Minstrel

Curry wasn't in the same realm of certainty among scouts, as Oden is and Lebron James was.

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Ed O

(a) Curry wasn't a sure-fire thing (he wasn't even the best player in his prep class, or the second, according to the teams that picked Kwame Brown and Tyson Chandler ahead of him)

(b) The Bulls didn't tank to get him.

Oden isn't Curry. He's isn't Kwame Brown.

He's on par with LeBron, probably, and with KG... the two best prep prospects in the modern draft era.

That he plays such a position of rarity might make him even MORE appealing than KG and LeBron, in some ways.

Ed O.

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wastro

Just because the team is going for wins doesn't mean they're getting wins. And with the average age of the team getting younger and all the roster turnover ... Oden's still within the realm of possibility, no matter how hard the team is playing.

Redbeard

Considering we were the worst team last year and still didn't get the #1 pick, in no way do I think we should tank the season to go for the worst record. I would rather have the faith that we do everything we can as a franchise and fan base and as a result the #1 comes to us through good fortune.

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BlazerFan22

You always go for the W. Just becouse you have the worst record dosen't mean your going to have the first pick.

STOMP

I wonder how different the results of this poll would have been if the question posed was A Go for wins.... or...B develope the young guys?

developing the young guys means giving them regular minutes over the vets who are probably more capable of winning NBA games. More Dickau, Darius, Dixon, and Raef, less Jack, Webster, and LaMarcus. As a byproduct, going through growing pain struggles with the youth next season would also seem to better the club's odds of landing into the top 3 of a loaded draft.

Since Portland is well outside the championship discussion, I think the club should be looking at the big picture of what it's going to take for them to progress to that level. They obviously need to add more talent to their mix, but they also need to develope what they've got. I'm not suggesting that they should just give the minutes away, but I think the youngins need to play. IMO bringing the youth along this year is more important then winning a couple more games.

STOMP

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Anonymous Gambler

I have mixed feelings about starting the young guns just to develop them. Sometimes I think it's better to let them them earn most of their time.

That said, I can see most of our young guys earning that time. Jack and Brandon Roy are probably a lock to be starters. I can't see Dixon as being better than they are.

The concern is with Webster, Aldridge, Sergio and Outlaw. How many minutes do they get?

If I were the Blazers, I'd be tempted to start both Aldridge and Sergio in the developmental league for the first month or so, so they can log some serious minutes.

MARIS61

To even consider losing on purpose, for any reason, is disgusting and offensive.

If it makes you feel any better, we have very little hope of winning many games in the near future.

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Samuel

I think outside of the two frontcourt positions, where Aldridge is the only one who stands to suffer (4 vets in front of him), the only players that could hinder the youth movements are Miles and Dixon. Miles may or may not even be here next season at this point and even if Dixon IS, it's likely that Roy will beat him out for the starting job right away.

This discussion, then, is mainly about two players: Webster and Outlaw. They both stand to be slighted the most in the rotation.

Both will be competing for the same backup minutes at the 2/3. And for Outlaw, this is a make or break season.

Unfortunately the light hasn't exactly clicked on upstairs for him.
As well, Webster is a baby and giving him tons of minutes might leave us woefully vulnerable defensively.

The other thing to think about is the strength of this years draft. Though Oden would be the ultimate boost to this franchise, this years draft could be about 5 deep in terms of Super Star talents. Even ending up with the 5-6 pick would land us a prospect who could take us into playoff contention next year. That's how stacked it is.

Sticking with Nate's simple plan for minutes is probably the best plan for next season.

tlong

It is in the Blazers best interest to do everything they can to have the best shot at landing Oden. He will be superstar center. That kind of player comes along once every 10 years.

Blazer Maven

I agree 100%. The team needs to begin to resurrect the franchise. Another year of 55+ losses and the Blazers are Hawks west.

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TallBottom

I'll be happy if we just learn to compete everygame. I think we the fans and the team need to see the effort and some more wins will come. I think we'll still be in the lottery next year but we can't and shouldn't worry about the odds--what kind of culture would we be building in our young players if we tanked?

Oldmangrouch

Even if you go 0-82 you still only have a 25% chance at the #1 pick. Sounds like a bad bet to me.

Not to be pedantic, but .........

Isn't is a little early to be annointing Oden some kind of savior? Some people had similar expectations for Kwame Brown, Chandler, and Curry. Didn't quite work out that way!

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Fork

No, nobody had similar expectations for those players, except maybe their family.

Oden is the best C prospect in years. If he doesn't get injured, he's a hall of famer and possibly a top 25 player of all time. Those are expectations that nobody had for Brown, Chandler and Curry.

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