greg.

by dario argento on Nov 28, 2009 1:44 PM PST reply actions

simple answer

Numerically Blazers Edge is #25

by Outlaw is Rejector on Nov 28, 2009 1:51 PM PST reply actions

Everyone knew that Greg was gonna be a stud

It just takes longer for big men to develop than the wing players. Everyone knows Oden will become a defensive force at the very least, and it’s extremely nice to see him getting an offensive game down. I figure around the all-star break we’ll be even more impressed with Oden and finally people will stop calling him a BUST (although in all honesty I doubt it’ll ever stop). I don’t get where people get off on calling a guy a bust when he got injured for all of one year, then played an entire season that felt like it was less than 100% healthy. But who cares, we know what we got in Oden and everyone outside of the Blazer fans will find out soon enough. Like wise, everyone knew Durant was going to be a stud when it came to an offensive game. The guy is a great offensive player, but his defense is still suspect; and he’ll never be like a Batum or Prince at the defensive end of the ball. Plus Durant got helped out alot by going to a team with pretty much no one else to shoot the ball. I mean in all honesty if he went to Portland than people would probably be saying Greg Oden on the Sonics/Thunder was the better choice. If Durant went to the Blazers he’d be behind Roy and Aldridge at taking shots. Then his minutes would get cut into with Rudy Fernandez, Batum and Webster. So then people would be saying Durant was the bust.

by Oden_Favre_28 on Nov 28, 2009 2:03 PM PST reply actions

people call Oden a bust for the same reason they troll

just to get a reaction out of us. Everybody (even trolls and nay-sayers) knows that Oden is not a bust.

...and that's a good thing

by In Walks Rudy on Nov 28, 2009 2:31 PM PST up reply actions

I don't know yet.

The Faith don't panic, the faith freaks out, burns out farms, and torchs small villages in the name of The Faith.
Head Czar of Amerika <--- Mortimer said so so there!!!

by faith on Nov 28, 2009 2:07 PM PST reply actions

Oden_Favre_28.

I like that and that is exactly what I think as well .

by Lenwen76 on Nov 28, 2009 2:26 PM PST reply actions

Boston, if they would have succeeded trading into the top 2 (they offered Pierce)

In this case, they wouldn’t have moved Al Jefferson for KG, or the Sonics wouldn’t have moved Ray Allen for the #5. History would have unfolded a bit differently.

Ceterum censeo Lakers esse delendam

by Norsktroll on Nov 28, 2009 2:37 PM PST reply actions

ha oden was the right pick

As Chad Ford replied to Bill Simmons (who was obviously adamantly pro Durant):

If I was a sports columnist, I’d take Durant too. If I’m wrong, and Greg Oden is Tim Duncan, I crack a joke about it and move on. If Kevin Pritchard is wrong, he’s selling programs for the ABA Kansas City Knights.

You can’t pass on the big guy who could be the centerpiece of several championships over the next 10 years just because there’s a sexy wing scorer who might be pretty good. It’s no accident that Tim Duncan and Shaq each have four rings, or that Kobe got “his” ring after getting another premier big guy (Pau) for pennies on the dollar. Big guys are important and hard to get.

by atomiccafe on Nov 28, 2009 2:42 PM PST reply actions

82 games can't prove

defense objectively anymore than anyone else can. no statistician has ever even claimed they could do this. there are stats that show trends but they can’t definitively say that someone is the worst on ball defender in the league.

also i’m curious how you think 82 games proves this. if you look at opposing PER at SF Durant’s stats look quite good this year – likely much better than he deserves to be given credit for. his on / off court stats this year also seem to favor him being on the floor rather than off.

82 games would also argue that brandon roy is a net negative for the Blazers. do you think that’s true? i don’t. advanced statistics are another way to measure things but they are not the end all be all of evaluating talent.

by colinmarsh on Nov 28, 2009 4:14 PM PST reply actions

his biggest struggle continues to be picking up fouls – colinmarsh

With out a doubt that is his biggest problem, but if you can not honestly see the difference in the way he used to play at the beggining of the season to the last few games ..

Honestly I feel that I absolutly have to ask you .. have you not been paying attention to the games ?

by Lenwen76 on Nov 28, 2009 4:34 PM PST reply actions

however, you said "I know Oden is not one of the best Centers as it is right now. But that is more due to Nate pushing Oden’s development slowly .. and not running plays for the big fella."

this sort of absolves Oden of all responsibility for his fouling problems and puts them all on Nate. – colinmarsh

Lets be honest, Even when Portland is winning the games .. and Oden is not in foul trouble .. Nate still rarely plays him more then 27 ish minutes.

Do you agree or not agree with this ?

by Lenwen76 on Nov 28, 2009 4:54 PM PST reply actions