Comments on: Durant On Oden: “I almost drew a tear”

By: mike feeny

mike feeny — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 21:35:11 +0000

Classy comments from KD. Much appreciated from a devastated Blazer fan Sign me “New Thunder Fan”, except when you’re playing the Blazers…

By: kimutai

kimutai — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 06:16:40 +0000

That’s very sad for him, i really like the Blazers team, out of curiosity, did anyone else see that Oden is showing us the middle finger, maybe the sign of his doom

By: Leapin' Lee

Leapin' Lee — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 18:06:50 +0000

The 2007 draft was a no-brainer, Oden 1st and then Durant falls into your lap after the ping pong balls moves Seattle up to the 2nd spot (from the 5th or 6th).

Presti’s great pick in that draft was J.Green at no. 5, because he got ripped for it. Noah was 9th, A.Thornton 14th, W.Chandler 23rd, A.Brooks 26th, but Presti got the best player for the franchise by sticking his neck out and taking Green, a guy who didn’t have the flashy numbers that the others had. He was a team guy who made others better and it’s proven out.

Looking back at 2007, Durant was the easy pick, Green was the outstanding one.

By: Thursday Bolts – 12.10.09 | Daily Thunder.com

Thursday Bolts – 12.10.09 | Daily Thunder.com — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 15:50:55 +0000

[...] Kevin Durant said he almost cried when Oden got hurt: “Once I heard he was having surgery, to be honest with you I almost drew a tear for him,” said Durant, who became the no-brainer No. 2 pick behind Oden in one of the most highly-debated decisions in the draft’s history … “It’s unfair to him because people don’t know how hard he works every day,” Durant said. “But they’re already ready to tear him down. That’s life I guess. But he works hard every day and he does his job every day and people don’t give him credit for that.” [...]

By: thebrickman

thebrickman — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 06:48:56 +0000

True Blazer fans remember ’07′ There was a sign on I-84 that said “Honk once for Durant…Twice for Oden”. Everyone honked twice. In the Papers..on Local Radio and TV..National Pundits..Coaches and players all said “Honk Twice”. You have to take a spin on a potential gamechanging Big…a no-brainer.
Durant and Roy’s stars have similar trajectories. They will go at each other for a decade.Both their respective Teams are hitched to them and being built to optimize them. Durant definitely landed in the right situation in terms of both need for his scoring and room for his growth. His Superstardom is very close to absolute (injury..The #1 Starkiller..). If injuries can be overcome, Young Greg could make his mark as well.
My favorite part of the article was KD stressing how HARD GO worked.He did all that was asked and much more and came to Camp READY!! I and all Blazermaniacs feel so bad for him.
To DM and Thunderheads: Thanks for the kind words and the goodwill. KD: He’ll be swatin’ your shots before you know it.

By: Travis

Travis — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 06:38:39 +0000

Right, it was a no-brainer at the time, really. And even now, if Oden is healthy and playing out all that potential, he’s the guy for the Blazers.

By: Thomas

Thomas — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 00:57:05 +0000

You’re right. Looking back from December 2009, there is no doubt Kevin Durant is a better player than Greg Oden. But this is not 2009; the Blazers had to choose in June 2007. Whom do they want the #1 draft to compete with? Brandon Roy was the starting SG (and Durant would have been drafted as a SG), and Joel Przybilla was the starting C. On Draft Day 2007, who would you choose?

By: Travis

Travis — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 22:47:36 +0000

Ha, thanks Brandon. I think a lot of us have had our fill of K*be.

By: Brandon

Brandon — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 22:01:32 +0000

Durant is all class.. Such a good guy, through and through.. Thanks for this story, Darnell..

Travis, sorry about Oden.. I don’t wish injury to anyone.. Well, except maybe Kobe..

By: Travis

Travis — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 21:51:35 +0000

Glad to see Durant reaching out. He’s a solid guy, for sure, and I appreciate the closeness they have.

But hey, Darnell, I think it’s important to point out that the Oden-Durant debate has taken place after the draft, almost exclusively. Nearly every GM and analyst agreed that Oden was the clear #1 pick in the draft (particularly if your team had any room for a young center with such a high ceiling–and what team doesn’t?).

I only point this out because I think all this talk about how the Blazers should have and could have taken Durant needs to be laid to rest. They didn’t, and if they were to go back and do it again, they’d pick Oden. Most of us Blazers fans fully support the decision to select Oden, even looking back over the injuries he’s endured. And that’s not a knock on Durant, who’s obviously a fantastic young player.

Appreciate the support for our big guy.