The official "Greg Oden vs. Kevin Durant thread

[Steve9347]

Sorry, this thread had to be started.

 

If I had the #1 pick, I'd have to take Kevin Durant... he looks like T-Mac but taller. Of course, Oden has the size, and all the talent as well. This is going to be such an awesome draft coming up.

 

Anyway, who's your pick for #1, and why?

[Jimbo's Drinker]

Durant

[ZoomSlowik]

Give me the big man. With one major exception, big guys win championships. Durant could very well be the next T-Mac, but Oden can very easily be the next Duncan. Both are fantastic prospects, and both have their positives and negatives.

 

Oden

 

strengths- Size, defense, athleticism, post offense looks a lot better now that his wrist is healthy. Is still a dominant force even though he has played much of the year at less than 100%.

 

weaknesses- Not a great offensive player yet, though he is still farther along than the vast majority of big men, especially for a freshmen. Defense away from the basket still needs some major work, MSU just abused him on the pick and roll.

 

Durant

 

strengths- Monster offensive player, can score in basically every way imaginable, great athlete, good size on the wing, very good ball-handler for his size.

 

weaknesses- Needs to bulk up, will be harder for him to finish inside in the pros. Not very good at creating shots for others. Defense is a major negative right now, though he does have the athleticism to be an excellent wing defender.

 

 

In the end I don't think you can go wrong with either player. Both look like they will be future stars. However, to win big I think Oden is the answer. You've got a lot more margin for error with the other pieces around a dominant big man than you do with a dominant wing player.

[southsider2k5]

If I am the Bulls, Greg Oden wins me a title within two years.

[Rowand44]

Oden.

[Soxbadger]

Only one of them is named after the mythic Norse God.

 

So im going with him.

 

(Although it may be Odin in mythology, but who cares they werent even using a language close to ours so Ill do what I want.)

 

Not to mention Weds is named after the god Odin, because some how it had a W in it.

[CanOfCorn]

After watching Durant last night against A&M...wow.

 

But, his defense, besides shot blocking, is atrocious.

 

I think, depending on need, Oden. But, if I'm the Bulls or Pistons or a team that relies on defense. I might take a flier on Durant.

[Palehosefan]

Durant. He's already 6'10 225 and has put on 20 pounds since arriving at Texas. He has already proven he's an elite scorer/rebounder. He's going to be a great SF/PF at the next level. I could see him becoming a more athletic Dirk. Then again you can't wrong with Oden either. I think both will be dominant big men at the next level. Durant will have proven himself more than just about anyone at the college level, and yet will only be 18 years old when he's drafted.

[shipps]

Oden.Big people play basketball good.I got nothing else Zoom said it all for me.

[WhiteSoxfan1986]

Oden

[T R U]

Durant

 

Oden is going to be restricted to inside play, while Durant can play inside, outside, and anywhere in between.. Like it was already said, he has been adding weight and for someone who could easily be around 6'11 with the added weight he should be a monster at the next level..

 

I am not sold on Oden, sure he could be a good player.. but I dont think he is this cant miss going to be an all star player..

 

But then again, it all depends on who has the #1 pick and what they need

[Steve9347]

All I'm saying is that Durant impresses me as much as Lebron did...

[ZoomSlowik]

After watching Durant last night against A&M...wow.

 

But, his defense, besides shot blocking, is atrocious.

 

I think, depending on need, Oden. But, if I'm the Bulls or Pistons or a team that relies on defense. I might take a flier on Durant.

 

I disagree on the Bulls part, Oden is EXACTLY what they need. His inside presence makes them significantly more dangerous, and makes their defense ridiculously good. They're already loaded in the forward department with Deng, Noc, and Tyrus. While Durant can potentially be better than those 3, that just wouldn't make much sense to me.

 

Durant

 

Oden is going to be restricted to inside play, while Durant can play inside, outside, and anywhere in between.. Like it was already said, he has been adding weight and for someone who could easily be around 6'11 with the added weight he should be a monster at the next level..

 

I am not sold on Oden, sure he could be a good player.. but I dont think he is this cant miss going to be an all star player..

