Hearing the news late last night was the ultimate déjà vu moment for everyone who follows the NBA. The headlines said it all, “Greg Oden Needs Knee Surgery - Out for the Season”. It was a bummer the first time, the second time we all knew it was bad and now the third time we are just used to it. First of all I hear Blazer fans jumping all over him and it’s not right, cut the guy some slack, it’s not his fault.
He just so happens to be 7 feet tall and be good at basketball and, oh-by-the-way, his knees are made out of glass. Just the weight of the expectations of the city of Portland was enough to shatter those knees into a million pieces. We all wondered about him when we saw him at Ohio State and he looked like he was 55 years old. It was only a matter of time before “gramps” body broke down, it just seemed like it would take a little longer.
So now everyone can stop squawking about how Durant is a future HOF and Oden is a bust. The verdict has been in for a while now, so 90% of the NBA GM’s and scouts would have been wrong. You can’t predict these things, get over it and move on.
Yes, the Blazers could have drafted Jordan (or Hakeem Olajuwon if they had won the coin flip) in the ’84 draft. Yes they could have drafted Durant in 2007 and Oden’s and Roy’s knees would be an afterthought or another teams problem. But now, after those two decisions the only logical thing is to disband the franchise right? That kind of sentiment is being expressed throughout Portland and it is ridiculous.
Give me any kind of odds and I will bet that Greg Oden will not be with the Blazers next year. I might even parlay that with a “will LeBron go third person on us in his next interview” bet just to make it worth my time. The relationship is too co-dependent for both sides and it would be best for both the Blazers and Oden to move on. If Blazers GM Rich Cho was ever looking for an opportunity to prove he is more than just Paul Allen’s mouthpiece, here it is.
YOU JUST GOT BURNED
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