And, as far as that's concerned, who could blame him for wanting Oden's size, right? http://www.heraldnews.com/sports/professional_sports/x1838117172/Back-to-normal-for-oft-injured-Cs
Yeah, that's simple. Revisionist history might take this story another direction, but the truth is the truth. There wasn't a GM in the league that would have done anything different than KP. Any problem anyone has with KP shouldn't even dip in to the realm of G.O. vs Durant. It's completely irrelevant.
I think Orlando would have taken KD, probably Houston, and I'm not sure who else ... and 28 or 29 GMs would still have been wrong.
With Durant exploding into a flat out superstar, leading his team to (potentially) 50 wins this season, the pressure on Oden is crazy. He's now playing in the shadow of Durant. Now, I hope he can stay healthy and be that center that can take this team into the elite. KP's comments on Oden being 'a' piece to a contending team are annoying. The #1 pick with all that hype he really should be 'the' piece. Hindsight 20/20 is a bitch.
whats worse... i think all 29 gms would want horford over oden too. man... we had the nba in the palm of our hand and dropped it
Anyone who says they would've taken Durant is either lying or on good quality drugs. Oden was an athletic FREAK coming out of the draft. Absolutely phenomenal. The Oden pick n' Roll in summer league was the taste of what was meant to come. . . [video=youtube;2HGZxKFFpYY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HGZxKFFpYY[/video] Makes me depressed remembering the guy dunking in that play and what could have been.
I agree with Doc. Most wanted Oden, and Oden was the right pick at the time. Looking back, it was a mistake. Durant is arguably a top 5-10 player. But you had to make that pick.
Yeah, Durant isn't surprising me. I expected him to be a top-flight wing. I still felt Oden was the right pick, because he has an amazing blend of size, athleticism and instincts. And he continues to prove it whenever he can play. If he can get past the injuries, I'd still prefer him to Durant. If he can't, then it'll be bad luck and of course Durant will have the far greater career.
Ainge did, in so many words. I remember when they resigned Doc, he mentioned how Doc was willing to do things with young players (like actually play them) that most coaches wouldn't be willing to. I forget how he worded it, exactly, but he basically said most coaches are too scared of getting fired when asked to tank, but Doc was a team player.
I don't think it was a mistake considering we couldn't have known about the injuries that were to occur. If Oden hadn't been compromised by injury, I still think he'd be the better pick over Durant, even as good as Durant has become. Having that kind of athleticism and defensive speed, displayed in the Youtube video above, present at the C position gives you a big advantage over most teams in the league. And more importantly, especially during the playoffs.
