Roy/Durant/ZBo= Blazers Big Three?

[KingSpeed]

Watching the All Star game I can't think about how it could've been. Would they have won titles with a serviceable big man in the paint, be it Joel or Haywood or Oberto or Okafor or whomever you like?

It's hard not to wonder. Durant's 21 and there are already rumblings that he may turn out to be one of the greatest players of all time, sure to top Kareem's scoring record.

 

[MIXUM]

i agree speed. thats the wonderful kpee. the blazers would be fighting for a title had they not picked that gimp oden. we could have traded webster and outlaw for a decent big man like brendon.


durant is already better then roy imo.

 

[KingSpeed]

i agree speed. thats the wonderful kpee. the blazers would be fighting for a title had they not picked that gimp oden. we could have traded webster and outlaw for a decent big man like brendon.


durant is already better then roy imo.

It's sacrilege to say around here but it's probably true. Durant is averaging 30 ppg at 21 years old. Who does that? That is crazy. And he pulls down 7 boards a game too. He's not the playmaker Roy is and he has turnover issues, but man... he shoots 48% from the field!

 

[Boob-No-More]

It's hard not to wonder. Durant's 21 and there are already rumblings that he may turn out to be one of the greatest players of all time, sure to top Kareem's scoring record.

Only 33,376 points to go. He's a lock.

Durant is averaging 30 ppg at 21 years old. Who does that?

Not Durant. He's not averaging 30 ppg, he's averaging 29.7 ppg. LeBron averaged 31.4 ppg as a 21-yead old.

Even if Durant does catch Kareem (highly doubtful), by them the record may be LeBron's.

Kareem's scoring peaked at 24 and he played until he was 41. Will Durant play 20 more years? Will he continue to be productive, and healthy until he's 38? Kareem averaged 23.4 ppg in 79 games as a 38-year old. Who does that?

BNM

 

[MrJayremmie]

Durant will never have the scoring record as if anyone catches Kareem it will be LeBron. But I do wish we took Durant. Oh well, hindsight is 20/20, can't fault anyone for taking Oden -- he is who I wanted as well.

 

[Rastapopoulos]

With those as our big three, our only hope would be to try to outscore the opposition. Maybe we could hire Paul Westhead to coach and see if we can crack the magic 200 point barrier.

 

[KingSpeed]

With those as our big three, our only hope would be to try to outscore the opposition. .

Right. In our current Big 3, we have a long PF who doesn't block shots and a center who never plays.

 

[Boob-No-More]

Right. In our current Big 3, we have a long PF who doesn't block shots and a center who never plays.

And with ZERO centers, our best player missing 15 games, and our PF who doesn't block shots, we've still won 5 more games that Memphis with their three healthy centers and power forward who blocks even fewer shots.

Careful what you wish for. Even with all of our injuries, and Memphis not having a single significant injury to any of their top 8 players, we're still ahead of them in the standings with a MUCH better chance of making the play-offs (77.3% vs. 15.0%, according to Hollinger).

BNM

 

[andalusian]

It is impossible not to be a fan of Durant - he is a stud - but Oden's production was just magnificent before he went down. Can't ignore the injuries - but at this point - all you can do is hope these are just bumps in the road - because if he does recover and manages to stay healthy - he is going to be a stud as well.

 

[Natebishop3]

Hindsight is 20/20. If the Blazers could make the decision all over again, I have a feeling they would take Durant. The problem is, nobody knew that Greg would have these kinds of injuries. It was completely unforeseeable. Durant is exactly the player we all thought he would be. There's really no surprise there. Greg was actually on his way to reaching the expectations this season, but again, the injuries have brought him back to earth. I think the Blazers might regret their decision only because of the injuries, which was not Pritchard's fault.

 

[XXPrimusXX]

Seriously.

 

[MIXUM]

truth hurts around here speed.... thats why so many posters attack me


oden was a mistake. plain and simple. even my grandfather said, "that guys knees are worse then mine at 80."

 

[LittleAlex]

It would work great as long as Portland could play with two basketballs on the court. It would also be an awesome fantasy league team.


