2007 NBA Draft Thread, started on the night of the lottery.

Bump.

Pumps and a.

durant had the workout of his life for the blazers yesterday, said some organizational dude. and oden was supposedly not in the best shape for his. a flip at 1/2?

Man, I dunno, for franchise boys I would not be changing opinions due to workouts, I think Durant is just strutting to show Portland what they're missing or whatever, but Oden has crazy defense and that shit comes at a premium.

ODEN ODEN ODEN ODEN ODEN ODEN ODEN ODEN ODEN

ODEN ODEN ODEN

AND ODEN

Greg Oden spelled backwards is Ned "OG" Erg. Think about this.

oden's funnier. that's got to count for something

Yeah, Oden is going to be comedy gold for this league for years to come. Which is a great, great thing.

http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/sports.aol.com/fanhouse/media/2007/04/oden_greg_400.jpg

Watch out, Greg! That white woman's trying to steal your mojo!

Hmmn.

DURANT DURANT DURANT DURANT DURANT DURANT DURANT DURANT
DURANT DURANT DURANT
AND DURANT

the shades of bowie over jordan make for a fascinating subplot. except more like mourning over jordan. i am however starting to get a funny feeling that the blazers might wise up and draft durant.

Well it might be closer to Akeem over Jordan which actually did happen.

do you think? i havent really heard anyone say they think he'll develop anywhere near the offensive game.

which is where the whole big over small logic breaks down. sure most championship teams have dominant big men, but is oden going to be good like duncan, shaq, hakeem et al? possible but more likely he tops out somewhere sub-ewing.

imo durant and lebron are the only 2 post-jordan players that legitimately have the potential to be the best ever.

Respect the Dream,
Call him Hakeem.

"do you think? i havent really heard anyone say they think he'll develop anywhere near the offensive game."

Well I also haven't heard anything that indicates his legs are going to fall off Bowie-stylee either. Dude's only 19 years old and already has very competent offensive moves and he certainly has great defensive instincts. Nothing there indicates to me he can't be as good as the guys you mentioned and the most dominant center in the world for the next ten someodd years.

"Respect the Dream,
Call him Hakeem.

-- Leee, Wednesday, June 27, 2007 6:45 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Link"

WORD

i'd still take hakeem over jordan btw~

i dont think it'd be crazy to take durant first tho

Me neither. I don't think Seattle loses whoever they get.

Nothing there indicates to me he can't be as good as the guys you mentioned and the most dominant center in the world for the next ten someodd years.

really? i watched him a bunch last season and while he was def impressive i didnt get the force of nature vibe. yeah his wrist was broken and all but he seemed sort of robotic regardless. his demeanor on the court is a little disturbing too - he could just be duncaesque i guess - still most great players seem more passionate.

Well I also haven't heard anything that indicates his legs are going to fall off Bowie-stylee either.

he actually does have some health issues: reduced flexibility in the injured wrist, a bulging spinal disc and one leg is shorter than the other. none really serious right now, but two concern his back and the other his shooting hand - should at least give pause.

but regardless the main point is that durant dominated college basketball like no freshman ever. and he was a young freshman. he just looks like the surest sure thing ever.

but regardless the main point is that durant dominated college basketball like no freshman ever

Taking sides: Carmelo Anthony vs. Someone "Duncanesque".

carmelo was great but durant was better:

anthony: 22ppg 10rebounds 2ast 2steals 1block 45% 34%3s 71%ft

durant: 26ppg 11rebounds 1ast 2steals 2blocks 47% 40%3s 81%ft

and durant has the potential to be a lock down defender, while carmelo cant guard anyone.

but that is so clever how you flipped the duncanesque line there lolololol

yeah I'm a sneaky dude.

As a Portlander though I've just been very very pro-Oden throughout this whole last month. Mostly I'm just anticipating getting this whole WHO'S IT GONNA BE HONK ONCE HONK TWICE thing over with and move on to the real business of moving Randolph and being a .500 or better ballclub next year.

