Sports Column

Big draft tips off the deep thoughts

On Sports

By dwight jaynes

The Portland Tribune, Jun 26, 2007, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (23 Reader comments)

Heading into the most intriguing draft night in the history of the Trail Blazers, all sorts of thoughts are running around in my mind. So allow me to share them, with stream of consciousness that includes a lot of arguing with myself:

One important thing about last week’s workouts featuring Greg Oden and Kevin Durant went unreported: When Oden worked out, the gym was jammed with current Blazer players. And they were impressed.

Some even talked about him in the present tense, as if he is already wearing a Blazer uniform. … I didn’t see any of them at the Durant workout. … The conclusion I draw is that the players believe Oden is the guy. …

Does that mean he is? Nope. I’m not sure how much the players are in the loop on this one. … But which guy would you want to play with? The center who can cover for your defensive mistakes and doesn’t seem to need many shots to be happy, or the forward who is going to be a volume shooter? … I thought so. …

One perhaps-telling thing about Kevin Pritchard and the direction of this franchise that hasn’t been emphasized much is that the general manager has said many times that he believes the future is in an up-tempo, Phoenix-style game. Wide-open. … Would that fuel the temptation to draft Durant, rather than Oden? …

Don’t know – but when you think about playing a quick lineup of LaMarcus Aldridge at center, Zach Randolph at power forward, Durant at small forward, Brandon Roy at shooting guard and Sergio Rodriguez at the point, that’s one exciting team. …

On the other hand, are you telling me that given the same choice, Phoenix would draft Durant over Oden? I don’t think so. In fact, I think Oden can get out and run as well as any center in basketball. …

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