Nate McMillan & the Trail Blazers Win The NBA Draft Lottery

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Nate wins the NBA draft lottery and gets to pick between Oden and Durant.

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Alums General NCS Basketball

66 Responses to Nate McMillan & the Trail Blazers Win The NBA Draft Lottery

  1. Mr O 05/22/2007 at 11:16 PM #

    Don’t you have to take Oden?

  2. ADS95 05/22/2007 at 11:45 PM #

    Mr O, I think so. Durant is a great, great talent to be sure, but centers with Oden’s skills and upside come along once a decade.

  3. redfred2 05/23/2007 at 9:00 AM #

    Durant may razzle dazzle and light it up, but Oden will chug right along and be the “center” piece of any team. Of the two, Oden is the player to build a team around.

  4. noah 05/23/2007 at 9:04 AM #

    One thing I’ll say about Oden, he played the entire year with a bad wing and was still a dominant player.

    I don’t know who will be better…but I wouldn’t say everyone is on the Oden-bandwagon. I’d say it’s about 65-35 Oden/Durant.

  5. noah 05/23/2007 at 9:06 AM #

    There are four teams still playing basketball in the NBA right now. None of them have dominant centers. So the notion that you HAVE to have a big seven-footer in the middle is a little overstated.

  6. Lunatic Fringe 05/23/2007 at 9:12 AM #

    The decision is VERY easy…it has to be Oden.

    I will admit that I was a bit skeptical of Nate taking over the Trail Blazers (who were in shambles when he took it over), but you have to like the upside of this team with the changes they made to the roster.

    The average age of the team right now is 26 and they they do have talent… Jarrett Jack, Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge, Zach Randolph, etc.

    It is quite possible that Oden with another year of development of the core players would put them in position to have a similar season as the Raptors…out of no where to the playoffs.

  7. lush 05/23/2007 at 10:01 AM #

    the clear choice is Oden for Portland. They already have scorers in Randolph and Roy, and they have ZERO defensive presence. Other teams like milwaulkee, charlotte, atlanta, and even chicago would have picked durant over oden because they already have big guys in the middle and could use that immediate 20ppg that durant will bring.

    can you imaging the Sonics next year with All-Stars Ray Allen at the 2, Rashard Lewis at the 3/4, Durant at the 3/4 and Wilcox as the center?!?! WOW. Find a good point gaurd (free agent J. Kidd) and they will be unstoppable.

  8. Lunatic Fringe 05/23/2007 at 10:39 AM #

    Lush…

    Rashard Lewis is looking to opt out of his contract this year and become a unrestricted free agent. The Trail Blazers are reported to be one of the teams that will pursue Lewis.

    Sonics appear to be in shambles right now and may not even be in Seattle for much longer.

  9. TNCSU 05/23/2007 at 10:49 AM #

    ^^^”There are four teams still playing basketball in the NBA right now. None of them have dominant centers. So the notion that you HAVE to have a big seven-footer in the middle is a little overstated.”

    Noah, I was going to mention the same thing — while I think Oden is great, I think it’s more of a toss-up…I think the dominant Center (like Abdul – Jabbar) is long gone. If Oden had a great hook shot, maybe it would be a no-brainer, but I haven’t seen it yet. Defensively though, he’ll be tough. For anyone who saw Durant play, it’s tough to NOT select him, though.

    Who was the Center for the Bulls during those 6 championships??? Bill Wittington??

  10. redfred2 05/23/2007 at 11:14 AM #

    ^I think maybe we’re looking at different animal in Oden. I haven’t seen a whole lot of him, but enough to say that he looks to me like the type of center/player/kid who will work hard for the franchise without any concern towards own personal numbers. Now, whether a Nate McMillian, or any other current NBA coach for that matter, can provide the structure and make that mentality pay off nowdays, within the confines of a sloppy, one on one, league that doesn’t even know the word “team” as a concept, that will be the big question regarding the success of a player like Greg Oden.

  11. packbackr04 05/23/2007 at 11:15 AM #

    anyone see that JJ Hickson cracked the top 10 of the final rivals top 150.. giving Sid his forst top 10 recruit in his first year…. not too shabby.

  12. Red_Terrors 05/23/2007 at 11:17 AM #

    I thought it was Bill Cartright for the first 3 and Wittington for the others.

  13. Red_Terrors 05/23/2007 at 11:18 AM #

    In regards to TNCSU’s last statement.

  14. lush 05/23/2007 at 11:24 AM #

    “the notion that you HAVE to have a big seven-footer in the middle is a little overstated.”

    Tim Duncan and Shaq Oneil have combined to not only win 7 of the last 8 NBA titles, but were mvp in all of them as well. Ben Wallace was not dominant on offense by any means but was a monster on defense and a major factor in the Pistons championship. Thats not being overstated.

    Bottom line, the team with the dominant center wins the championship.

