Greg Oden is nowhere NEAR the athlete he was at OSU . .

[digitaljordan]

Originally Posted by bruza

Originally Posted by NoneOfYours25

I still think Oden was a good draft pick for the Blazers --- they needed a big center more than another wing player.

sounds almost like the justification for drafting bowie over jordan.

Like I just posted

What many of you fail to realize is that the Blazers had D. Miles and a huge contract, Travis Outlaw and Martell Webster all who played the same spotas Durant. If we would of picked Durant there would prob be no Rudy, Batum or PT for T Law.

 

[digitaljordan]

They COMPLETELY ignored Durant. Just like Jordan, they said "oh, we have Drexler, we don't need Jordan, we'll take a awkward 7 footer and hope he pans out, cuz he fits a need." Yeah, smart move.
Hindsight is always 20/20

 

[cb94]

Originally Posted by yungmatt

Originally Posted by CB94

That's not suppossed to be true but at least Chris was putting up 19 and 9 consistently last year in the NBDL and even made the NBDL all star team. If Chris > Greg.....

{

@ Greg and

for Chris.

Greg Oden NOW would average 30 and 15 in the D League

I'm just saying... if you can't MOVE because of KNEE injuries, you can't average JACK. Besides, can't a __ shamelessly plug a former schoolmate? Geez

Ya'll don't let !%@# slide round here

 

[dland24]

Originally Posted by DIGITALJORDAN

Originally Posted by bruza

Originally Posted by NoneOfYours25

I still think Oden was a good draft pick for the Blazers --- they needed a big center more than another wing player.

sounds almost like the justification for drafting bowie over jordan.

Like I just posted

What many of you fail to realize is that the Blazers had D. Miles and a huge contract, Travis Outlaw and Martell Webster all who played the same spot as Durant. If we would of picked Durant there would prob be no Rudy, Batum or PT for T Law.

This is just silly. If Greg Oden had not come out of college that year, would you have taken Al Horford instead of Durant? Of course not. You thought Oden wasthe better pick...period. You say hindsight is 20/20, but for most people other than Blazer fans, it wasnt hindsight when we thought Durant was the pick. Itwas stated well before Stern announced Odens name.

 

[exile on ivy st]

"So what if he is or isn't as athletic? This is irrelevant."

%!*? His ENTIRE game is his athleticism, his game is that he's a freak. On what planet is that irrelevant?

"They are judged because from the second, THE SECOND, they were announced #1, the entire Blazer community SCREAMED for Oden. And yet, there was Durant,who was BY FAR the better player in their freshman years."

Uh yeah, Durant did have a better year, that doesn't mean that everyone still thought that Oden had just as much, if not more, UPSIDE than Durant.

The great Bill Simmons :

"Face it: No GM has the testicular fortitude to pass up a potential superstar center, not even for someone as potentially game-changing as Durant. Ifyou want to compete from now until 2020, take Oden. Simple. But as soon as the Blazers pass on Durant, he will instantly be more dangerous. Because from thatmoment on, he'll be playing with a chip on his shoulder"

You're really showing how little you know right now. The consensus was at best, AT BEST 50-50, but anyone who remembers that period of time knows thatthe general consensus was that you don't pass up a potential franchise center.
Why do you think Celtic fans were all wearing custom Celtic Greg Oden jerseys while they watched the draft lottery? Greg's been the #1 overall pick sincehe was a junior in high school and anyone who tells you otherwise is lying.

"But didn't Oden have injury questions his senior year of high school? And again his freshman year at Ohio St? And is he not a 7 footer who looks 50damn years old and already had a damn limp in college? Are those not SIGNS of a 7 footer who could potentially have injury issues in his career? Pretty surethose are."

He broke his wrist late in his senior year after the season was over and that continued into his freshman year at OSU. You think that should have preventedPortland from drafting Oden? BS.

Yeah he looks old, but where the hell is the precadent for that that should have made Portland not draft him? "yeah, we felt he could have been afranchise center, but he has some very distinct wrinkles in his forehead that lead us to believe that he'll eventually be injury prone"

Eitherway during Oden's physical they ran him threw every test imaginable and no red flags came up whatsoever.

I like how you just completely fabricated the part about him having a limp in college

Did you even watch the video or does the truth hurt that much?

"And after all the testing that is done, there was something wrong with his knee. Know how I know that? HE @#*^%$# HURT HIMSELF GETTING OFF THE COUCHSTUPID @@#((*&^% #$! . That's pretty clear that there was a prior issue within that knee."

Apparently there was something wrong with his knee. AGAIN, how was management supposed to know this?

 

[CP1708]

^
Bingo.


