NBA Draft ‘07 - 1984 Redux?

By: Adam Wilson

I am currently reading the book Tip Off, by Filip Bondy. [review coming soon to CSR]. It’s about the 1984 NBA Draft and makes the claim that it changed basketball forever - I can’t disagree with that. While reading it, I have been struck with how similar the situation was in 1984 to the situation entering the 2007 NBA Draft. It’s kind of creepy actually.Without the benefit of hindsight, there was a real debate about who the top players were from 1984. Michael Jordan? Hakeem Olajuwon? Sam Bowie? There were many questions within the top three teams about who to pick. Most basketball people felt Olajuwon & Jordan were surefire superstars…but they didn’t all agree on who was better. The Rockets felt Olajuwon was the best choice, so they picked him first. Jordan went third to the Bulls after the Blazers picked Bowie second.

Fast forward to 2007: there has been talk all year long about Greg Oden and Kevin Durant. Who is going to be the superstar? Who will win the Championships? Will one of them bust? Most importantly, who is most deserving of the Number 1 pick?

There are eerie similarities. Bowie had injury questions like Oden does, although Bowie’s injuries were more significant. Durant has that Jordan-like feeling; the killer instinct.

Last night in the draft, the Blazers took Greg Oden first and the Sonics “settled” for Durant. The Trailblazers were so confident of Oden that they traded away Zach Randolph to the Knicks for Channing Frye. [I'm not positive why they did this, actually - it seems to me that Randolph is a ka-billion times better version of Frye. Maybe it had something to do with salary cap.] The Sonics traded away Ray Allen to the Celtics for the rights to Jeff Green. So the Sonics are confident enough that they traded away the only scorer they had. In other words - these draftees are two really good players.

The prevailing wisdom is that they are both going to be superstars, but Oden is the safer pick. He proved in his one year of college that he can handle the pressure and skill level that it will take to play in the NBA. He is 7′0″ and 250 lbs. He is quick, agile, and strong. Barring injury, he is going to be an all-time great. (And I am not just saying that because I am a Buckeye myself!) Oden will dominate the lane offensively, and especially defensively, for a long time. There is no shame in picking Oden.

But what if the TrailBlazers made a mistake? What if they passed on the next Michael Jordan? What if Kevin Durant becomes a monster on the court, winning championship after championship? What if Durant becomes bigger than the game, like Jordan did? Should the Blazers have taken Durant? I think they did the right thing; even though Durant is going to be a superstar. The Blazers just drafted a dominant center who will be a cornerstone of the team for years. Durant will be a star, but so will Oden.

Do you think the Rockets regret their decision? Well… probably a little. I mean, they did pass on Michael Jordan! But then again, they won two consecutive titles (1994 and 1995). There is no way they win those titles with out Hakeem. [Interesting trivia: the Rockets almost went through with a trade that would have sent Ralph Sampson to the Blazers for the second pick, so they almost had Olajuwon AND Jordan!]

The 1984 Draft also included people like Charles Barkley, John Stockton & Sam Perkins. Barkley and Stockton became franchise-changers and Hall of Famers. The 2007 Draft has players like Mike Conley Jr., Al Horford and Yi Something-or-other. Will they be franchise-changers? More pressing question: will Yi even show up in Milwaukee?

But the main storyline in 1984 (at least with the benefit of hindsight) was the Blazers. They passed on the greatest player of all time, Michael Jordan… for Sam Bowie!

Hopefully, they didn’t do it again in 2007.

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Adam Wilson not only lives in Cincinnati...but is also 87% sure that Jay Bruce can heal the blind. He also is the editor of Letters on Pages, a non-fiction book review website, where you can find the review you just read and many more!

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