Since there is but one ball and the NBA is a reality league those three would not be able to co-exist on the same team.

 

[Nikolokolus]

I wonder what would have happened if Hitler's mom had gone to an abortionist, I wonder what would have happened if Caesar had not crossed the rubicon, I wonder what would have happened if Booth hadn't shot Lincoln, I wonder what would have happened if the Beatles hadn't broken up ...

Even if the Durant, Roy, Z-Bo theoretical core would have been the thing to move us forward, what's the point in wringing your hands about it? Nobody could have realistically predicted that Greg's career was going to have the arc that it did, but it has and that's just the way it goes.

Think about this though, what if Bassy was still our point guard, and Roy was playing in Houston, and we had Tyrus Thomas at power forward? Good times.

Edit: 'cause I'm a dumbass

 

[Public Defender]

Z-Bo needed a change of scenery. And as much as I'm impressed by Memphis this season, it's not all thanks to Zach. He still plays poor defense

And the Durant v. Oden question has been played out repeatedly. Oden was the superior choice in the minds of nearly everyone leading up to the draft. Durant would've been the #1 choice almost any other year (other than the year LeBron come in, of course). Looks like an unfortunate choice at this point, but if Oden can stay mostly healthy for a few years, and can return to the productivity he showed at the beginning of this season, the choice will start to appear a lot more justified.

 

[Natebishop3]

I wonder what would have happened if Hitler's mom had gone to an abortionist, I wonder what would have happened if Caesar had not crossed the rubicon, I wonder what would have happened if Hinkley hadn't shot Lincoln, I wonder what would have happened if the Beatles hadn't broken up ...

Even if the Durant, Roy, Z-Bo theoretical core would have been the thing to move us forward, what's the point in wringing your hands about it? Nobody could have realistically predicted that Greg's career was going to have the arc that it did, but it has and that's just the way it goes.

Think about this though, what if Bassy was still our point guard, and Roy was playing in Houston, and we had Tyrus Thomas at power forward? Good times.

Pretty sure that was John Wilkes Booth

 

[BlazerBeav]

It would work great as long as Portland could play with two basketballs on the court. It would also be an awesome fantasy league team.


Since there is but one ball and the NBA is a reality league those three would not be able to co-exist on the same team.

Precisely. Three volume shooters on one team would not work, plain and simple.

 

[Ed O]

Pretty sure that was John Wilkes Booth

No, Booth was shot by Union soldiers, not by Hinkley.



Ed O.

 

[mook]

Had we not selected Oden and built around Roy/Durant/Zbo/Aldridge, we'd probably be in a better situation right now. I hate to admit it, but it's true.

Is that a foursome that wins a championship? Almost certainly not. Can you pretty easily parlay one of those four down the road for a major defensive upgrade at center? Almost certainly.

What if, say, Roy and Durant had amazing chemistry together, but the other pieces didn't fit? I think it's extremely likely that you can make further deals to land the right role players to put around Roy/Durant to provide the defense and rebounding you need. Especially if you also have bargaining chips like RLEC, Bayless, Fernandez, Batum, MLE, etc, to also play with.

All that said, things can change a lot in a pretty short amount of time. Before Oden's recent injury there's no way I would've written the above post. A year from now Oden might again look like a much better pick than Durant.

Heck, if you wait long enough Juwan Howard becomes the best player among the Fab Five.

 

[craigehlo]

A year from now Oden might again look like a much better pick than Durant.

That will only happen if we make at the West finals at the least. I supported the Oden pick at the time like most fans, but it's going to take a near miracle of development for Oden to ever look like a better pick that Durant.

 

[Ed O]

Had we not selected Oden and built around Roy/Durant/Zbo/Aldridge, we'd probably be in a better situation right now. I hate to admit it, but it's true.

Yes. I think it'd be hard to argue against that.

BUT (and this is not a "but" against your point) I still think the Oden pick was the right one... and I still think that the Zach trade was the wrong one.

I do not believe that Oden's injuries could have been predicted... I'm not all-knowing, so some evidence out there might prove me wrong, but I don't think that the Blazers would have missed that sort of real evidence or would have seen it and selected him, anyway.