Face it, these Blazer people gon spend the rest of their lives tellin us how it was the right pick, we didn't mess up, we didn't mess up. While Greggoes on to have an average career and Durant rips the league up for a dozen years.

 

[exile on ivy st]

Originally Posted by dland24

Originally Posted by DIGITALJORDAN

Originally Posted by bruza

Originally Posted by NoneOfYours25

I still think Oden was a good draft pick for the Blazers --- they needed a big center more than another wing player.

sounds almost like the justification for drafting bowie over jordan.

Like I just posted

What many of you fail to realize is that the Blazers had D. Miles and a huge contract, Travis Outlaw and Martell Webster all who played the same spot as Durant. If we would of picked Durant there would prob be no Rudy, Batum or PT for T Law.

This is just silly. If Greg Oden had not come out of college that year, would you have taken Al Horford instead of Durant? Of course not. You thought Oden was the better pick...period. You say hindsight is 20/20, but for most people other than Blazer fans, it wasnt hindsight when we thought Durant was the pick. It was stated well before Stern announced Odens name.

Yeah, the general opinion was that Durant was the consensus overall pick

It wasn't even like that on NT, and god knows I remember.

 

[exile on ivy st]

If you want to compete from now until 2020, take Oden. Simple.
- Bill Simmons

 

[CP1708]

Originally Posted by Exile On Ivy St


Apparently there was something wrong with his knee. AGAIN, how was management supposed to know this?

Is this a serious question? The team was about to invest MILLIONS and they didn't check him out as thourough as can be? You really don'tthink that?

And since you want to re-hash old Simmons articles, go find the one he wrote at the draft. The one where he talks about how Oden limps and bends as he walks,like he has a bad back. That's the same guy that was in love with Oden all year, thanking God, the Celts didn't get the first pick.

 

[i nasmatic i]

CP going hard...All we need is InMyMind back

 

[exile on ivy st]

Originally Posted by CP1708

Originally Posted by Exile On Ivy St


Apparently there was something wrong with his knee. AGAIN, how was management supposed to know this?

Is this a serious question? The team was about to invest MILLIONS and they didn't check him out as thourough as can be? You really don't think that?

And since you want to re-hash old Simmons articles, go find the one he wrote at the draft. The one where he talks about how Oden limps and bends as he walks, like he has a bad back. That's the same guy that was in love with Oden all year, thanking God, the Celts didn't get the first pick.

They DID check him as thoroughly as they could, why wouldn't they?

And they still didn't find anything. s*** happens.

http://sports.espn.go.com...tory?page=simmons/070629

I don't see where that is.

 

[exile on ivy st]

InMyMind's too busy preparing his other "e-gangster" alter-ego, because we all know that REAL gangsters put in work by having the N word and theF word edited as many times as possible in an attempt to impress all the 14-year old filipino kids with bad moustaches.

 

[exile on ivy st]

http://www.nba.com/features/draft2007_consensus.html

I'm outta here for the time being . .

 

[irishbaz]

Time will tell if he's the next Sam Bowie but as far as drafting him goes Portland needed a centre at that time so they drafted one. Generally the big menwho do well in college/high school go high in the draft and its not that often smaller guards go so high in the draft.

I think Portland were wise to break him in slow this year but if he continues to fall short on the stat sheet and develop injury after injury he could findhimself in the D league once his contract expires.

 

[CP1708]

I'm goin thru Simmons stuff and I can't find that quote either, but I'm lookin..........

Did find these though

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/070622
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=nbamockdraft/070627


Oden stumbles in Portland

Friday, June 22, 2007 | Feedback | PrintEntry

Here's the latest I'm hearing from around the league ...
• Greg Oden's workout in Portland didn't go great. He was nervous, got winded, missed some lay-ups -- you get the picture. Kevin Durant must be licking his chops. Durant comes in on Friday and everyone expects him to look great.

1. Portland Trail Blazers
We know who they're taking because it's the No Balls Association and nobody would ever dare pass up a franchise center with a ceiling (Greg Oden) for a franchise forward with no ceiling (Kevin Durant). That lack of originality explains why the league is so screwed up and a limited team like the Cavs could become the worst Finals team since the '59 Lakers.

Here's what I don't get: The Blazers already have two quality inside players (Zach Randolph and LaMarcus Aldridge), which means they'll eventually trade Randolph for 60 cents on an already diluted dollar. Yeah, he's a loon, but he's a superb low-post scorer who would thrive with Durant spacing the floor for him. So why not explore trading down if Seattle is enamored with Oden? They could just trade the No. 1 and Darius Miles' craptastic contract (expires in 2011) for Rashard Lewis (sign and trade) and the No. 2, then play Brandon Roy, Lewis, Durant and Randolph at the same time (with Aldridge coming off the bench). Tell me, who's double-teaming Randolph with Lewis, Durant and Roy out there? Don't they have to explore that one? Do we need to dial the phone for Kevin Pritchard?

