2007/2008 NBA Drafts

Durant and Rose

I thought KD and Oden were pretty even at the time but KD had more potential

I liked Beas a lot and thought he was just as good as KD in college but Roses athleticism is out of this world

Durant and Rose

I thought KD and Oden were pretty even at the time but KD had more potential

I liked Beas a lot and thought he was just as good as KD in college but Roses athleticism is out of this world

I would have picked Oden. The way he dominated the florida big guys in the championship really had me excited, plus he was money from the line.

I liked Rose for the same reason I liked Oden, he carried his team to the championship(If only he was as good from the line as Oden lol).

I would have picked Oden. The way he dominated the florida big guys in the championship really had me excited, plus he was money from the line.

I liked Rose for the same reason I liked Oden, he carried his team to the championship(If only he was as good from the line as Oden lol).

Oden was one of the most athletic centers in the past 10 years for centers. How is he slow? Your reasoning is also wrong about the overpowering smaller players. What was he supposed to do? He dominated Horford and Noah and those aren’t "small" players.

Oden was one of the most athletic centers in the past 10 years for centers. How is he slow? Your reasoning is also wrong about the overpowering smaller players. What was he supposed to do? He dominated Horford and Noah and those aren’t "small" players.

Hindsight is 20/20.  Every GM in the league would have taken Oden and if they say they wouldn’t they are lying.  Durant had a phenominal year and being a Big 12 fan I saw a lot of him.  He was great, but scouts and GM’s were absolutely drooling over Oden.  He only had his hand injury at the time and averaged 15 ppg shooting with his off hand and took his team to the NCAA Finals.  Adding fuel to the "Big men win championships" theory while Durant’s team fizzed losing in the sweet 16 ( If i remember right).  Maybe some of you would have taken Durant, but I’m certain 29 NBA GM’s would have taken Greg Oden.

Hindsight is 20/20.  Every GM in the league would have taken Oden and if they say they wouldn’t they are lying.  Durant had a phenominal year and being a Big 12 fan I saw a lot of him.  He was great, but scouts and GM’s were absolutely drooling over Oden.  He only had his hand injury at the time and averaged 15 ppg shooting with his off hand and took his team to the NCAA Finals.  Adding fuel to the "Big men win championships" theory while Durant’s team fizzed losing in the sweet 16 ( If i remember right).  Maybe some of you would have taken Durant, but I’m certain 29 NBA GM’s would have taken Greg Oden.

but they were the BEST frontcourt in college.

but they were the BEST frontcourt in college.

Beasley & Rose remind me of when Glenn Robinson & Jason Kidd came out..Just like Beasley,Robinson was more dominate in college..And Rose was like Kidd who did the things that made his teammates better…

Oden played most of the year with an injured hand..That Ohio State team was full of freshmen facing the defending champs a team of seasoned vets…

Beasley & Rose remind me of when Glenn Robinson & Jason Kidd came out..Just like Beasley,Robinson was more dominate in college..And Rose was like Kidd who did the things that made his teammates better…

Oden played most of the year with an injured hand..That Ohio State team was full of freshmen facing the defending champs a team of seasoned vets…

as a sonics fan i really wanted durant 2 be picked number 1 so we would get oden, glad that didnt happen now

as a sonics fan i really wanted durant 2 be picked number 1 so we would get oden, glad that didnt happen now

Oden was 250lbs in college, he could play in any system in the NBA when he was trimmed down, not to mention he  (due to an injury on his right wrist) shot left handed from the line and shot pretty well. To me, it was the lesser of two evils, both Oden and Durant were great prospects, the tie breaker for me was, Oden had an NBA ready body paired up with his age, natural feel and being 7’0, it was hard to find, there were question marks about how Durant would cope with his slender build.

I went for Beasley to go number #1, to me, the best college player in the nation and had the stats to prove it, he reminded me of Carmelo Anthony and i was 99% sure he’d be an instant star, the other 1% that concerned me was his attitude and love for the game or the lack of. Rose looked like a pro in college but i thought it’ll take him a bit longer then Beasley to adjust, his PG skills weren’t great, he was more of an undersized SG then a tall PG coming into the draft.

This is why i tend not to get too wrapped up into the draft hype, because their past accomplishments mean very little when they get into the NBA, almost every American pro basketball player was a stud in college.

Oden was 250lbs in college, he could play in any system in the NBA when he was trimmed down, not to mention he  (due to an injury on his right wrist) shot left handed from the line and shot pretty well. To me, it was the lesser of two evils, both Oden and Durant were great prospects, the tie breaker for me was, Oden had an NBA ready body paired up with his age, natural feel and being 7’0, it was hard to find, there were question marks about how Durant would cope with his slender build.

