OT: If you were Portland, who would you take?

[IcEwalker]

Greg Oden or Kevin Durant?

(this is an interesting debate...)

[Bomis Hawg]

I say you go after Greg Oden.  Brandon Roy fills a version of Durant.
That would give the ability to put Zach Randolph at the 4. 
Hard to pass up Durant, though.

[bd93]

Oden.  You hardly ever see a type of player like Oden.

[southern hawg]

I would have to go with Durant, Portland already has Aldridge who is very solid.  Roy, Durant, and Aldridge would be a heckuva trio

[Tomhog™]

Oden.  Both players are specimens.  It's tough to come by one that is 7 ft...

[HawgAdvocate]

I'd rather invest my team's future in Oden and Aldridge on the front line.

Portland has tried shopping Randolph in the past, and getting Oden makes him a lot easier to move.

The tough call is for Seattle. Durant would play the same spot as Rashad Lewis.

[bd93]

I don't think that you can worng with either one of them.  They will both be great.

[thahawg]

Durant. He can come in and score right away.

[RZRBack_FAN]

I think if it were me personally i would take Oden.  The Big Men a far and few between now days!! Got to get the good ones when you can!!!

[mword]

Greg Oden

[mbgrulz]

I'd rather invest my team's future in Oden and Aldridge on the front line.

Portland has tried shopping Randolph in the past, and getting Oden makes him a lot easier to move.

The tough call is for Seattle. Durant would play the same spot as Rashad Lewis.

by tough call, you mean what to do with lewis correct?

durant will be a 25 ppg type of player from season 1. he can take a game over offensively. the most dominant scorer in college since the pistol.

for me, there are 2 questions that portland must ask themselves when deciding:

1. will oden develop the offensive skills, or will he be just another "big body for hire" ala kurt thomas, desagana diop, and all those other bigs who are paid to be 7' 300 pounders. i think that is a fair question, because right now oden seems like dwight howard made over. (which is not bad, but is that better than durant?)

2. can aldridge and randolph hold down the post well enough to win championships? detroit is doing it without a true big guy, but they sure have a lot of good PF's to make up for it.

in the end, i think the obvious choice is oden. durant is my personal favorite, but if oden turns out to be as good as the talking heads seem to think he will, then it will pay off.

[oldfart]

A good position to be in, to take your pick of the two.  Normally I would go with Oden, but the modern game has diminished somewhat the role of the big man..  I think I would pick Durant on that basis.

[mbgrulz]

A good position to be in, to take your pick of the two.  Normally I would go with Oden, but the modern game has diminished somewhat the role of the big man..  I think I would pick Durant on that basis.

you know, if you get a solid big man and a couple of big bodies to come off of the bench, you don't really need a dominant post. dallas had a historically good season going with that strategy. i know they got knocked out, but it sure wasn't due to a lack of size. the warriors just had their number all year.

i would hate to not draft oden & watch him turn into the next shaq, but you would also hate to pass on a guy who may be one of those guys who is "ahead of his time" as a 6-10 SF. 2nd pick may be the best place to be in. you are getting a great player regardless, and you don't have to decide who is better.

[jcam61]

I'd take Durant.   The way the NBA game is progressing you need guys who can slash and score. 

[yraciv]

Oden and trade away Randolph.

[HawgAdvocate]

I'd rather invest my team's future in Oden and Aldridge on the front line.

Portland has tried shopping Randolph in the past, and getting Oden makes him a lot easier to move.

The tough call is for Seattle. Durant would play the same spot as Rashad Lewis.

by tough call, you mean what to do with lewis correct?

durant will be a 25 ppg type of player from season 1. he can take a game over offensively. the most dominant scorer in college since the pistol.

for me, there are 2 questions that portland must ask themselves when deciding:

1. will oden develop the offensive skills, or will he be just another "big body for hire" ala kurt thomas, desagana diop, and all those other bigs who are paid to be 7' 300 pounders. i think that is a fair question, because right now oden seems like dwight howard made over. (which is not bad, but is that better than durant?)

