Big Man or the Next MJ?
I haven’t paid a whole lot of attention to this NBA draft thingamabob that seems to have the city in a tizzy, but I do read and trust a few sports columnists here and there, and King Kaufman’s column over at Salon today is all about Portland and who they should pick in the first choice of the draft. He makes some good analysis, I think, about the odds and chances of Oden and Durant living up to the hype and hopes of the NBA-watchers out there.
Rusty’ll have the lowdown when the actual decision is announced later today, but the wild speculation and pronouncements before the deal is done is a pretty fun thing to watch.
And of course, there’s the “grass is always greener” argument to be made in other places, too.
Nice quote from Acie Law, who’ll be a damn good PG for whichever team picks him up today (from ESPN.com):
“‘Without question, Kevin Durant’s the most talented player in this draft,’ Texas A&M point guard Acie Law said. ‘But if I’m building a franchise, as most teams at the top of the draft are, you can’t pass up a guy you can just build your team around. Because there’s guys in the league that can score 20, 25 a game, like Kevin Durant can, but you’re not going to find a 7-foot manchild that can just patrol your line for 10, 12 years.'”
I’m absolutely still all about Oden, but the interview with Durant and Oden by Stuart Scott last night made me realize just how classy these two guys are and how good they’re going to be for the sport in general. I hope to God that the Sonics stay in Seattle after drafting Durant so we can see these younguns grow up and take over the league side by side.