Dissin' on Durant

by roywilliamsisgod on May 21, 2007 2:01 PM CDT

With the NBA Lottery less than a week away, BBall coverage is heating up around the web. In his newest Insider post Chad Ford makes the case for Oden, claiming he has the biggest upside in the draft.

Key quote:

Sunday night, after I described Oden's workout to a respected NBA general manager who stands a pretty good chance at getting the No. 1 pick in Tuesday's lottery, the GM had four words for me:
"I told you so."
He continued, "Oden is not just a big guy. He's a big guy with great athleticism and skill. It's what I've been telling you all year. This guy is a lock as the No. 1 pick.
"If Kevin Durant had broken his wrist and come back way early with a cast on his shooting hand, I don't think he would've dominated the Big 12.
"We haven't seen the real Greg Oden yet. What we've seen is 50 percent. That's enough to make him the No. 1 pick.
"If we saw it all, we'd laugh about the Durant comparisons. Don't get me wrong, Durant can play. He may be great. But I'm taking Greg Oden. My guess is every GM in the league will too once they see him up close."

It alludes me how claims like this can achieve such traction amongst the "expert" analysts. The major problems I see with this claim are:

The love for Oden is based off of a workout as opposed to a season's worth of playing

His excuse for the poorer-than-expected play of Oden this season was that his wrist wasn't healed-- claiming that he was playing at 50% of his potential the entire season and that we didn't even get a glimpse of what the guy is capable of. I'm sorry, but could it have made THAT significant of a difference? His wrist sure looked fine during those monstrous dunks when he nearly brought down the backboard. How crucial is a wrist injury to the play of a 7 1" Center as opposed to a pure shooter and ball handler?

Maybe I'm just offended that this GM wrote Durant off without even thinking twice. Depending on the team given the first pick I would not be surprised if either player went first in the draft. But to write off the best freshmen season EVER in college basketball in favor of another guy's play on the practice court just seems stupid.

What do you guys think?

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Comments

they're not dissing durant.

obviously, a not-fully-healed broken wrist would have hampered Durant more than Oden because of the types of players they are.

but Oden's broken wrist was definitely serious. he shot free throws with his left hand for god's sake! it didn't affect his dunks, but the point is that his game is more than dunks and the broken wrist hampered that part of his game. so workouts are to a certain extent all these scouts have as evidence of oden's full game.

i personally think either durant or oden would be a great pick for any team.

by billyzane on May 21, 2007 2:16 PM CDT reply actions

Both of them would make fine #1 picks

But to say Durant comparisons are laughable is taking it far. It is my understanding that Oden shot lefty for less than half the season. Correct me if I'm wrong. Again, of course the injury was serious, I just find it hard to buy into the idea that Oden will be a completely different player now...as they made it sound.

by roywilliamsisgod on May 21, 2007 2:20 PM CDT reply actions

The only misleading quote

is, "If Kevin Durant had broken his wrist and come back way early with a cast on his shooting hand, I don't think he would've dominated the Big 12."

Ok. Fine. But Oden with a broken wrist DID NOT dominate the BIG 10. Big white guys from Northwestern were swatting the ball from his hands. I saw it with my own eyes in attendance. He was mediocre to poor all season. OSU was a run and gun offense.

Oden didn't come "on" until the tourny -- and even then lacked a range of shots/moves in order to run the offense through him.

I think he will be good someday or if I'm wrong, he could be another Yao Ming work out wonder tons-of-potential trophy holder.

If you listen to the Sportsguy Simmon's podcast (yes, I know we should hate him) he seems to think just the opposite about the impressions Durant will leave with GMs.
Simmons thinks once Durant works out for teams, interviews, talks to people, hits 30 foot jumpers, etc that many will be reluctant to tag Oden as the #1 guy. He thinks the love fest for Durant can only grow when they see him live and in person.

A few of his guests spun theories that some may even attempt to trade the bank for Durant.

Cats and dogs sleeping together.

by EYESofBEVO on May 21, 2007 3:02 PM CDT reply actions

None of this matters

The decision on who goes #1 in the draft COMPLETELY depends on who gets the #1 pick.

Why would the Celtics draft Oden if they already have Al Jefferson?

Why would the Grizzlies draft Durant if they already have Rudy Gay?

VY : Football :: KD : Basketball

by goingforthecorner on May 21, 2007 5:15 PM CDT reply actions

No sense getting upset

These NBA types have to hedge their bets. They have to say good stuff about Oden in case he goes All-Star for 8-10 years. Plus, this guy could be blowing smoke. If he has the 2nd pick maybe he wants to pump up Oden so he can take Durant.

Anyway, no sense getting riled up. Durant was a great college player and probably will be great in the pros. But Oden was a freshman too wasn't he? Big strong guys are hard to find, so Oden is in demand. So is Durant. They just happened to come out the same year.

Besides, people have been wrong, very WRONG for many years. And they usually have been very LOUD about it. I once had a guy explain to me AT THE TOP OF HIS LUNGS just how Johnny Hector was better than any T-sip ever. Sheesh.

by Arby A on May 21, 2007 8:38 PM CDT reply actions

Plus

That is what sells papers, gets hits on the web, and causes reactionary conversations like this one! Something happens.... the "Experts" say something dramatic or exagerated... and then we read it and talk about it.

If the popularity of Steph(v?)en A. Smith isn't proof of that, I don't know what is. Nothing has ever happened around that guy that wasn't worthy of some dramatic rant.

Anyway, of course this guy took it too far. That is what he gets paid to do. The truth is, nobody knows for sure who the best pick will be. Nobody ever does. Ask the guy who picked Sam Bowie.

"A lot of people look for the easy way to do anything, in swimming there is no easy way." - Eddie Reese

by SwimTexas on May 22, 2007 7:55 AM CDT reply actions