Durant impresses the Blazers

Friday, June 22, 2007 | Feedback | Print Entry

Here's the latest from around the league:
• After a so-so workout for Greg Oden on Wednesday, Kevin Durant came out and wowed the Portland Trail Blazers in his Friday workout, as expected.Blazers GM Kevin Pritchard gushed about how Durant looked, saying that it may have been the best workout he's ever seen since joining the Blazers.



And yet, he chose Oden. Hmmmmm........

It was a mistake. Period.

 

[jonfarr]

This is exactly why I stay away from any Oden thread and most all Blazers threads these days. Oden has been in the league for 1 season. I am not going to makeexcuses or rash judgments after only 1 season, especially it being right after MF surgery. We all know it takes time to rebound from it, I remember how longAmare was out.

Some of the arguments in this thread are silly at best. Especially the one about how dumb Detroit was to take Darko with the argument being Denver took thebetter player and has been killing it with Melo. But, if memory serves me right Detroit one a championship or 2 and Denver hasn't won #$@%, with this beingtheir highest seed since getting melo (also funny that Portland has the same record).

Portland has 54 wins, sitting in a good spot in the playoffs with home court in the 1st round, and all of this came a few years early from what everyone wassaying when Portland would compete with a HEALTHY Oden. So 54 wins this season, a season in which he made a minor impact, makes me think very positively onwhat the coming years will hold. Portland is sitting best in the West starting next year. L.A. is in the middle of their window right now. This maybe myopinion, but I feel it is true. LA needs to win now because I really feel, all bias aside, that Portland is looking to run the western conference very soon.You all can call me an idiot and try to hate, but deep down inside you all know it is true and maybe that is what pisses you off. Such a young team, that wasbuilt almost completely through the draft, is having huge success and poised to be a title contender from here on out for years.

I am looking forward to what ever Portland can do this year in the playoffs and am just happy the Jail* Blazer days are over and that I have such a great teamto watch in my city again. I am going to be very proud to root for them as I have in the rough years, which makes this all the better right now. So go aheadand blast what I just said, its NT and I know it will happen, but I am damn proud of this team and damn proud of the ownership and the way the team has draftedand been run. [/rant]

 

[CP1708]

Originally Posted by Exile On Ivy St

http://www.nba.com/features/draft2007_consensus.html

I'm outta here for the time being . .

I'm tryin these links but they aren't coming up, something wrong with the address maybe?

 

[crazy dav0]

Originally Posted by yungmatt

He airballed a hook shot and missed an open dunk wednesday vs denver.

This dude is %%+%%* trash.

when he shot that airball ... the crowd just

... no 1 thought he wouldbe this bad ... i don't blame the surgery on his lack of offensive skills ...

 

[koolbarbone]

It was reported before the draft that one of Oden's legs is longer than the other and the Blazers ignored that piece of information. They may not have beenable to predict what would happen, but Portland knew there was a risk involved.

 

[Lizakers]

Originally Posted by yungmatt

He airballed a hook shot and missed an open dunk wednesday vs denver.

This dude is %%+%%* trash.

exactly. and it's not the first time he missed a WIDE open dunk. He did it against the Spurs last week, he barely could get off the ground

 

[digitaljordan]

koolbarbone wrote:

---

It was reported before the draft that one of Oden's legs is longer than the other and the Blazers ignored that piece of information. They may not have been able to predict what would happen, but Portland knew there was a risk involved.
You do know everybody has one leg longer then the other?

I love how all of you knew that Durant would be this good this fast

When it comes to drafting on potential nobody knows better then the gm's, scouts and other personnel who actually do this for a living.
If the same people who said take B Roy, Lamarcus and Rudy said take Oden I have to go with them.

Who knows if Durant would of even been the same player if the Blazers drafted him first. Nobody can tell the future. All I know is that the Blazers wanted abig man not a scorer and that's what they took.

Bottom Line

2008-2009 Blazers 54-28
2008-2009 Thunder 23-59

 

[yungmatt]

Originally Posted by DIGITALJORDAN

koolbarbone wrote:

---

It was reported before the draft that one of Oden's legs is longer than the other and the Blazers ignored that piece of information. They may not have been able to predict what would happen, but Portland knew there was a risk involved.

You do know everybody has one leg longer then the other?

I love how all of you knew that Durant would be this good this fast

When it comes to drafting on potential nobody knows better then the gm's, scouts and other personnel who actually do this for a living.
If the same people who said take B Roy, Lamarcus and Rudy said take Oden I have to go with them.

