Wednesday, June 27, 2007

 

Odin/Durrant
Bowie/Jordan

I listen to a lot of sports talk radio. I download podcasts for a couple of my favorite sports talk radio shows so I don't miss a minute of the discussion. I listen because it's fun. I listen because I'm a correct as any of the so called experts that I hear daily on the radio. It's just opinion.

The NBA Draft is tomorrow night. This year there are two great players coming out, Kevin Durrant of Texas and the man most expect to be number one, center Greg Odin of Ohio State. Both young men are freshmen and had the NBA not changed their draft elegibility rules this past year, most likely would have been in last years draft.

While no one of that age, no one coming into the draft in any sport can possibly be a "can't miss," these two guys are as close as it comes. Durrant may actually be the more polished player with more basketball skill, but Odin will likely be the first pick based on his height and athleticism.

Porltand has the first pick, Seattle the second. Jay Bilas of ESPN has called Seattle's pick the easiest in NBA draft history, they'll simply pick the player who the Portland Trailblazers don't pick. He's right, and that'd be great if after the pick everybody just remembered that.

But they won't. Like every player, these two young men have weaknesses, they have holes in their games. I question Odin's skill on the offensive end, Durrant couldn't bench press 185 lbs. even once in workouts. If Odin turns out to be completely one dimensional, if Durrant, who plays in the paint a lot proves unable to do so a pro, they will be be considered failures.

Worse, if one of them is a failure, the team that selected him will have their pick scrutinized for decades. In 1984, the Houston Rockets had the first pick, the Portland Trailblazers had the second pick. The Rockets selected Hakeem Olajuwon, a great player, who lead the team to a couple of NBA championships. Olajuwon became an all time great. In college he was a great defender who allowed others on his team, like the great Clyde Drexler, to do the bulk of the scoring. While I liked Olajuwon and thought he was the logical first choice, I had reservations. Could he score in the NBA? He was actually short for an NBA center (listed at 7 feet, but some say he was as "short" as 6'8"). As great as Olojuwon was in college, as great as he turned out being as a pro, there were questions, legitimate questions about his abilities at the next level in 1984.

The number two slection that year was Kentucky center, Sam Bowie. Sam was the centerpiece of some fine Kentucky teams, a good scorer and defender in college,
bowie
though hampered by injuries. Still this was 1984, the Trailblazers played in the Western Conference, if they wanted to be successful,they had to get past the LA Lakers and their all time great at center, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Short of Olajuwon, the best player available for the 'Blazers in their situation was Sam Bowie.

The complication in 1984 came with the third pick. The Chicago Bulls, also in need of a center, but with the top two gone "settled" for swing man Michael Jordan from North Carolina who many (I am not among them) consider the greatest player in NBA history.

The Portland Trailblazers had the opportunity to draft Jordan, but chose Sam Bowie, an oft-injured player who never made a real impact in the NBA. People bitch about it to this day, but it was the right choice given the circumstances at the time.

Jordan had potential in 1984, you could see it when you watched him play. He was on a team of stars at North Carolina so he didn't really shine. There's a joke about Jordan which asks who was the only person to hold Michael Jordan to under 20 points per game? The answer is his college coach Dean Smith. They played a team game at Carolina, Jordan was one of many interchangeable parts, a great piece, but one the Tarheels could have been successful without.

The Trailblazers had no need for a player like Jordan. They had drafter a similar type of player the year before, Clyde Drexler, and already had an All-Star at that position in Jim Paxson. Selecting another guard, even one as great as Jordan, would have been stupid. My guess is that Drexler and Jordan could not have co-existed in the same backcourt. You don't waste the second pick in the draft on a player likely to spend a good amount of time on the bench.

Sam Bowie was the correct choice in 1984 for the Portland Trailblazers. It was over twenty years ago, it's over. Yes, Jordan won 6 titles with the Bulls, but the 'Blazers got to the finals, an impressive feat on it's own, with the pieces they had on hand. Had Bowie been healthy (he never was with Portland), they may have won a title or two. But he wasn't. Thems the breaks.

On Friday they'll be discussing Portland's first pick in the 2007 draft. It will most likely be Greg Odin, a great big man who played through injury in college. Some people will be calling the selection a mistake. They'll be calling it a mistake before Greg Odin plays a minute of NBA action.

If Durrant turns out to be an all time great like Jordan (and I do buy that), and Odin doesn't develope or is injured, Portland will never hear the end of it.

And I'll be writing a similar post in 2030.

BOJ

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