I went for Beasley to go number #1, to me, the best college player in the nation and had the stats to prove it, he reminded me of Carmelo Anthony and i was 99% sure he’d be an instant star, the other 1% that concerned me was his attitude and love for the game or the lack of. Rose looked like a pro in college but i thought it’ll take him a bit longer then Beasley to adjust, his PG skills weren’t great, he was more of an undersized SG then a tall PG coming into the draft.

This is why i tend not to get too wrapped up into the draft hype, because their past accomplishments mean very little when they get into the NBA, almost every American pro basketball player was a stud in college.

oden at the time was a no brainer portland needed a c and oden was projected as cant miss as for beaser and rose id take rose i wasnt high on beaser coming out of college didnt know if hed have a position

oden at the time was a no brainer portland needed a c and oden was projected as cant miss as for beaser and rose id take rose i wasnt high on beaser coming out of college didnt know if hed have a position

Oden was a no brainer since legit Centers don’t come around often and they win championships

Rose was obvious since Beasley was a tweener

Oden was a no brainer since legit Centers don’t come around often and they win championships

Rose was obvious since Beasley was a tweener

To me, they were easy choices. Greg Oden, for as "slow" as he looked in college, also was a potentially dominant big man, and they do not come around often, and there has been no prospect like him since. He has amazing shot blocking instincts, is virtually impossible to box out and for as much as people comment on his offensive game, he has skills there too. Combine that with his athleticism, and even speed for his size, he was a no brainer. Plus, I do not know if you all recall, but at the time, the most we had heard about his injury situation was a broken wrist, that he played through the season on, shot a decent clip from the free throw line using his off hand and also was a 1st Team All-American. Kevin Durant had a fantastic freshman year, but was also on a team catered to his needs, and to me had yet to show he could carry a team. For as well as Durant did his freshman year, and he killed it, his team was not exactly incredible, and they had a lot of very good players, including two future first rounders (though they were both freshmen as well). He was incredibly slight of frame and while we all knew he could score, I did not see him being as good as he has become. Even still, I still think he will have a hard time surpassing LeBron James as the best player in the league in the next few years, but Captain Hindsight, yours must be 20/20 and I think it is fairly obvious that even if that means he is a top 5 player in the league, he should have been the first pick. But, at the time, I could still not see taking him as being justifiable in my opinion. As someone who was living in Portland at the time, had they taken Durant over Oden, I would be pissed.

The second one I think was even more cut and dry, though again, hindsight might have made it that way. But, from what I saw of Derrick Rose coming out of HS, I thought the guy was a killer and he was my #1 player in that class. I saw him being the best PG in the league, and while he is not there yet, I think he is well on his way. Say what you will about John Wall, because he is amazing as well, but I think he and Rose will be the class of the PG’s. In the World Championships, I think it became fairly clear that Rose was on the highest level of his PG peers playing on Team USA, and I think that he has huge things ahead of him. Give the guy a chance to play with Boozer, and we will see what happens, but I am guessing it could mean some big things. Also, for as well as Beasley played his freshman year, it again got me that his team was not incredibly strong. Both Oden and Rose making the NCAA Finals was definitely not all them, but their winning pedigree became quite apparent to me. I mean, the newest golden PG, Darren Collison, was a junior playing against freshman Rose, and Derrick totally destroyed him in that Final Four game to get to the championship. The year before, Collison was thought to be a possible lottery lock, but after his game against Rose, his ability was scrutinized a great deal. Beasley was someone I thought might fit in quite well to being a high scoring SF, but I still just thought Rose had something on him that made him the obvious pick. Apparently, the Bulls did as well, and I do not think they have been disappointed. As much as Jay Bilas loved Beasley’s "secondjumpability" (which, as we have seen, means what now?) I did not see him coming in and having the impact of D-Rose. Still, I thought Beasley was a hell of a player, and saw him maybe leading rookies in scoring that year and being a 25 point scorer down the line. He still could be, but he has flaws in his game that have prevented him from the impact he had in college destroying the Big 12.

To me, they were easy choices. Greg Oden, for as "slow" as he looked in college, also was a potentially dominant big man, and they do not come around often, and there has been no prospect like him since. He has amazing shot blocking instincts, is virtually impossible to box out and for as much as people comment on his offensive game, he has skills there too. Combine that with his athleticism, and even speed for his size, he was a no brainer. Plus, I do not know if you all recall, but at the time, the most we had heard about his injury situation was a broken wrist, that he played through the season on, shot a decent clip from the free throw line using his off hand and also was a 1st Team All-American. Kevin Durant had a fantastic freshman year, but was also on a team catered to his needs, and to me had yet to show he could carry a team. For as well as Durant did his freshman year, and he killed it, his team was not exactly incredible, and they had a lot of very good players, including two future first rounders (though they were both freshmen as well). He was incredibly slight of frame and while we all knew he could score, I did not see him being as good as he has become. Even still, I still think he will have a hard time surpassing LeBron James as the best player in the league in the next few years, but Captain Hindsight, yours must be 20/20 and I think it is fairly obvious that even if that means he is a top 5 player in the league, he should have been the first pick. But, at the time, I could still not see taking him as being justifiable in my opinion. As someone who was living in Portland at the time, had they taken Durant over Oden, I would be pissed.