 

But then again, it all depends on who has the #1 pick and what they need

 

I wouldn't be too quick to assume that Durant will be a good inside player in the pros. He's still woefully thin, that'll make a much bigger difference in the pros than it does in college. He'll get shoved around and pin-balled on his drives a lot more. He does have a nice turnaround in the post, but he's still much more dangerous on the perimeter, especially since it makes him harder to double team.

 

Oden has been arguably the best big man in the country despite playing with one hand most of the year. Statistically, he compares very favorably to Patrick Ewing and Hakeem Olajuwon. There really isn't THAT much more he can do when facing a double team every game, though his scoring is picking up recently. He'd immediately be one of the top centers in the league, and will probably be pretty similar to Dwight Howard in the short term (fewer boards, more blocks though) and more like Tim Duncan in the long term.

Edited February 6, 2007 by ZoomSlowik

[Chisoxfn]

Oden. Durant has closed the gap a bit but in the end I take a guy that can be the best big in the NBA and it has been proven over the history of the game that the best bigs get championship rings. You can't always say that about the best wing players or the best guards.

[DBAHO]

Oden. Durant has closed the gap a bit but in the end I take a guy that can be the best big in the NBA and it has been proven over the history of the game that the best bigs get championship rings. You can't always say that about the best wing players or the best guards.

Unless it's Michael Jordan.

 

And for the record I go with Oden. But if Philly get that #1 pick, it'll be interesting to see which way they go because Dalembert is starting to come on again.

[redandwhite]

Regardless of the sport, if I have the number one overall pick, I draft the best talent available and not for team need.

 

Reggie Bush > Mario Williams. Point in case.

[CanOfCorn]

I disagree on the Bulls part, Oden is EXACTLY what they need. His inside presence makes them significantly more dangerous, and makes their defense ridiculously good. They're already loaded in the forward department with Deng, Noc, and Tyrus. While Durant can potentially be better than those 3, that just wouldn't make much sense to me.

 

He's going to grow another inch or two and he SHOULD be better than Gasol, who the Bulls may trade for. Durant, when he gains some more weight, will be greater than Oden. As was said before, Oden will be limited to the inside. Durant will be able to do both.

 

Gordon, Hinrich, Deng, Durant and Wallace would be wonderful.

[WHarris1]

I assume everyone knows how I feel on this.

[ZoomSlowik]

He's going to grow another inch or two and he SHOULD be better than Gasol, who the Bulls may trade for. Durant, when he gains some more weight, will be greater than Oden. As was said before, Oden will be limited to the inside. Durant will be able to do both.

 

Gordon, Hinrich, Deng, Durant and Wallace would be wonderful.

 

That's not really true at all, Gasol and Durant are significantly different players. One is primarily a perimeter player, the other is a post player. Plus assuming growth spurts and massive weight gains isn't really a good argument. He'd need to significantly bulk up to play PF in the pros, and he'd still be better suited to play outside. He could be decent inside, but he's already damn good outside. His post game is really more of an individual matchup type thing. We're basically talking about a Tracy McGrady clone here...

Edited February 7, 2007 by ZoomSlowik

[T R U]

Regardless of the sport, if I have the number one overall pick, I draft the best talent available and not for team need.

 

Reggie Bush > Mario Williams. Point in case.

 

I know this isn't an NFL thread but regardless.. the Texans shouldn't have taken Reggie Bush. Taking Williams was the right call for them. They need a defense desperately, and they already have a multi purpose running back in Domanick Williams if he is healthy which is the ONLY question about him.

 

Reggie Bush would not have had the same season he had with the Saints if he was on the Texans, the OLine for the most part has been pretty poor and the defense is just atrocious. However, with Mario Williams and DeMeco Ryans being the first two picks of Kubiaks first draft they have made good strides in improving the D.

 

Williams is a rookie already getting double teamed which, imo, helped Ryans out a TON with the massive amount of tackles he had in his rookie season as well.

 

David Carr had a pretty good season despite his lack of TD's (68% comp, 82.1 rating) but again he didn't have Domanick back there who is a very good receiver out of the backfield. If they can get good offensive line play they are going to be fine offensively with Johnson, Carr, Moulds, Williams, Daniels.. but they need to build that defense especially with the Colts as the top team in that division.

