My thinking is that Portland may well want to consider drafting Durant instead of Oden.</p>
There's nothing wrong with Randolph, other than his contract. Given his stats, he's probably even worth the contract.</p>
Going forward, drafting Durant gives Portland 4/5ths of an awesome starting lineup, plenty of depth at the forward positions, and all they need is for one of the PG prospects to pan out. And it shouldn't be that hard for one of them to get a lot of assists passing to Roy, Randolph, Durant, and Aldridge.</p>
Durant's draft Capsule (notice the bolded parts). A 25/11 guy in college, lots of blocks, AND All-Defense. All the tools.
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<h2>Kevin Durant Draft Capsule</h2>
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VITALS: 6-9, 225, Texas
</p>
OVERVIEW: Quickly establishing himself as one of the top scoring
threats in college basketball, Durant became the first freshman
in NCAA history to receive both the coveted Naismith and Wooden
Awards. Ranked
fourth in the nation in scoring (25.8 ppg).
Led the Big 12 Conference in scoring, rebounding (11.1 rpg) and
blocks (1.9 bpg). Named the Big 12 Player of the Year and
earned all-conference first-team and All-Defensive Team honors.
Set school record and Big 12 record for most points in a season
with 903. Also set school single-season mark in rebounds with
390. Averaged 28.9 points and 12.5 rebounds in conference play,
both Big 12 single-season records. Scored a career-high 37
points on four different occasions, including a game against
Texas Tech when he also had a career-best 23 rebounds. Became
first player on a losing team to be named the Big 12 Tournament
MVP, after scoring 37 points, grabbing 10 rebounds and setting
career highs in both assists (6) and blocks (6) vs. Kansas. Set
league tournament record with 92 total points scored.
</p>
LIKELY DRAFT POSITION: Second overall selection.
</p>
COMPARATIVE UPSIDE: Rashard Lewis
</p>
COMPARATIVE DOWNSIDE: Jonathan Bender
</p>
ROLE PROJECTION: Scoring small forward.
</p>
POSITIVES: Unlike most players who come into the NBA with
certain spots from where they like to shoot, Durant seems to be
able to make shots from anywhere on the court. He has a stable,
consistent release and his shot looks the same whether he is
shooting a 10-footer or a 20-footer. He has uncommon agility
for his height and he is so rangy it appears he can get to the
basket from anywhere over half-court in two dribbles. Durant is
a confident ball-handler and can be very aggressive in taking
the ball to the hoop. He is a terrific foul shooter and an
excellent rebounder.
</p>
SHORTCOMINGS: It's been well-documented that Durant failed to
bench press 185 pounds even once at the NBA Pre-Draft Camp.
Considering he doesn't turn 19 years old until NBA training
camps open in the fall, this isn't much of a concern. He'll add
strength both naturally as his body matures and as a result of
working with NBA strength and conditioning coaches. The only
concern about Durant is that his NBA coach will want to play his
developing body too many minutes right from the start, and he
could break down over a long season. A judicious coach would
play him about 28 minutes per game as a rookie.
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