Brandon Roy: “It was the right decison for Kevin Durant to be in OKC”
Greg Oden has played the equivalent of exactly one season since Portland drafted the 7-foot center out of Ohio State with the number one overall pick in 2007. He’s scored 165 fewer points for his career than Kevin Durant scored during his 29-game streak of 25 points or more.
But Blazers guard Brandon Roy isn’t complaining about what could have been.
Roy, Portland’s 25-year-old franchise player, told Yahoo! Sports that the Blazers made the right selection in Oden, attributing his assumption in part to concern over whether him and Durant could have worked. Durant was drafted second overall by the Seattle SuperSonics.
Can me and Kevin Durant even coexist? We’re similar. We’re both creators. We are both perimeter players. I don’t know if there is enough room for both of us. But that doesn’t say Kevin Durant isn’t a great player. He’s right there for the MVP, so not a knock to him at all. I think he’s a great guy off the court. He’s cool. He’s humble. But as far as me having the career I wanted to and him having the career he wanted to, it was the right decision for him to be with Oklahoma City and for us to take Greg Oden.”
Roy, a three-time All-Star in his fourth NBA season, is saying all the right things. By questioning his effectiveness if teamed with Durant, he’s indirectly supporting Oden, who has fallen on tough times and likely is in need of a groundswell of support from the entire state of Oregon. The Blazers and their fans have admirably stood behind their big man every step of the way despite his plentiful pitfalls. Oden missed the entire 2007-08 season after undergoing microfracture surgery, sat out five weeks in 2008-09 with foot and knee injuries and missed all but a month this season thanks to a fractured patella.
But there is absolutely no question whether Durant and Roy could coexist. Look at Russell Westbrook and Durant. Westbrook, much like Roy, has the ball in his hands the majority of the game, controlling the pace and orchestrating the offense. Durant, over the past 1 1/2-plus seasons, has never had an issue with getting shots or finding a way to get into the flow. That’s not to say the Blazers made a mistake in selecting Oden. He was the consensus No. 1 pick, and Blazers GM Kevin Pritchard has said he’d draft him first overall again if he had to do it all over. And I believe him. Most GMs would have drafted Oden, too.
But Roy and Durant and LaMarcus Aldridge would be a sight to see. I think it could have worked and worked well.
Fortunately for Thunder fans, the tag team of Durant and Westbrook and Jeff Green and James Harden and Serge Ibaka looks like it’ll be even better.
-DM-
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Comments
Excuse me Mr. blazersbetter, but you obviously have not seen Ibaka play. He is but 20 (a junior in college) can jump, run the floor, has a shot and a mean streak. By the way, if he had played the same minutes as Aldridge he would have over 10 rebounds a game vs. 8.1 and over 2 blocks vs a whopping .56 for the dominating Aldridge. Aldridge is 4 years older. Let’s see what happens next year.
I do wish Oden a successful recovery and hope he is able to get back to playing for the Blazers soon. It will be much more exciting to watch the Thunder play the Blazers when their roster is healthy and in full force. However, Mr. Blazersbetter, Serge Ibaka is a beast on the court and has amazing shot-blocking abilities. His overall game is spectacular and will only get better as he ages and gains experience. I understand your desire to support the guys on your team, but there is no need to downplay or try to degrade an opposing player in the process. Good luck to your Blazers and GO THUNDER!
Let’s see here, the Blazers had Rookie of the Year Brandon Roy at guard/forward and Joel Pryzbilla at center. How could they be so stupid as to select Durant over Oden? It wouldn’t have made any sense at the time.
@OzMan that wasnt the point “Serge or Oden” Mr. Blazer said 3/4th of the blazer team is better then Serge and that serge is a joke. That can only be said from someone who doesnt watch the Thunder play and has no idea what Serge’s upside is or how well he currently plays.
When Oden is healthy, he will be one of the dominant players in the game. Even though he’s been injured, he showed remarkable improvement this year before his injury. Shooting 61%, 8.5 rebounds per game, 2.3 blocks per game, not to mention he changes the game defensively. Anyone remember the game against OKC in November? That was a glimpse of what he can do. You can always go back and say that we should have taken this guy or another. If Darnell wants to do that, then I expect an article on Sene, Petro, and Swift, and all the guys they could’ve picked instead.
Come on Darnell. Don’t write this blog. What did anyone expect Roy to say. Wish Greg health next year.
Really good post until you threw in Serge Ibaka, who is a joke in comparison to 3/4 of the Blazers. Oden is the most efficient center in the league and he will be inevitably dominant (once healthy). He is a sight to watch and changes the game every time he steps on the court. He carried Ohio State to the Final Four with his left hand…literally.