Who knows if Durant would of even been the same player if the Blazers drafted him first. Nobody can tell the future. All I know is that the Blazers wanted a big man not a scorer and that's what they took.

Bottom Line

2008-2009 Blazers 54-28
2008-2009 Thunder 23-59


So I guess Darko wasnt the wrong pick and isnt a bust either right...

 

[CP1708]

I love how all of you knew that Durant would be this good this fast

When it comes to drafting on potential nobody knows better then the gm's, scouts and other personnel who actually do this for a living.


Oh Word??????




CP1708 wrote:

---

I'm goin thru Simmons stuff and I can't find that quote either, but I'm lookin..........

Did find these though

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/070622
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=nbamockdraft/070627


Oden stumbles in Portland

Friday, June 22, 2007 | Feedback | Print Entry

Here's the latest I'm hearing from around the league ...
• Greg Oden's workout in Portland didn't go great. He was nervous, got winded, missed some lay-ups -- you get the picture. Kevin Durant must be licking his chops. Durant comes in on Friday and everyone expects him to look great.

1. Portland Trail Blazers
We know who they're taking because it's the No Balls Association and nobody would ever dare pass up a franchise center with a ceiling (Greg Oden) for a franchise forward with no ceiling (Kevin Durant). That lack of originality explains why the league is so screwed up and a limited team like the Cavs could become the worst Finals team since the '59 Lakers.

Here's what I don't get: The Blazers already have two quality inside players (Zach Randolph and LaMarcus Aldridge), which means they'll eventually trade Randolph for 60 cents on an already diluted dollar. Yeah, he's a loon, but he's a superb low-post scorer who would thrive with Durant spacing the floor for him. So why not explore trading down if Seattle is enamored with Oden? They could just trade the No. 1 and Darius Miles' craptastic contract (expires in 2011) for Rashard Lewis (sign and trade) and the No. 2, then play Brandon Roy, Lewis, Durant and Randolph at the same time (with Aldridge coming off the bench). Tell me, who's double-teaming Randolph with Lewis, Durant and Roy out there? Don't they have to explore that one? Do we need to dial the phone for Kevin Pritchard?

Durant impresses the Blazers

Friday, June 22, 2007 | Feedback | Print Entry

Here's the latest from around the league:
• After a so-so workout for Greg Oden on Wednesday, Kevin Durant came out and wowed the Portland Trail Blazers in his Friday workout, as expected.Blazers GM Kevin Pritchard gushed about how Durant looked, saying that it may have been the best workout he's ever seen since joining the Blazers.



And yet, he chose Oden. Hmmmmm........

It was a mistake. Period.

 

[theone2401]

Originally Posted by DIGITALJORDAN

koolbarbone wrote:

---

It was reported before the draft that one of Oden's legs is longer than the other and the Blazers ignored that piece of information. They may not have been able to predict what would happen, but Portland knew there was a risk involved.

You do know everybody has one leg longer then the other?

I love how all of you knew that Durant would be this good this fast

When it comes to drafting on potential nobody knows better then the gm's, scouts and other personnel who actually do this for a living.
If the same people who said take B Roy, Lamarcus and Rudy said take Oden I have to go with them.

Who knows if Durant would of even been the same player if the Blazers drafted him first. Nobody can tell the future. All I know is that the Blazers wanted a big man not a scorer and that's what they took.

Bottom Line

2008-2009 Blazers 54-28
2008-2009 Thunder 23-59
Yup, because we all know experts are never wrong.

 

[digitaljordan]

Yup, because we all know experts are never wrong.


Nobodys perfect. How many of you would of said Brandon Roy a all star in his second year? Blazers experts seem to know what theredoing. Rudy Fernandez? Batum? Any of you even know who those guys were last year?

So I guess Darko wasnt the wrong pick and isnt a bust either right...


Who's talking about Darko? I was just showing that the Blazers seem to be doing just fine with Oden. People are comparing picking Oden overDurant to Bowie/Jordan. I like KD even had him on my fantasy team but he is not helping his squad win games (yet). So before you all writeoff Oden maybe yall also need to wait and give Durant a few more years to prove that he can win. This whole topic is premature.

Here's the latest I'm hearing from around the league ...
So he was not there correct? Like I said if the same people who took B Roy and LA said take Oden you gotta go with em.

They could just trade the No. 1 and Darius Miles' craptastic contract (expires in 2011) for Rashard Lewis (sign and trade) and the No. 2, then play Brandon Roy, Lewis, Durant and Randolph at the same time (with Aldridge coming off the bench).

Dude just making up trades

Blazers GM Kevin Pritchard gushed about how Durant looked



You do realize that even if Durant looked like !%%! Pritchard would still said the same thing? Who actually believes what any GM has to say before adraft