Should the Blazers have taken Durant?

ESPN columnist, Bill Simmons dubbed this situation "Sam Bowie 2.0". It's really not looking good for the Blazers....right now. Did Portland make a mistake not taking Kevin Durant who pound for pound was the best athlete and sure talent in the Draft? This is going to be in the minds of many Portland fans throughout this horrendous season at all times when they are taking some serious beatings going thru the tough Western Conference.

But seriously, it makes sense after the fact to have taken Durant. Yeah it's all said and done, but Oden has had a history of injuries. The man's body is not that of a young boy. Yeah he is only 19 but he looks and acts like a 35 year-old man. I would expect Oden to not be at a full 100% for another two seasons. He will be back for '08-'09 season, but he isn't going to be ready. The measuring stick will come in '09-'10, two years after the fact and the franchise has made some more changes. That's when Portland will see where their future is going and if the Oden will actually pan out. From sure-thing Hall of Famer, to now questionable if he will ever make a full recovery. That's the life of these athletes. Yeah the money's nice and all but it can be gone in an instant. That's why these players need to stay in college and get their education. I'm Greg Oden's age, and I definitely wouldn't want to risk the chance of not getting my college degree (Journalism). But enough of my soapbox, back to the point. While Oden's injured Kevin Durant will be in the Top 10 in scoring out in Seattle guaranteed, barring injury of course. Durant is just that good and is going to tear it up from Day 1 while Blazers fans will just sit and think, "Uh oh! Have we done it again?" Maybe it's karma hitting them in the face for stealing the pick away from the Celtics and Grizzlies when they only had a 5% chance of getting the #1 pick. Who knows. Now we will just have to sit and watch and let the drama unfold.

- Mitch Harper (mitchburgundy@hotmail.com)