Oden done for season ... again

This one is kind of funny...

http://www.sportsjournalists.com/forum/threads/38711/

 

Here's the draft thread

http://www.sportsjournalists.com/forum/threads/43240/

 

What Oden has is contagious, given that Brandon Roy, sent by Portland to the 2007 lottery, is heading toward injury oblivion himself.

 

An underrated Blazers big man draft pick that didn't work out is Mychal Thompson. No. 1 pick in 1978. Certainly a pretty good career. But his claim to fame is being a key bench guy for two title teams...in LA.

 

Comparing Oden to Bowie isn't accurate. Other than the injuries, the two had virtually nothing in common. Oden was a young guy with minimal history of injuries who dominated the college game for the one year he was there. Bowie, while highly-regarded out of high school, had a history of major injuries and only barely averaged double-digit points his senior year at Kentucky.

Oden's situation is unfortunate, especially given how good Durant has been, but I still can't blame Portland for taking him.

 

I feel bad for Oden. Can you imagine how terrible this guy might be feeling when he wakes up every day? Feeling like he let everyone down, feeling like he can't catch a break, wondering if he'll ever be able to play in the NBA.

Here he is, a physical monster who clearly has the body and ability to be a very good NBA player (or more), and he can't even get on the court. This isn't some guy who plays 50 games a year. So far, this has been a total breakdown, this is the athletic equivalent of a normal person having to stop working and go on disability.

I really hope he has a strong support team -- therapist, whatever -- for the mental side of all this.

I just wonder if Oden will be Grant Hill, or if Oden will be Eric Chavez. Both Hill and Chavez, though, were older and had been proven All-Stars. Oden never got that chance.

I never felt strongly one way or another on Oden, but I do hope he comes back and carves out a career of some kind, whether it's as a star or as a role player.

 

The Blazers have tried for years to pretend it was hindsight. It wasn't.

They had Kermit Washington work out with Bowie and Jordan. He begged them to take Jordan and told them they were making a huge mistake if they didn't.

 

I still think my favorite story is Bobby Knight, after being told by Stu Inman that Portland already had Clyde Drexler and really needed a center, imploring Inman take Jordan and play him at center.

 

Bob Knight coached Jordan in the 1984 Olympics and the story goes that an NBA hocho called Knight to inquire about Jordan. Knight said something like Jordan was the greatest basketball player he had ever coached and probably seen. The NBA honcho said his team really needed a center, though, and that is the way they were leaning.

Knights response...

Then play him [Jordan] at center.
[/quote]

 

When relatively healthy, Bowie was actually a pretty good player. Once he went to the Nets, he had a few pretty good years:

http://www.databasebasketball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=BOWIESA01

Of course, there's no compairison with him and Jordan. But had he remained healthy, there might not have been quite the "What were the Blazers thinking?" response that the Bowie pick usually brings.

 

The thing is, the Blazers didn't need that much from Oden to make it a worthwhile pick. But they did need him to play.
I'm convinced that the Blazers will always find a way to screw things up.

 

Of course, Portland had the No. 2 pick for Bowie only because the Blazers had gotten it from the Pacers for the immortal Tom Owens. If you think trading Jordan for Bowie is bad, trading Jordan for Tom Owens... yikes.