2. can aldridge and randolph hold down the post well enough to win championships? detroit is doing it without a true big guy, but they sure have a lot of good PF's to make up for it.

in the end, i think the obvious choice is oden. durant is my personal favorite, but if oden turns out to be as good as the talking heads seem to think he will, then it will pay off.

Lewis has 28 million left on his contract over the next 3 years. That's a lot of money. Not a lot of teams can or will swing a deal like that. Seattle is currently nearly 4 million over the cap. They'll prolly waive Danny Fortson's 6 million+ deal or Chris Wilcox's 6 million+ deal, but that still won't make Lewis go away.

Durant has game, but I don't know if I'd go so far as to say he's good for 25ppg as a rookie. He's rail thin, and the bigger NBA bodies will be very physical with him over a long season. He should be fine in 2 more seasons, but 25ppg with Ray Allen on the roster is somewhat of a reach in my opinion.

If I were to worry about comparing Oden to someone, it wouldn't be Diop or Kurt Thomas. I'd be more worried about comparisons to Michael Olawakandi. But Oden has awesome overall skills, and he's going to be a force for years to come. He's always been a winner on the biggest stage.

[ErieHog]

Oden.

[blacksuit]

Big men win championships. How many have Duncan and Shaq won over the last 10 years? Now, how about Tracy McGrady, Lebron James, Carmelo Anthony, and Kobe Bryant/Dwayne Wade without Shaq? I don't care how good your 2 guard or 3 is, none of them have been able to lead teams to championships in recent years, so why build a team around Durant instead of Oden?

[HawgAdvocate]

Big men win championships. How many have Duncan and Shaq won over the last 10 years? Now, how about Tracy McGrady, Lebron James, Carmelo Anthony, and Kobe Bryant/Dwayne Wade without Shaq? I don't care how good your 2 guard or 3 is, none of them have been able to lead teams to championships in recent years, so why build a team around Durant instead of Oden?

Eddie Curry, Kwame Brown, Tyson Chandler, Michael Olawakandi are just a few reasons. Yao hasn't really led the Rockets to the promised land either, despite having the Kobe-like 2nd man in McGrady.

Now don't get me wrong. I believe Oden will be much better than all of the above. But we'll never know for sure.

The Bulls dynasty, and more recently the Pistons success, have come without an established big man. I guess Big Ben could be considered an immense defensive force, but the current play of the Pistons in the playoffs shows they're doing just as well without him and his horrid offensive skills.

It's just really tough to roll the dice when Oden's expectations are so much higher than they have been for Durant. Durant flew in well under the Oden radar this past year, and for that I'm sure Oden is very grateful for at a time when he had a broken hand and massive media exposure.

[gduchar]

lets not forget Oden played much of the year with his frickin left hand

[ColumbianHog]

lets not forget Oden played much of the year with his frickin left hand

Excellent point.  I would take Oden.  Roy gives you a great young perimeter player with outstanding rebounding and passing abilities.  Oden will provide a force in the middle.  He may not blossom as early as Durant will, but he will be very solid in 2-3 years time.

[ColumbianHog]

lets not forget Oden played much of the year with his frickin left hand

yeah and he did really good with just his left hand....and if i'm not mistaken Oden did dominate Horford and Noah from Florida and those two are being talked about as lottery picks....

Ewing, Olajuwon, and Robinson didnt hit the league as great offensive centers....it was their defense....

Which is reason #1 that Steven Hill will be drafted even if he doesn't improve his offense this season.

[cosmodrum]

It's hard to pass on Oden's size, and he's a heck of a player. I lean slightly towards Durant though. He's a natural.

[ColumbianHog]

lets not forget Oden played much of the year with his frickin left hand

yeah and he did really good with just his left hand....and if i'm not mistaken Oden did dominate Horford and Noah from Florida and those two are being talked about as lottery picks....

Ewing, Olajuwon, and Robinson didnt hit the league as great offensive centers....it was their defense....

Which is reason #1 that Steven Hill will be drafted even if he doesn't improve his offense this season.

yeah there are not many 7-foot centers in the league that are good on defense....

Are you being sarcastic? 

