Durant going pro

It's just speculation -- from some items I've read -- that he and Hibbert are leaning toward going.

Of course, many a college football writer said Louisville's Harry Douglas and Mario Urrutia were going, and they didn't. So, Green and Hibbert may very likely stay.

Why do you think Hibbert's a poor man's Shawn Bradley? I think he's a lot better than that.

 

If Oden hadn't come into this year with all of the hype there wouldn't even be a discussion. Durant was much less heralded coming out of high school (for whatever reason) but I really think the only reason Oden is in the conversation for the #1 pick is that we've been told for two years how great he is. He'll definitely be a very good pro, but based on what each did this season there is no question who is the better player.

For those who are more in-tuned to the national high school/AAU scene and the NBA, if there hadn't been the age requirement what pick do you think Durant would have been if he went to the draft after high school?

 

Oden did have a broken shooting hand, which forced him to shoot with his left half of the season.

Also, just because Christian Laettner won every piece of hardware during his Duke days before he entered the draft, that didn't necessarily mean he would become the best pro. I like Durant, but like all good players -- Oden included -- there are questions.

 

And we're about to find the answers.

 

Perhaps no one knew for sure he'd be the best ever, although Bob Knight said he would after coaching him at the Olympics. But everyone who knew the game knew that Jordan was going to be a superstar, and lots of people questioned the Blazers AT THE TIME because they gambled on a guy who'd missed two full seasons with leg injuries. There was never any reason Portland could not have played Drexler and Jordan together. It was a horrendous draft choice, no matter how you want to dress it up.

 

But you can't fault the Blazers. At the time they were trying to fill a need.

 

If he declares, Hibbert will be the rich man's Shawn Bradley.

 

Yeah, but Bowie had already missed an entire season at Kentucky with a leg injury. And, in truth, he wasn't the same Sam Bowie his senior season.

 

True, but they had more of a need for him than Jordan at the time.

 

As a Pacer fanboy looser, I must add that the reason Portland had the pick was because Indiana had given it up for the legendary Tom Owens. At least Portland had a defensible reason for not drafting Jordan -- the Pacers had no way to explain this away.

History repeats itself (sort of): the Pacers give up their first-round pick for next year for Al Harrington, who was back in town, what, two weeks? The pick is top-10 protected. However, given that the Pacers, despite tanking quickly haven't tanked enough, they likely will miss the playoffs AND miss out on one of the deepest drafts ever. They've got five games to make up a two-game "deficit" to get into the top 10. I'll be thinking of that watching Mike Conley Jr. light it up for Sacramento or Minnesota next year.

 

So because Christian Laettner had a great college career and a solid pro career (you'd think it was worse because of how much people hate him, but 12.8 ppg and 6.7 rpg is far from terrible) the same will be happen to Kevin Durant? You could go through the history of the player of the year awards and probably find an equal number of future all-stars and players who never reached that level in the NBA.

I never said Durant would be a great pro because he won every piece of hardware, I said he's a better basketball player than Greg Oden and should be the #1 pick hands down.

And, Oden had a broken hand? Really? I would have thought I would have heard about that, thanks for the scoop. I said he was going to be a very good pro... he just isn't as good at the game of basketball as Kevin Durant is right now and it's my opinion that down the road Durant will be the better pro.

 

Here's one way I look at the argument:

A true, dominating centers equals championship rings. A great all-over-the-court player like Durant -- well, how many rings do Dirk Nowitzki and Kevin Garnett have?

True, particularly in Garnett's case, those guys haven't always had great players around them. But the presence of a true stopper in the middle, whether it be Shaq or Duncan, has a far greater effect on a game. Playing against Oden, a team is going to have in their minds that when they go inside, Oden is very likely to stuff them. Plus, the final game showed how good an offensive player Oden can be. I think Thad Matta put the wraps on him more than Dean Smith did on Jordan.

Plus, Oden doesn't block shots into the seats -- he blocks them to his teammates, or to himself so he can whip an outlet pass down and start the break. Even if he barely scored, his defense and ability to start the break is a huge lift for any team. Plus, Oden, in a stunningly rare case, wants to be a center. You don't have to worry about him getting the idea to jack threes.

Durant will have a great career. But of the two, I go with Oden all the way.