Will we be talking about the 2007 NBA draft like we did for so many years about the 1984 NBA draft? What am I talking about?
For all you Portland Trailblazer fans, this has got to be disturbing. This far in the 2009-2010 season, you are enjoying a winning season and have the luxury of having Brandon Roy make you forget about the ugly decision of choosing Greg Oden over Kevin Durant. Oh yes! I am bringing it up. Why you ask? The only reason is because I’m tired of seeing struggling franchises that are in the position to select a top player goes for the ‘sure thing’ instead of the ‘next big thing’…the latter being the one that usually develops into a superstar that many teams usually have regrets that they didn’t snap up when they had the chance.
The Trailblazers had a huge decision twice in roughly 25 years. They had the number 2 pick in the 1984 NBA draft and had the opportunity to select Michael Jordan. What did they do? They picked Kentucky big man Sam Bowie and the Chicago Bulls grabbed Jordan. Hmm…advantage—Chicago. Lose--Portland.
They were faced with the same thing between big man Greg Oden (who’s age is still disputable) and Kevin Durant except this time they had the #1 pick. You heard the critics: Durant’s too small, skinny, only one year in college…blah, blah, blah. Seeing how Greg Oden missed his entire first year due to injury and how he’s only played in a total of 82 games in a 3-year span, I’m sure Portland has to be kicking themselves for paying for a guy who’s never on the floor. Kevin Durant, on the other hand, has been a durable workhorse…playing in over 200 games so far and averaging over 24.5 points per game in his career. Durant is playing at an MVP caliber level in 2009-2010 for the Oklahoma City Thunder who’s sitting pretty at 33-21…Yea the Thunder...did I mention he's second to LeBron James in scoring this year?
