From Chad Ford:
Quote:
Oden stumbles in Portland
posted: Friday, June 22, 2007
Here's the latest I'm hearing from around the league ...
• Greg Oden's workout in Portland didn't go great. He was nervous, got winded, missed some lay-ups -- you get the picture.
Kevin Durant must be licking his chops. Durant comes in on Friday and everyone expects him to look great.
So did Oden blow his chance to be the No. 1 pick?
Hardly.
There's very little Oden or Durant could do in a workout to change the scouting report the Blazers have already compiled. Any team would be foolish to scrap a year's worth of scouting reports based on one workout.
At this point the Blazers are looking much more closely at character than basketball in these visits. What they want to know is how each player would fit with Nate McMillan and the team.
In that regard, Oden passed with flying colors. He's a great guy -- a team-first player who cares about winning.
If character really is the final factor, I think that puts Oden over the top.
I've been stating there's a 99 percent chance that the Blazers take Oden. I lowered it to 90 percent once Oden's health issues arose -- by the way, Blazers GM Kevin Pritchard says the team doctors have no serious concerns about Oden's injuries. Maybe the subpar workout drops the odds to 85 percent.
All of the evidence I continue to get out of Portland points to Oden -- including their shopping for a late lottery pick to draft a small forward.