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For Bucks, it“s over
Team looks ahead to Oden, Durant in draft
By Brett Winkler
The college basketball season is officially over, and for all intents and purposes, so is the NBA season in Milwaukee.
Since its reasonable to say that there probably wont be any good news for the Bucks until the NBA draft on June 28, it only makes sense to look ahead to that point.
Granted Ohio States Greg Oden and Texas Kevin Durant both declare for the draft, the teams whose ping-pong balls bounce them into the No. 1 and 2 spots this year should have a solid superstar for at least the next decade.
The Bucks are currently sitting pretty at the three spot, based on their record this season, behind the Memphis Grizzlies and Boston Celtics, which are both, somehow, a little worse.
As the Bucks proved in 2005 when they won the first overall pick despite having only the fifth-worst record and a 6.3 percent chance of doing so, landing those lottery picks are no guarantee.
Still, if the Bucks manage to suck their way into the top spot of the 2007 draft, theyll be faced with a very auspicious dilemma: Oden or Durant? Its really a win-win situation, but which of the young studs would better suit the Krystkowiak Klub?
Here are the pros and cons to the Bucks drafting Greg Oden.
Pros: Oden is one of the best big men available since, uh, Andrew Bogut. Seriously though, hes up there with Yao Ming, Tim Duncan and hopefully Bogut in a few years.
He has to share the limelight and the hype that goes with it, and with super-freak athlete Durant, otherwise there wouldnt even be a debate as to who the number one overall pick should be.
Hes a great rebounder and a scary presence down low. Defensively, hes aggressive and has the size and ability to block any shot within a three court radius. And, as he showed last Monday in a losing effort, he also has a penchant for taking over big games.
He basically guarantees the team that drafts him at least an additional 10 wins “ even if the league-leading Dallas Mavericks somehow end up with him.
Cons: The biggest con for the Bucks is the fact that they used the No. 1 overall pick on a center just two years ago, and drafting Oden would be sort of a slap in the face to Bogut. Then again, Bogut did play power-forward last year when Jamaal Magloire occupied the center position.
Charlie Villanueva could just move back to small forward, which was where he played in Toronto last year anyways.
This scenario would include Bobby Simmons back in the sixth man role, where he absolutely thrived in his time with the Los Angeles Clippers. Come to think of it, this isnt a con at all; this is probably the best-case scenario.
The only other concern that comes to mind is that since this guy looks like hes 40 years old, well, maybe he really is, the team that drafts him is doing so with the knowledge that he might call it a career after a year or two to spend some more time with his grandchildren. And of course, he is a small injury risk “ but that comes with old age.
Milwaukee would certainly benefit if this Buckeye became a Buck, but would they be better off with Oden over Durant? Find out next week in part two of The Great Debate.
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