It's time for due diligence

On the NBA

By kerry eggers

The Portland Tribune, May 29, 2007, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (25 Reader comments)

Blazer general manager Kevin Pritchard says he’ll meet Greg Oden (pictured) and Kevin Durant and watch them work out before deciding which one to take with the top pick in the draft.

ANDY LYONS / Getty Images

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It’s possible that Portland general manager Kevin Pritchard is bluffing everyone in claiming he has “a completely open mind” about using the No. 1 draft pick on Greg Oden or Kevin Durant.

Maybe he’s like most of us, who figure a great big man comes along only every so often and the 7-foot Oden ought to be a Blazer.

But I believe Pritchard when he says he and his staff will take a long, hard look at both players during their visits to Portland for workouts, likely to be held the week of June 11 through June 15. And that the Blazers may decide that Durant, a small forward who reminds NBA aficionados of Tracy McGrady, has a Jordanesque quality they can’t pass by.

• Pritchard has watched both players in person multiple times, but he’ll meet each for the first time on their Portland visits. NBA rules prohibit team representatives from talking with prospects before then.

Ninety percent of the Blazers’ evaluation of the players is done, Pritchard says. How the players come across in interviews to owner Paul Allen, coach Nate McMillan and Pritchard will be the final part of the process. Staff members will spend an entire day with each player, including dinner that evening.

“We know what these guys can do on the court,” Pritchard says. “It’s a question of who they are off the court and how we feel about them. We do think both kids are going to be outstanding citizens. You can do all your intel work, but I can’t overstate how important it is to meet Nate, Paul, the coaches, and get a feel for who these two guys are.

“The last 10 percent is so subjective; it’s nonlinear stuff. It’s about how you feel about the person, a gut feel, more of the perception and the accuracy of who he is as a person versus what he’s done on the court. It would be shame on us if we don’t go through the process. I told everybody in the organization it’s important for us to keep an open mind. The canvas is up. The picture still needs to be painted.”

• Pritchard says it’s possible he will have one or both players back for a second interview/workout.

“For instance, if one of the guys isn’t comfortable with how it went the first time,” he says. “We reserve the right to do another one.”

Asked if he might bring the players in together to work out against each other, Pritchard quips: “I don’t think their agents would allow that, but that would be a great option. We’d see who was up to the challenge then.”

Truth is, it’s against NBA rules. So is putting Oden up against LaMarcus Aldridge or Joel Przybilla, or Durant against Travis Outlaw or Martell Webster.

“I would love that,” Pritchard says, “but they can work out only against draft-eligible players.”

• While meeting with reporters last week, Pritchard unveiled a bit of his thought process when he said: “What you’re after is low risk, high return. One of the guys is a higher risk, higher return, where the other is a little lower risk and maybe not as much return. Our job is to always try to get the highest-return player at the lowest risk we can.”

Pritchard wouldn’t confirm it, but I’m assuming he considers Durant the high-risk/high-return player, Oden the lower-risk player with perhaps not quite as much upside. Then Pritchard was asked if he’s inclined to take risks or surer things.

“Normally, I like the higher risk,” the Portland GM answered. “I’m a high-risk person. Sometimes to get to the championship level, you have to take big risks.”

Pritchard says he wouldn’t read anything into that comment, but it makes you wonder.

• Pritchard’s evaluation of the two players:

“Great big men are a rarity in this business. Oden is a big man but is also very athletic, has some unique skills and is a winner. Those things will play heavy in our decision. But Durant has something special. He’s a basketball genetic freak. He loves the game. He’s determined to be one of the best players ever.”

Oden has a 38-inch vertical jump and can touch 12 feet, 3 inches up on the backboard — two feet, three inches above the rim.

A wrist injury kept him out of the Ohio State lineup for several weeks and prevented him from getting into shape until late in the season. He says only recently does he feel the wrist is 100 percent.

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