Just how long have we been though this rebuilding mode now? 6-7 maybe 8 years now? We have to keep building though the draft though guys this isn't a quick fix.
Ya because the Blazers didn't draft smart. So what makes you think they will now? Anybody can be the GM but they still have got to go though Paul Allen.
Blazers didn't draft smart? Or Oden/Roy injuries and Nate being a horrible coach, to guide a contender? I'd say we were good enough 2 years ago to do make some noise in the playoffs, with a competent head coach.
The Blazers knew about Roy's knees before they drafted him and long before they gave him that huge contract. With Oden's injury issues everyone knew it was a big gamble.
Yet all 30 GMs would have taken Greg Oden. Nobody thought it was a big gamble that summer. Nice try though.
Neither of those guys come close to the hype oden had so your question is irrelevant. Oden was a Duncan, LeBron every few years superstar changing talent that summer
All I care about for this off-season is adding player(s) the quality of which will convince LaMarcus to resign with us. Evans is not that guy. Gortat might be.
I feel like a reminder is in order. Prior to the draft, the only injury Oden had ever had was a wrist that had ligament damage when his brother attacked him in high school and he punched back. No ACL rips, no surgeries, no tonsilitis (yet). There was concern over potential hip problems later in life with the "one leg longer than the other" but his knees were about as pristine as you can get. Don't pretend that Oden was Bowie or Roy--with a history of recurring injury problems in HS/College that you hoped would go away.
True, but Bill Simmons also observed and opined pre-draft that Oden simply didn't move like an athlete but rather like an old man, and there have also been subsequent reports that teams had red flagged Oden's knees pre-draft, so it's arguable that the "pristine" knees claim was exaggerated if not fabricated.
He may have looked like an old man but he could run with the best of them. His combine numbers are off the charts for a big man.
Wasn't that also after learning that his beloved Celtics had lost the lotto and weren't in the running for Oden? I believe they call that sour grapes.
I remembered something about his ball handling was that of a PG in comparison. I also remember watching a video where he was dribbling two balls close to the ground and moving around left to right. Oden's talent was off-the-charts! If only the dude had knees that allowed him to play.
