I think it's probably 50-50 who goes first. I would still stick with Oden--big men take a little more time--even the big shaq wasnt a dominator his first year in college. Durant sure looks like a rare bird for sure best skill player at that size by far coming into the draft--the fall off from 2-3 is HUGE--still although oden look 37--he's going to get bigger stronger and more polished--you cant teach 7-1 260+

i would take Oden 1st w/o a doubt... he's got the David Robinson look about him... i think he's going to be special

[Edited by - TMS on 03-20-2007 12:25 PM]

You can't teach Jerome James's 7'1" 260+ either.

And sometimes, even if you're 7'3", have long arms, all-world athleticism, you never amount to anything in the NBA, then you get the smackdown by a mob of people half your size.
http://www.buzzhumor.com/videos/9175/NBA_Player_Keith_Closs_Beat_Down_By_A_Mob

do you take hakeem over jordan? the answer is yes 10 times out of 10.

to not take oden over durant means you think durant can be like jordan. i mean how much better will durant be than tmac? meanwhile, oden will anchor your frontcourt defense for the next 15 years. right now, he will get 10+ boards, 2+ blocks.

Posted by djsunyc:

do you take hakeem over jordan? the answer is yes 10 times out of 10.

to not take oden over durant means you think durant can be like jordan. i mean how much better will durant be than tmac? meanwhile, oden will anchor your frontcourt defense for the next 15 years. right now, he will get 10+ boards, 2+ blocks.

Great point. You take the can't miss center over the stud wingman. Jordan is a once a generation kind of player. Percentages point to Oden.

BRIGGS, how far do you see Noah dropping?

yo, i was totally going to make a post on that Chinese kid Bocker... i saw some clips of him playing in China... the kid's got a nice handle & a sweet jumpshot... looks like he can nail the 3 pointer & he's very mobile for a bigman too... sorta reminds me of Dirk in some respects, obviously on a lesser scale... i'd be willing to take a chance on him if he's available, but we'd still need a shotblocking presence in a bad way... if we can trade Channing for mid-late 1st rounder, & then draft Jianlian & Sean Williams, i'd be fine with that.

Cool Nike commercial in China.

depends on your philosophy obviously. the popular argument is that the game is so perimeter oriented today that Durant would be a better pick in general and have a more immediate impact. BUT... purists like me will always take the big man. If I were to rebuild a team, which many lottery teams are now starting to do, I always take the talented big man over the talented shooter simply because it's safer to build an inside-out team. it's easier to have lackluster perimeter players who get beat off the dribble, but a big man anchoring the middle, who can also get you easy buckets down the stretch-- than to draft for the perimeter and really gamble on both ends of the floor with young perimeter talent, and have no safety Big on the inside.

Posted by NYKBocker:

Here is a clip of Pau Gasol against Yi Jianlian. Kinda reminded me of the Shaq V Bynum this year clip.



HA HA HA...I just noticed the score...youtube editing baby.

[Edited by - NYKBocker on 03-20-2007 2:38 PM]

i watched all of USA's FIBA games last summer, woke up at like 4:00 AM or whatever it was to watch the games. yi jianlian looked pretty good but he had enormous difficulty guarding players from USA, spain, and some of the quicker european guards-- and that's WITH the FIBA rules with the trapezoid lane and there is no 3-second rule. I think that's actually part of the problem with international players defensively, intl rules let them play so much zone that they just abandon man to man defense all together and they never learn to D up. there are a few good teams that value defense, Italy, Greece, Argentina, Spain all play solid team D and man to man. but this kid yi is going to have to adjust not just to the tempo of the NBA game but everything. all those open lanes to the basket he's used to having won't be there, so he will have to contribute in other ways like hitting the glass and defending, but like I said if you watch him he really needs to work on his D.

one kid I was VERY impressed with was Italy's Marco Belinelli. really really awesome guard. played both ends of the floor and gave Chris Paul and Kirk Heinrich all sorts of problems, was a pick and roll beast, quick, had good range.

I remember one issue with Jianlian was his Danny Almonte type age. Which would affect his draft status as we all know draftniks look for the dreaded P word. Potential.