Though I guess I should admit that obviously I think Durant's going to be a great deal better than Melo and is a likely future MVP etc etc etc. To me it comes down to awesome, athletic wing players being more common than awesome, athletic centers. For every like dozen or so Nowitzki/McGrady/What-Have-You types there's one Duncan/Shaq guys. And the twin towers thing with LaMarcus and Oden is just too sweet.

i dont really care unless one of them drops to number three. i dont know anything abt nba draft strategy but in futbol it's smarter to use first rounders on guys at positions that are at a premium, instead of a tight end or safety or whatever. i dont know if that really translates to basketball since you only start 5 dudes but it could be a compelling reason to take oden first. i dont think dude's gonna be the GOAT or anything but with a little polish to his offensive game you could have someone comparable to 'Zo (he's closer to Mutombo rn, which aint half-bad)

Yeah that's the draft strategy in the NBA too which is why there are a lot of center busts because they get drafted higher than their talent necessarily deserves.

HOWEVER in this case I think that it's safe to say that Oden is not going to be Olokwandi or Manute Bol.

yeah no doubt that center is a more valuable position to fill - but when that's the only argument yr getting into dangerous territory. talent has to be a factor in the equation too. and i havent heard anyone say they think oden is better at basketball than durant.

unfortunately in the nba the big man first logic has become self-perpetuating conventional wisdom - gm's take front court players early for the sake of their resumes. a center bust is fine cause everyone wouldve done the same. but if you take a point guard early and he sucks then youre an idiot headed for the cba.

historically the draft has way overvalued big men - like way past the relative merits of their position.

but yeah oden would be first pick worthy most years. just not this one.

and id much rather see durant in portland cause that is a pretty sweet young team already. seattle could still suck for a long time w/him. oden would actually fit right in in seattle tho.

Are we going to be live bullshitting this draft and all the crazy trades that make no sense tomorrow dudes?

love to but i have plans. not going to be able to watch the draft at all ;_;

http://assets.espn.go.com/photo/2007/0521/nba_u_oden_412.jpg

apparently portland told oden that theyre taking him

thats not a cute guy there

i must admit oden and aldridge will be a sick defensive force for years and years. so now they trade randolph for a 3, no?

Maybe they can trade him to Boston, and Boston will trade their #5 to Minnesota with Wally Szberbiackakak back to Minnesota, who'll sent Kevin Garnett and 500 autographed Joe Smith 4 x 8s to Atlanta, who'll burn them as part of a sacrifice to The Human Highlight Reel while sending the #3 pick to Phoenix for Amare Stoudamire and D'Antoni's moustache, and the Knicks will pick a 2nd round player 15 picks early and David Stern will choke Isiah Thomas like a bitch.

jhoshea I know you hate Tim Duncan, but with that one pick the Spurs conjured up four titles, which is mighty impressive given that they would have none otherwise, so I don't think any team could pass up on Oden as the first pick this year.

9 minutes until the blazers dynasty starts.

Oh christ Mike Tirico AND Stephen A. Smith? Fuck my ears.

AND STUART SCOTT

Thank God ESPN re-upped their NBA deal. Wheeeeeeee.

RAY RAY coming back east! Oooooooh!

Looks like that trade is pretty much confirmed. Isn't pierce/allen kind of a weird combo? How does that work?

They both shoot 30 times a game?

All I know is Boston fans should be stoked that Sebastian Telfair has another outside shooter to ignore.

Joakim Noah's whole look tonight is just absolutely classic!

WHOA ISIAH

Looks like that trade is pretty much confirmed. Isn't pierce/allen randolph/curry kind of a weird combo? How does that work?

FIXED.

http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i95/tadams1080/1178215055.jpg

;_;

Oh wellz, at least we guaranteed another couple years of (Beli)Nelli ball.

http://img508.imageshack.us/img508/8056/ccryrr0.png

guys yeah i think im out guys yeah

lol amazing document with the slur and everything

When Shaq really starts to let himself go, it is going to be a woeful sight to behold.

― polyphonic, Monday, July 2, 2007 5:18 PM (sixteen years ago) bookmarkflaglink

Not sure I agree with myself there lol he looks okay