[Sir Patchwork]

Tanking is an art. The thing about it is, most teams that try to do it, do it wrong. You can't tank half heartedly. If you're going to tank, make sure you win 10 games or less the whole season. Most teams that tank, don't want it to be known that they're tanking, and they end up getting the worst case scenario. Bad team bringing in a prospect who isn't going to save the franchise.

Greg Oden is worth tanking for. He is the surest big man since Tim Duncan. He is much more of a sure thing than Dwight Howard even, and Howard is a really good big man.

Great franchises tank sometimes, but they don't hesitate, and they do it when they know what they want. A #1 pick doesn't save your franchise, a player does. Know what you want, and go after it without hesitation.

I don't think any team has the balls to tank whole heartedly to get Oden. He will probably land in the hands of some lucky team who had the lottery balls bounce their way.

 

[Sir Patchwork]

Jeez, Greg Oden's getting overrated before he even gets a chance to play a college game.

Have you seen him play?

 

[Sir Patchwork]

For those who haven't seen Greg Oden, I was as skeptical as you until I saw him play a couple times. He isn't your run in the mill good big man project. The guy is the most athletic and fluid seven footer I've seen since David Robinson. He has the skills too of a David Robinson. That's the comparison he gets and I think it works. The only thing is, he is naturally bigger than Robinson. Robinson was really ripped, but had a skinny frame. Oden has a bigger frame. Scary thing is though, beyond the adjustment to the league which will take a couple years, I don't think he is that far off David Robinson right now.

 

[Sir Patchwork]

On Tank Job 2007, Oden is definitely worth it plus there will be 2-3 more franchise level players in that draft just in case you get Rick Pitino'd during the lottery.

Yeah. You think Tayshaun Prince has long arms at 6'9 with a 7'3 wingspan? North Carolina has a kid coming in next season named Brandan Wright who is a 6'10 power forward with an 8'0 wingspan. That kind of wingspan makes Kevin Garnett look like Kevin Willis. He can do anything on the court. He will definitely be a great player too, and I can't see him staying more than one year at North Carolina.

 

[Sir Patchwork]

He has a nice wingspan, but it doesn't look super-freakish, like 8' would be. Maybe just a little freakish.

Maybe an exaggeration, we'll have to wait for official measurements I guess. Everything I've read says anywhere from 7'8 to 8'0 on various draft sites and such.

From NBADraft.Net:

Strenghts: His wingspan is unparalleled in the game of basketball. He has like an 8 foot wingspan....

There are a lot of guys with 7'4 or 7'5 wingspans or bigger in the NBA (Gasol, Brand, Duncan, Garnett, Shaq, Curry, etc) so for his wingspan to be unparalleled in the game of basketball, that means it has to be pretty large, and if you've seen him play, you can't really disagree. The kid does absurd things on the court.

 

[Sir Patchwork]

I'm sure he's grown a bit since then, but enough to add 10-11 inches to his wingspan seems impossible.

In any case, he does have a huge wingspan. He should be an interesting player.

Yeah, players do most of their growing between 15 and 18 years old. Like I said, we'll have to see. I just don't see why so much would be made out of his length, while players like Pau Gasol weren't given the same mention. Gasol has a 7'5 or 7'6 wingspan himself. Several players in the NBA have a 7'5+ wingspan. Anyways, we'll have to wait and see, and like HKF said, he has great athletic ability and skills too, and his wingspan shouldn't overshadow the all around player he is.

 

[Sir Patchwork]

Greg Oden will come into the league and be the best center right away (okay if Yao keeps playing like he is, then Oden will have some competition).