I will be devastated if we fall to 4 in the lottery

[mrhockey89]

BigTen, I think that, at the time, Durant was a bigger question mark at draft day than Oden. Oden was a sure pick at #1, could dominate both ends of the floor. Injury killed his career as it was starting.

Durant ended up better than anyone could have ever projected because of how skinny/lanky he was. He's a much better defender than ever expected too.

I'll admit, I swung and missed big time on that draft.

[TheGrey08]

Coolbreaz, are you reading this? This previous post by TheGrey proves we aren't the same person. What he says about Oden is something that I'd never utter in that he thinks Oden was drafted for size, and I think he was drafted #1 overall legitimately because he was a flat out BEAST at The Ohio State for the time he was healthy.

Oden, I think, would be right up there with Durant right now in terms of top NBA players if he would have been able to stay healthy. And he'd be every bit as impactful, in my opinion, as well. I believe his ceiling was right up there with that of Dwight Howard, and he had a pretty advanced game for a college player (much less freshman).

So I agree with Abe :)

haha, well I didn't mean he was ONLY drafted for his size. Just that I felt they were both very good prospects and if Oden was a dominant PF instead of a C that Durant may have been given the edge. The NBA tends to give Centers more weight in the value department (centers are overpaid probably more than any other position).

[Coolbreeze44]

I can't tell which one of you guys is which. I want an immediate DNA test for both of you, errrrr one of you.

[mrhockey89]

The thing was that Oden had the ideal size, was plenty athletic enough, was still a baby yet had an advanced game, and was literally everything you look for in a center prospect, and one could argue that finding a dominant center (I didn't say good center, I said dominant) would be the ideal position to obtain a dominant player at, as backed up with by Dwight Howard literally carrying the Magic to ECF after ECF during his early prime, and Shaq/Wilt's dominance, etc. I think Durant's biggest knock was that he was so skinny. And correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think Durant's workout numbers were all that great either. You were simply trying to translate scoring, which is not an easy thing to do. Beasley dominated college ball (dominant scorer like Durant, solid rebounder in college), but definitely didn't translate in terms of effectiveness in the pros.

It's tough for me to compare "if" Oden was a PF prospect, simply because I can't see him as that. IF he was a PF prospect, then he wouldn't have the skill set and upside that he did.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Oden was really starting to dominate in his second year, before the injuries really kicked in. Here are his per 36 minute numbers: 17 pts, 13 rebs, 3.5 blks, and 60% FG%. That was as a 22 year old 2nd year Center. Had he stayed healthy, who knows how good he could have been.

Hockey, Durant had a miserable workout. He couldn't even bench press 185 lbs. one time. He didn't have much speed or vertical jump either. But you can't teach two things he had in spades: 1) Length, and 2) an incredible touch. The length allows him to get a shot off no matter how closely guarded he is and his touch allows him to make those shots.

I'd still go Oden and Durant as #1 and #2 based on the information we knew at the time of the draft. Of course things turned out much differently.

[AbeVigodaLive]

Oden was really starting to dominate in his second year, before the injuries really kicked in. Here are his per 36 minute numbers: 17 pts, 13 rebs, 3.5 blks, and 60% FG%. That was as a 22 year old 2nd year Center. Had he stayed healthy, who knows how good he could have been.

Hockey, Durant had a miserable workout. He couldn't even bench press 185 lbs. one time. He didn't have much speed or vertical jump either. But you can't teach two things he had in spades: 1) Length, and 2) an incredible touch. The length allows him to get a shot off no matter how closely guarded he is and his touch allows him to make those shots.

I'd still go Oden and Durant as #1 and #2 based on the information we knew at the time of the draft. Of course things turned out much differently.

I think there's another thing other than injuries that separated the NBA careers of each:

- Durant proved to be one of those super talented guys who "got it" and did whatever he needed to do to round out his game and improve. I remember watching him that first season and wondering if his ceiling was a taller Jerry Stackhouse. I was wrong. The guy became one helluva player who could play some D and learned to play off and with others.

- Oden revealed that he was unable to handle adversity... which culminated in some shady decision-making that leaked into his personal life. Did he ever have the make-up to be the SUPERSTAR player that Durant became? We'll never know.