[WHarris1]

I know this isn't an NFL thread but regardless.. the Texans shouldn't have taken Reggie Bush. Taking Williams was the right call for them. They need a defense desperately, and they already have a multi purpose running back in Domanick Williams if he is healthy which is the ONLY question about him.

 

Reggie Bush would not have had the same season he had with the Saints if he was on the Texans, the OLine for the most part has been pretty poor and the defense is just atrocious. However, with Mario Williams and DeMeco Ryans being the first two picks of Kubiaks first draft they have made good strides in improving the D.

 

Williams is a rookie already getting double teamed which, imo, helped Ryans out a TON with the massive amount of tackles he had in his rookie season as well.

 

David Carr had a pretty good season despite his lack of TD's (68% comp, 82.1 rating) but again he didn't have Domanick back there who is a very good receiver out of the backfield. If they can get good offensive line play they are going to be fine offensively with Johnson, Carr, Moulds, Williams, Daniels.. but they need to build that defense especially with the Colts as the top team in that division.

OWEN!

 

Also, it's hard as s*** getting used to Domanick's name change.

[T R U]

OWEN!

 

Also, it's hard as s*** getting used to Domanick's name change.

 

Haha yes, I wanted to just call him DD but he went and messed that all up by changing to williams..

 

I remember reading NFLdraftcountdown.coms mock draft and thats the first time I saw he changed his name I was like WTF?

[CanOfCorn]

That's not really true at all, Gasol and Durant are significantly different players. One is primarily a perimeter player, the other is a post player. Plus assuming growth spurts and massive weight gains isn't really a good argument. He'd need to significantly bulk up to play PF in the pros, and he'd still be better suited to play outside. He could be decent inside, but he's already damn good outside. His post game is really more of an individual matchup type thing. We're basically talking about a Tracy McGrady clone here...

 

I'm not assuming a growth spurt...he's 18 and will grow another inch or two. Plus, he will fill out...not a massive weight gain. If he could get some meat on those arms, and he will with a NBA trainer, I could see him as an inside/outside threat.

[T R U]

That's not really true at all, Gasol and Durant are significantly different players. One is primarily a perimeter player, the other is a post player. Plus assuming growth spurts and massive weight gains isn't really a good argument. He'd need to significantly bulk up to play PF in the pros, and he'd still be better suited to play outside. He could be decent inside, but he's already damn good outside. His post game is really more of an individual matchup type thing. We're basically talking about a Tracy McGrady clone here...

 

Tim Duncan is 6'11 260... you don't think that Durant right now at age 18 6'9-10 ish and 225 lbs cant add 30-40 lbs over the course of the next 4 years in the NBA with a person assigned to him for the sole purpose of bulking up and adding weight to be able to also play on the inside?

 

Its not an assumption, he is an 18 year old kid who has freakish size. He is going to grow more, theres no doubt about that.

[Jordan4life_2007]

Give me the big man. With one major exception, big guys win championships. Durant could very well be the next T-Mac, but Oden can very easily be the next Duncan. Both are fantastic prospects, and both have their positives and negatives.

 

Oden

 

strengths- Size, defense, athleticism, post offense looks a lot better now that his wrist is healthy. Is still a dominant force even though he has played much of the year at less than 100%.

 

weaknesses- Not a great offensive player yet, though he is still farther along than the vast majority of big men, especially for a freshmen. Defense away from the basket still needs some major work, MSU just abused him on the pick and roll.

 

Durant

 

strengths- Monster offensive player, can score in basically every way imaginable, great athlete, good size on the wing, very good ball-handler for his size.

 

weaknesses- Needs to bulk up, will be harder for him to finish inside in the pros. Not very good at creating shots for others. Defense is a major negative right now, though he does have the athleticism to be an excellent wing defender.

In the end I don't think you can go wrong with either player. Both look like they will be future stars. However, to win big I think Oden is the answer. You've got a lot more margin for error with the other pieces around a dominant big man than you do with a dominant wing player.

 

Zoom pretty much summed it up.

 

All I'm saying is that Durant impresses me as much as Lebron did...

 

I think Lebron would've averaged a triple double in college.