The second one I think was even more cut and dry, though again, hindsight might have made it that way. But, from what I saw of Derrick Rose coming out of HS, I thought the guy was a killer and he was my #1 player in that class. I saw him being the best PG in the league, and while he is not there yet, I think he is well on his way. Say what you will about John Wall, because he is amazing as well, but I think he and Rose will be the class of the PG’s. In the World Championships, I think it became fairly clear that Rose was on the highest level of his PG peers playing on Team USA, and I think that he has huge things ahead of him. Give the guy a chance to play with Boozer, and we will see what happens, but I am guessing it could mean some big things. Also, for as well as Beasley played his freshman year, it again got me that his team was not incredibly strong. Both Oden and Rose making the NCAA Finals was definitely not all them, but their winning pedigree became quite apparent to me. I mean, the newest golden PG, Darren Collison, was a junior playing against freshman Rose, and Derrick totally destroyed him in that Final Four game to get to the championship. The year before, Collison was thought to be a possible lottery lock, but after his game against Rose, his ability was scrutinized a great deal. Beasley was someone I thought might fit in quite well to being a high scoring SF, but I still just thought Rose had something on him that made him the obvious pick. Apparently, the Bulls did as well, and I do not think they have been disappointed. As much as Jay Bilas loved Beasley’s "secondjumpability" (which, as we have seen, means what now?) I did not see him coming in and having the impact of D-Rose. Still, I thought Beasley was a hell of a player, and saw him maybe leading rookies in scoring that year and being a 25 point scorer down the line. He still could be, but he has flaws in his game that have prevented him from the impact he had in college destroying the Big 12.

To me, they were easy choices. Greg Oden, for as "slow" as he looked in college, also was a potentially dominant big man, and they do not come around often, and there has been no prospect like him since. He has amazing shot blocking instincts, is virtually impossible to box out and for as much as people comment on his offensive game, he has skills there too. Combine that with his athleticism, and even speed for his size, he was a no brainer. Plus, I do not know if you all recall, but at the time, the most we had heard about his injury situation was a broken wrist, that he played through the season on, shot a decent clip from the free throw line using his off hand and also was a 1st Team All-American. Kevin Durant had a fantastic freshman year, but was also on a team catered to his needs, and to me had yet to show he could carry a team. For as well as Durant did his freshman year, and he killed it, his team was not exactly incredible, and they had a lot of very good players, including two future first rounders (though they were both freshmen as well). He was incredibly slight of frame and while we all knew he could score, I did not see him being as good as he has become. Even still, I still think he will have a hard time surpassing LeBron James as the best player in the league in the next few years, but Captain Hindsight, yours must be 20/20 and I think it is fairly obvious that even if that means he is a top 5 player in the league, he should have been the first pick. But, at the time, I could still not see taking him as being justifiable in my opinion. As someone who was living in Portland at the time, had they taken Durant over Oden, I would be pissed.

The second one I think was even more cut and dry, though again, hindsight might have made it that way. But, from what I saw of Derrick Rose coming out of HS, I thought the guy was a killer and he was my #1 player in that class. I saw him being the best PG in the league, and while he is not there yet, I think he is well on his way. Say what you will about John Wall, because he is amazing as well, but I think he and Rose will be the class of the PG’s. In the World Championships, I think it became fairly clear that Rose was on the highest level of his PG peers playing on Team USA, and I think that he has huge things ahead of him. Give the guy a chance to play with Boozer, and we will see what happens, but I am guessing it could mean some big things. Also, for as well as Beasley played his freshman year, it again got me that his team was not incredibly strong. Both Oden and Rose making the NCAA Finals was definitely not all them, but their winning pedigree became quite apparent to me. I mean, the newest golden PG, Darren Collison, was a junior playing against freshman Rose, and Derrick totally destroyed him in that Final Four game to get to the championship. The year before, Collison was thought to be a possible lottery lock, but after his game against Rose, his ability was scrutinized a great deal. Beasley was someone I thought might fit in quite well to being a high scoring SF, but I still just thought Rose had something on him that made him the obvious pick. Apparently, the Bulls did as well, and I do not think they have been disappointed. As much as Jay Bilas loved Beasley’s "secondjumpability" (which, as we have seen, means what now?) I did not see him coming in and having the impact of D-Rose. Still, I thought Beasley was a hell of a player, and saw him maybe leading rookies in scoring that year and being a 25 point scorer down the line. He still could be, but he has flaws in his game that have prevented him from the impact he had in college destroying the Big 12.