[Bomis Hawg]

NBA executives will gamble on a guy like Steven Hill because of his size and defensive ability.  They know that there are a lot of scouts and assistants have been around plenty of guys they can teach offensive abilities to.  Size can't be taught.

A big difference in the development options in the NBA than in college.

[ColumbianHog]

lets not forget Oden played much of the year with his frickin left hand

yeah and he did really good with just his left hand....and if i'm not mistaken Oden did dominate Horford and Noah from Florida and those two are being talked about as lottery picks....

Ewing, Olajuwon, and Robinson didnt hit the league as great offensive centers....it was their defense....

Which is reason #1 that Steven Hill will be drafted even if he doesn't improve his offense this season.

yeah there are not many 7-foot centers in the league that are good on defense....

Are you being sarcastic? 

no i'm being serious....seems most of the 7-footers in the league these days are very good at interior defense....

You are thoroughly confusing me with your ellipses...

[Winner]

I would take Oden.  The man will be one of the best defensive players in the league the first time his foot hits the hardwood.  And he is also a good enough offensive threat to force a double team on the block.  He may not score 20 a game off the bat like Durant most likely will, but his all around game is light years ahead of Durant.

[mbgrulz]

hill will likely go to a good team where he can be 6 fouls against a tim duncan, shaq, or some other dominant big.

[ColumbianHog]

lets not forget Oden played much of the year with his frickin left hand

yeah and he did really good with just his left hand....and if i'm not mistaken Oden did dominate Horford and Noah from Florida and those two are being talked about as lottery picks....

Ewing, Olajuwon, and Robinson didnt hit the league as great offensive centers....it was their defense....

Which is reason #1 that Steven Hill will be drafted even if he doesn't improve his offense this season.

yeah there are not many 7-foot centers in the league that are good on defense....

Are you being sarcastic? 

no i'm being serious....seems most of the 7-footers in the league these days are very good at interior defense....

You are thoroughly confusing me with your ellipses...

well there are 7-footers in the league but not many of them are athletic....they just take up space....someone like Hill will probably get drafted on the fact that he is 7-footer that is athletic and a good shot blocker something that most NBA teams would love to have come off there bench....sorry for the confusion....

No problem.  It just seemed like you were saying that there ARE a lot of good defensive centers in the league and that Hill wouldn't be needed.  Now I see that by 'interior defense' you mean 'take up space'.

Anyway, now that I think I'm clear there, yeah, I agree.  I also think a team like the Suns or Toronto could use him because he can get out and run the floor.

[IcEwalker]

I would go with Durant for Portland for this reason...

Jarret Jack or other PG
Brandon Roy
Kevin Durant
Zach Randolf
LaMarcus Aldridge


Seattle would then take Oden making them:
Luke Ridnour
Ray Allen
Rashard Lewis
Chris Wilcox
Greg Oden

seems to work out best for both teams.

[slopinhogs]

Oden is a very good player, but i would have to take Durant, if i had my druthers. :razorback:

[zebra]

Scotty Thurman if he was available, if not Greg Oden.

[j-flem]

Kevin Durant he is a better player now and we really help out Roy on the off and def of the ball Oden will help more on the Def more the the off.. so sure Oden is a good player ,but alot of teams are going away for big man play and moveing to run more so durant fits in more i think..

[Hawgfan23]

I'd rather invest my team's future in Oden and Aldridge on the front line.

Portland has tried shopping Randolph in the past, and getting Oden makes him a lot easier to move.

The tough call is for Seattle. Durant would play the same spot as Rashad Lewis.

Lewis opted out of contract last night. 

[mbgrulz]

I'd rather invest my team's future in Oden and Aldridge on the front line.

Portland has tried shopping Randolph in the past, and getting Oden makes him a lot easier to move.

The tough call is for Seattle. Durant would play the same spot as Rashad Lewis.

Lewis opted out of contract last night. 

lewis is good, durant may be great. lewis knew where the ownership's loyalty stood.
it will clear cap room for some supporting cast for durant & allen. i assume they'll try to get some big bodies to try to guard oden, duncan, ming, and the other great bigs out west.