no he didn't. it absolutely was a no brainer. the media hyped up a 2nd guy like they have a habit of doing, but i don't believe for a second that anyone but oden was the pick. not really. at the time it was the right pick. whether it would be the right pick or not two years later really isn't relevant to that. it's like playing poker. if you call someone and are 90% to win the hand, obviously you made the right decision. but you still lose 10% of the time. that doesn't change that the decision was the correct one.
What made Oden the best prospect? The hype? He was the best defensive prospect, that's for sure, but I'd argue to say that Durant was the best overall prospect, and to call it a 'no brainer' is insane. This makes no sense. If things have worked out well for Durant and not for Oden, doesn't that make it a bad choice NOW? Maybe not necessarily down the line, but right now, yes, it looks like a bad choice.
i'd say it was watching and evaluating his play that made him the best prospect, but if you want to involve the hype it was there too. it makes perfect sense. it was the correct decision at the time. then he had microfracture and missed a year. that doesn't change that they made the correct decision at the time because there was no way for them to know that was going to happen. it's very possible to make the correct decision and then the result doesn't turn out as well as you'd hoped. though obviously it is still very early in both of their careers to be making this judgment.
What about his play? Aside from his defense and hype, there wasn't much of a reason to take him over Durant. His offensive game is extremely raw. His footwork in the post needs a lot of work, as does his back to the basket game. Right now, most of his points are coming put backs and lobs. If he's going to be an elite center, he's got to learn how to get good position down low, work on his footwork and get some low post moves. To you it makes sense I guess. I still don't think it does, and I already gave my reasoning, so no need to regurgitate it.
i don't think you've really watch oden play a lot. he does get a decent amount of points on putbacks, but i don't know what lobs you're speaking of. he doesn't get his points like tyson chandler. he's assisted on less than half of his baskets. some of that is rebounds, but a lot of it is him getting the ball in the post and simply being his man one on one with a post move and getting a dunk or some kind of little hook. i guess we disagree.
It was a no brainer. Here are my reasons: -Durant is a swingman while Oden was a true center. -There are plenty of kids in college who have great seasons. -Durant was a perimeter oriented oversize swingman, with suspect defensive abilities, no post up game, a tweener body that barely had 10 pounds of muscle on it. Remember, at the time that Durant was drafted, he couldn't do a SINGLE rep of a 185 bench press. Oden was raw, but had an NBA ready body, amazing athletic ability and was already considered a defensive presence. Any time you have a choice between an ultra athletic, NBA-ready defensive center and a perimeter oriented SF, you don't even think for a second and take the center. I'm glad for Durant, he's proving many people wrong. But in general, he's still an anomaly. He could have just as easily turn into Tshikisvhili or even Laettner.
Durant actually had a decent post game in college, though it hasn't been displayed in the pros because of his lack of size. And I don't know if Durant is really an anomaly. Mayo has had a lot of early success after jumping ship after his freshman year, 'Melo has been an All Star and was only a freshman when he left, Rudy Gay has been very good and left after his sophomore year, Gerald Wallace left after his freshman year I believe and has really blossomed since getting to Charlotte when that team came into the NBA, Luol Deng was only a freshman when he left and has been very good, Eric Gordon has been brilliant since he's been starting this year. We can look back further and even at the high school swingmen that jumped ship for the NBA and have been at least remotely successful - Kobe, TMac, LeBrick, JR Smith, Josh Smith, etc. I honestly don't think it's as much of an anomaly now as it once was. College players, even one and done guys, are seemingly much more NBA ready than they were many years ago and already have games that translate well to the NBA game.
You're right, I haven't seen Oden play a lot in the pros (though I saw plenty of him in college), but I haven't really been impressed when I've watched him. He rushes his shots in the paint and doesn't have jack shit for post moves. Most of his points are scored because he's an athletic freak of nature with incredible strength, much like Dwight Howard when he came in the league. And quite frankly, that's only going to take him so far, and if he ever wants to be more than a defensive guy, he needs to work on his post offense.
Portland was never looking for "scoring titles" when they drafted Oden. There looking for straight NBA Titles. If your team already had an efficient offense with players like B-Roy and Lamarcus Aldridge among others who would you rather add to your team. Dwight Howard? or Kevin Durant? After a summer of skills training, G.O. will make you eat your words.
I think Oden was the correct pick at the time but I had to laugh at this strawman. I didn't know Howard was available.
I had to laugh that you can't read. There was a comparison of Oden's potential to Howard's, that's why the question was asked.
I tend to agree with rocketeer on the matter. Oden is a legit 7'0" with strength and athleticism not seen since Shaq and Dwight. Couple that with his shot blocking instincts and work ethic, you're looking at one of the best prospects in the last decade or so. Let's also remember that Oden is a rookie. Durant had a somewhat lackluster season as well. Sure, he averaged 20 points, but he shot 43% from the field and 29% from downtown and was a poor rebounder also (4.4 RPG). Oden is basically playing his rookie season, not to mention coming off a season-ending injury. To compare Durant and Oden at this point isn't fair. We need to wait at least a few years.
Blazers = playoffs, Oden will contribute to success and facilitate other's success OKC = lotto bound, but Durant scores alot.
OKC is a super young team. They have the potential to end up being a really, really good team if they can keep that core of Durant/Green/Westbrook together...plus you have to realize they have 4 picks in the 1st over the next 2 years, so they could add even more parts there. You have to realize, Portland wasn't an overnight success story. They continually added pieces to get to where they are now. The Thunder remind me a lot of Portland from a few years ago. They have talent...it's just a matter of maturing as a team and learning how to win.
