Durant will pay larger dividends than Oden

[KFDM COOP]

Durant will pay larger dividends than Oden

Van Wade

The Orange Leader

In the Great Northwest, there is a lot of fingers being crossed that Greg Oden is the “The Man.â€

The Portland Trail Blazers are counting on the 19 year-old youngster from Ohio State University to bring them back to the playoffs and return respectability to a franchise that has been on the police blotter more often then being at the top of the sports headlines.

Oden is gifted for his age, especially on the defensive end. However, the 7-footer has a long way to go on the offensive end. The Trail Blazers hope will become an Hakeem Olajuwon, Patrick Ewing and Tim Duncan-type player. Don’t bet on it.

Oden will certainly hold his own blocking shots and shutting some guys down but he will never become a dominant post player. He also has been somewhat injury-proned going back to high school.

I have to say this, it brings back flashbacks of that infamous 1984 NBA Draft. Which, by the way, was arguably the most talented draft to date.

The Houston Rockets drafted Hakeem Olajuwon as the No. 1 pick. There isn’t much to argue about that, after all, “The Dream†certainly had a Hall of Fame career and brought two NBA Championships to “Clutch City.â€

However, at No. 2, the Trail Blazers selected Kentucky center Sam Bowie. Bowie was saddled with injuries in his prep and college days. He was a decent fundamental player and he played a little defense. Unfortunately, Bowie and his bad knees and feet, didn’t last long.

Then comes the No. 3 pick. The Chicago Bulls drafted some “dude†named Michael “Jeffrey†Jordan.

Who gets the last laugh on this one. I’m leaning towards the Bulls after they claimed six NBA crowns and Jordan became simply the best player the NBA has ever seen.

Could you have imagined Jordan teaming up with another Hall of Famer Clyde Drexler in Portland for nine or 10 years. Both would have been together in their prime for a long time. Jordan had to settle for Scottie Pippen, who wasn’t a slouch himself.

The 1984 draft was far from done after the top three picks. Sam Perkins, who played in the league for 14 years, was the No. 4 pick and was an All-Star while playing for the Dallas Mavericks.

Charles Barkley checked in at No. 5 with the Philadelphia 76ers. We all know what he went on to accomplish. Ditto out of the No. 16 pick when the Utah Jazz selected some “little cat†by the name of John Stockton, who is the all-time assist leader for the NBA.

Another little tidbit about that draft was at No. 22 as the 76ers picked Lamar University’s Tom Sewell. I can still see that guy filling it up at the old Beaumont Civic Center.

To make a long story short, the best player in this year’s draft is without question the University of Texas’ Kevin Durant and I’m not trying to be a “homer†either. Durant, of course, went No. 2 to the Seattle Supersonics.

I watched the kid burn a University of Kansas for 25 first-half points off 10-of-14 shooting and was 5-of-5 from three-point range.

I watched Texas Tech coach Bobby Knight sit on the bench scratching his head when Durant lit up his Red Raiders for 37 points and 23 rebounds. At the Big 12 Tournament, Durant averaged 30.7 points, 10.1 rebounds, 3.2 blocks and 2.7 steals a contest.

I’m not saying Durant will become the next Jordan but he’s going to be pretty darn good. The kid can hit fallaways. He can drive and dunk with the best of them. He can nail pull-up, mid-range jumpers and can drain quick step-back, NBA-range three-pointers. He is a player that can do whatever he wants to do and can still play defense and make excellent passes.

I just think Durant is at least a 25-point, 10-rebound performer in the NBA and could be a 10-time All-Star kind of player. Oden, I may be wrong, won’t bb near those numbers. Then there is that “injury bug†thing.

Durant is a player that can energize a city, Oden, probably not. Durant has that flair about him, Oden does not.

Big guys, though, are hard to resist. I bet every “Recruiting for Dummies†books tells you that you have to take a center. Well, that’s not necessarily true.

Oden will likely become a superstar in his own right. He’ll certainly be better than other No. 1s that went before him like the 2001 disaster when the Washington Wizards took Kwame Brown and when the Los Angeles Clippers took Michael Olowokandi. Oden will likely become a player like the Bulls’ Ben Wallace, a big-time rebounder and shot blocker.

Durant, I would put him with the likes of Minnesota’s Kevin Garnett except that he‘ll shoot the ball from the outside much better than Garnett.

With everything said and done, both Portland and Seattle got a boost. It could be much worse, they could be in the shoes of the Boston Celtics or the Atlanta Hawks.