No Wrong Choices at the Top

It's rather obvious to everyone now that Greg Oden will be in a Portland jersey next year. It's also equally obvious that Kevin Durant will be picked directly behind him, and find himself playing next to Ray Allen.

What doesn't seem obvious to a lot of people out there is that it's OK to take either one of these guys at number one. If all of these sportscasters really have to sit there and argue about who the #1 pick should be for weeks on end, maybe they should open their eyes and realize they are equally talented.

Oden is your stereotypical dominant big man... Durant is the new prototype for the future of the NBA. A year ago, I'd tell you to pick Durant without blinking. Why? Well, mainly because teams like Dallas and Phoenix were looking just too quick and athletic on the court.. I saw guys like Josh Howard, and Boris Diaw, who were big men that could play more than one position, and even dribble up the court. They could move fast, play in the post, and shoot from the perimeter..

I'm tellin' you man, if it wasn't for Timmy D's dominance and the Spurs showing the entire league that classic five ball still works, I'd tell you Durant was the crystal clear #1 pick. But it's clearly evident that old school basketball still works. It's clearly evident that you can build around a dominant big man.

But it's also clearly evident, that if you put one of those new prototypical future players on the Spurs, there wouldn't be a team who could touch them.. Imagine a Durant or Howard on the Spurs.. It wouldn't be pretty for the rest of the league, and I can guarantee you there would be more people crying than Amare.

My point is, either one of these guys can easily go number one. Both guys are the future. One guy is your future prototype, and the other is the man you build around FOR the future..

I think the only thing that needs to be made clear though, is that Portland would take much flack for not selecting Oden only because of the publicity. Much of this slack would also come from people who don't know a damn thing about basketball.

Take Oden... Take Durant.. Frankly, it's not going to make a difference. Both of these guys are going to be incredible players, and I'm poised for an awesome draft this evening.