The Zach deal... we traded low like we did under PatterNash. That was the primary reason I was against it.

All that said, things can change a lot in a pretty short amount of time. Before Oden's recent injury there's no way I would've written the above post. A year from now Oden might again look like a much better pick than Durant.

It is definitely a "what have you done for me lately" league, and every fan buys into that to some extent. There's not a guarantee that Oden will EVER come back from his injury (although he should) nor that he will not miss two of the next three years with injuries even if he does (although he should not).

Once Oden's back on the floor and showing improvement and reminding us all why he was picked above Durant, it'll be easier to live with the selection. This is a low point. I don't like to trade low.

Heck, if you wait long enough Juwan Howard becomes the best player among the Fab Five.

In the long run, we are all dead, indeed.

Ed O.

 

[e_blazer]

Once Durant comes off of his rookie contract, the combined salaries of those 4 guys would break the bank for any team in today's NBA.

 

[oldmangrouch]

Call me a horrible cynic, but it wouldn't shock me if the Blazers knew there was a risk with Oden's knees, and drafted him anyway.

At the time, drafting Oden seemed like the right choice. Reality has proved that we were all wrong. The only question now, is how (or if) the Blazers are going to deal with it.

 

[Rastapopoulos]

Had we not selected Oden and built around Roy/Durant/Zbo/Aldridge, we'd probably be in a better situation right now. I hate to admit it, but it's true.

Define "better". We wouldn't have our young center out with a busted kneecap (except for Przybilla) because we wouldn't have a young center, Zach would be bitching to Durant that he doesn't pass him the ball enough (because Zach would never have been humbled) and we would still be being called the JailBlazers. We would also have no defense, which, unless you're the seven-seconds-or-less Suns gets demoralizing.

Where's the bitching about Deron Williams? He's the guy we screwed up the most in not taking. Anyone see him throwing down in the All-Star game? For the time he was on the floor he looked like the best player.

 

[Minstrel]

I definitely think Oden was the correct pick at the time, based on ability. The only thing that has changed that is health. Therefore, if Oden continues to be so injury-prone, I'll definitely wish Portland had selected Durant (obviously). I think if Oden is fairly healthy in the future, Portland will be better off than if they had Durant instead.

And I like Durant a lot. I think he's one of the best, most exciting young players in the game. Aesthetically, I actually prefer long, talented wings to big men. But I've felt Oden was the bigger difference-maker, when healthy, since both were in college.

 

[Rastapopoulos]

Call me a horrible cynic,

You're a horrible cynic.

but it wouldn't shock me if the Blazers knew there was a risk with Oden's knees, and drafted him anyway.

Why does that make you a horrible cynic? That just makes the Blazers completely irrational. And where was that attitude with Darius Miles and DeJuan Blair?

At the time, drafting Oden seemed like the right choice. Reality has proved that we were all wrong. The only question now, is how (or if) the Blazers are going to deal with it.

Maybe next year, when Oden comes back strong and Durant gets hit by a meteorite, reality will prove that we were right after all! Reality has a way of changing its mind.

 

[Rastapopoulos]

Aesthetically, I actually prefer long, talented wings to big men.

You've revealed your feelings for Batum already, Smithers.

 

[Minstrel]

You've revealed your feelings for Batum already, Smithers.

And Pippen, ofc.

 

[BBert]

Call me a horrible cynic, but it wouldn't shock me if the Blazers knew there was a risk with Oden's knees, and drafted him anyway.

At the time, drafting Oden seemed like the right choice. Reality has proved that we were all wrong. The only question now, is how (or if) the Blazers are going to deal with it.

You are a horrible cynic. At least you're not old and grouchy, too.

 

[mook]

Define "better".

We'd have a lot better options than "cross your fingers and hope Oden recovers fully and injury issues go away."

We'd pretty likely have a better record this season.

That's my definition of "better."

However, like I said, "better" is rather fluid. We'd be better off right now, but it's certainly possible in a year we'd be better off with Oden.