In the most exciting thing to happen to the Pacific Northwest since Kurt Cobain took a shotgun to his head or Starbucks started selling Orange Creme Frappuccino, the NBA Draft Lottery order is in and the Portland Trailblazers and Seattle Supersonics are #1 and #2, guaranteeing either team a chance at Greg Oden or Kevin Durant.
Initially, I thought this outcome was substantive proof that the draft lottery is not fixed, but this draw seems sure to ignite the Blazers-Sonics rivalry and may even lead to the Sonics remaining in Seattle. So ultimately this draft may save basketball in the Pacific Northwest.
That being said, having Durant and Oden hanging out in the Goondocks may have a negative impact on the the NBA since East Coast fans will generally not be able to watch the two most hyped rookies to enter the league at the same time since Magic and Bird. Fans like myself are going to have to rely on Sportscenter highlights, the early TNT/ESPN game, or when they come to town to dismantle the Knicks in order to view 'the future" in the present.
The big winner in all of this? The Trailblazers of course. They already have an impressive young nucleus featuring last year's Rookie of the Year Brandon Roy and #2 overall pick Lamarcus Aldridge. Oden would be a perfect fit next to the offensively minded Aldridge and will be able to get some easy baskets off of Roy's penetration. But what to do with Zach Randolph? The Blazers could go the Durant route, pop him into the SF spot, giving them a lineup featuring Roy, Durant, Aldridge, and Randolph. That is potentially as talented a lineup as any team in the West and can create matchup problems at four positions. It's a good time to be a Blazers fan. Of course they could say screw it and draft that Chinese 7 footer. That would be Sam Bowie's pick, so that he would no longer be considered the biggest blunder in franchise history (The Blazers drafted him over Michael Jordan).
The big loser? Bill Simmons. He must feel like an idiot now for having devoted 1000,000 to Durant/Oden/the Celtics tanking.
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5 comments:
I like the Sam Bowie angle.
I would say that Lebron/Melo had more hype than Oden/Durant- a freshman who won a national championship and the most celebrated high schooler ever.
Another Weissian comment from the Mooks.
I think Steven slapping Irene should have gotten a mention as one of the bigger things that happened in the Pacific Northwest.
I could make this a seperate post, but I'm too lazy. With Randolph and Aldridge at the 4 and 5, Portland has more of a need for Durant than Oden. With Allen and Lewis at the 2 and 3, Seattle needs Oden more than Durant. If Portland rates Durant nearly as high as Oden, they should try to deal the first pick for the second pick and maybe Johan Petro (who should be a solid center for years to come).
Fat Dizzle- Melo went 3rd overall whereas Durant and Oden are guaranteed to go 1 and 2 in whatever order. Furthermore, I think a lot more people are enamored with Durant's game than Melo's. There are some people who would take Durant over Oden, but I don't remember anyone advocating Melo of Bron.
To Tremont, I would've used the Steven/Irene joke had I thought of it. I should have better flushed out the point that Durant might be a better fit for Portland than Oden, though if the right trade were to come around I could see Portland trying to move Aldridge or Randolph, especially Randolph considering his off the court baggage.
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