  15. TNCSU 05/23/2007 at 11:24 AM #

    Cartwright — that’s it. Couldn’t remember, but I just remember that he was not a “dominant” force.

  16. BJD95 05/23/2007 at 11:28 AM #

    I’ve long said that the real lottery “winner” is the team picking 2nd. They have no decision to be endlessly second-guessed. Both are outstanding athletes with seemingly unlimited potential.

  17. lush 05/23/2007 at 11:29 AM #

    “Who was the Center for the Bulls during those 6 championships??? Bill Wittington??”

    Lets not forget Luc Longley.

    and if you have the greatest player ever (mj) along with one of the top 50 of all time(pippen), as well as good shooting point gaurds(paxon, armstrong, kerr) and rebounders (rodman, kukoc, ho grant) in an era where there was little competition, then no you dont need a dominant center.

    who won the two years when mj was suspended for gambling???? a dominant center named Hakeem the Dream Olajawon.

  18. TNCSU 05/23/2007 at 11:38 AM #

    Tim Duncan, by all accounts that I’ve seen, is considered a Power Forward. They were just discussing it last night. As far as Shaq, I’ll agree, they’ve let his hype and his “run over you style” take over (and hurt IMO) the NBA game.

    I still don’t agree with, “Bottom line, the team with the dominant center wins the championship.” How many Championships does Patrick Ewing (arguably the most dominant Center during the 80’s and 90’s) have??

    Again, the best teams win Championships — a dominant Center helps his team greatly, but in no way does that guarantee a Championship (or even getting to the playoffs).

  19. TNCSU 05/23/2007 at 11:47 AM #

    Come on, lush — Luc Longley?? Bill Wittington?? and Bill Cartwright?? My main point is that Kevin Durant is good enough with a strong supporting cast to make a huge difference to a team — as will Oden. Put Durant on a team with an “above-average” Center, and his team will have every chance that Oden’s team will have with an “above-average” PF (to go up against Durant). I do remember Akeem the Dream — I also remember Sam Bowie — both went ahead of MJ in the draft. I just wonder if your opinion would change if in 7-8 years, Durant has 2-3 championships?? Or would you give his Center (whether dominant or not) the credit for the rings??

    BTW, I enjoy the friendly banter back and forth, but to win Championships, you have to play Defense AND SCORE POINTS — and Kevin Durant can definitely score points. That being said, I’d still probably take Oden, but it would not be an easy decision.

  20. lush 05/23/2007 at 11:58 AM #

    ^ Tim Duncan is a 7 foot post player, call him PF or C, what’s the difference?

    Patrick Ewing was 20 years ago. MJ and the bulls was 10 years ago. Of course there are no “gauruntees” but ill say it again……

    THE LAST 8 NBA CHAMPIONS HAVE HAD A DOMINANT CENTER/POST PLAYER.

    What am i missing?

  21. lush 05/23/2007 at 12:04 PM #

    i think we have a communication problem here, i didnt say that luc longley was dominant, i said mj and pippen were dominant with good support for rebounds and threes.

    and yes if durant turns out to be mj and wins championships without a dominant post player then yes i will change my mind, and credit goes to the mvp for championships right? that would be 3 for shaq and 3 for timmy(looks like its going to be 4).

    also, i never said that oden was gaurenteed to win because he is a center, nor did i say that you have to draft the center ahead of the scorer

  22. McPete 05/23/2007 at 12:07 PM #

    I think choosing between Oden and Durant is like choosing between Aniston and Jolie. Unless you’re the lucky bastard who can have both!

  23. TNCSU 05/23/2007 at 12:25 PM #

    ^^THE LAST 8 NBA CHAMPIONS HAVE HAD A DOMINANT CENTER/POST PLAYER.

    For god’s sake then, let’s shorten the NBA playoffs, and automatically eliminate all teams that have no dominant center! 🙂

    Oh wait, none of the teams left have a dominant Center….except for Duncan and the Spurs if you consider him a Center. BTW, you’re not missing anything….but I’ll go out on a limb and predict that Durant will wind up with more NBA championships in his career than Oden. Like I said, I’d probably pick Oden, but I agree with BJD, I think the real winner is Seattle with the number 2 pick.

  24. lush 05/23/2007 at 12:45 PM #

    ^i never said you cant win the championship without a dominant center, im saying that if you have one then recent history shows you are probably going to win.

    durant defineatly has potential to be great, but MJ great?? i dont know, they said the same thing about Grant Hill, Jerry Stackhouse, Kobe Bryant, Vince Carter, T-Mac, and now Lebron.

    Which one of the above has a championship?? And who was else was on his team???

  25. TNCSU 05/23/2007 at 12:57 PM #

    Grant was a Dookie, Stackhouse and Carter were Tarheels, so they were definitely overrated. I would agree that no one today can compare with MJ, and I was implying that Durant could either, but I think he could be a special player with the right players around him.

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