Man, I can understand what you were saying about using your size to overpower smaller/weaker college players, but it was not exactly like Kevin Durant was not using this to his insane advantage as well. The guy was taller than about anyone he played, and he averaged 25 and 11 being like, a buck 85. To me, that was hardcore overpowering smaller, weaker players, which was crazy as Durant was not exactly Popeye. The next year, Beasley comes in, same conference, in between positions, and leads the NCAA in rebounding. Now, Durant and Beasley are both great players, but did them averaging a ridiculous amount of boards at their respective sizes (weight for Durant, height for Beasley) not raise some red flags about where they were playing? I do not think the Big 12 is a weak conference by any means, but a toothpick and a tweener pulling down rebounds like crazy made me say, what is up? I remember people saying Durant was the better rebounder than Oden due to his college season, and that made me laugh. Also, Durant shot 47% from the field, while Oden I am pretty sure was in the mid 60’s. Two different positions, but it showed me that Greg was indeed making a lot of going up against his smaller/weaker comp, while it showed me Durant might have problems shooting a high percentage in the league, which initially it did, though he has worked on it and improved greatly. I am not saying that I do not believe your choice of Durant over Oden, because it was a quite common debate, which those on the Durant side have taken to the bank, but to use the "smaller/weaker" competition thing as a reason for Durant over Oden to me sounds kind of bogus. I mean, you talk more about what you didn’t see in Oden than what you did see in Durant, and to me, that sounds a lot more like hindsight and a lot less like insight at the time.

Man, I can understand what you were saying about using your size to overpower smaller/weaker college players, but it was not exactly like Kevin Durant was not using this to his insane advantage as well. The guy was taller than about anyone he played, and he averaged 25 and 11 being like, a buck 85. To me, that was hardcore overpowering smaller, weaker players, which was crazy as Durant was not exactly Popeye. The next year, Beasley comes in, same conference, in between positions, and leads the NCAA in rebounding. Now, Durant and Beasley are both great players, but did them averaging a ridiculous amount of boards at their respective sizes (weight for Durant, height for Beasley) not raise some red flags about where they were playing? I do not think the Big 12 is a weak conference by any means, but a toothpick and a tweener pulling down rebounds like crazy made me say, what is up? I remember people saying Durant was the better rebounder than Oden due to his college season, and that made me laugh. Also, Durant shot 47% from the field, while Oden I am pretty sure was in the mid 60’s. Two different positions, but it showed me that Greg was indeed making a lot of going up against his smaller/weaker comp, while it showed me Durant might have problems shooting a high percentage in the league, which initially it did, though he has worked on it and improved greatly. I am not saying that I do not believe your choice of Durant over Oden, because it was a quite common debate, which those on the Durant side have taken to the bank, but to use the "smaller/weaker" competition thing as a reason for Durant over Oden to me sounds kind of bogus. I mean, you talk more about what you didn’t see in Oden than what you did see in Durant, and to me, that sounds a lot more like hindsight and a lot less like insight at the time.

Man, I can understand what you were saying about using your size to overpower smaller/weaker college players, but it was not exactly like Kevin Durant was not using this to his insane advantage as well. The guy was taller than about anyone he played, and he averaged 25 and 11 being like, a buck 85. To me, that was hardcore overpowering smaller, weaker players, which was crazy as Durant was not exactly Popeye. The next year, Beasley comes in, same conference, in between positions, and leads the NCAA in rebounding. Now, Durant and Beasley are both great players, but did them averaging a ridiculous amount of boards at their respective sizes (weight for Durant, height for Beasley) not raise some red flags about where they were playing? I do not think the Big 12 is a weak conference by any means, but a toothpick and a tweener pulling down rebounds like crazy made me say, what is up? I remember people saying Durant was the better rebounder than Oden due to his college season, and that made me laugh. Also, Durant shot 47% from the field, while Oden I am pretty sure was in the mid 60’s. Two different positions, but it showed me that Greg was indeed making a lot of going up against his smaller/weaker comp, while it showed me Durant might have problems shooting a high percentage in the league, which initially it did, though he has worked on it and improved greatly. I am not saying that I do not believe your choice of Durant over Oden, because it was a quite common debate, which those on the Durant side have taken to the bank, but to use the "smaller/weaker" competition thing as a reason for Durant over Oden to me sounds kind of bogus. I mean, you talk more about what you didn’t see in Oden than what you did see in Durant, and to me, that sounds a lot more like hindsight and a lot less like insight at the time.

I always had Oden ahead of Durant in any mock drafts that I did in 2007/08 ( posted on Draft Express where I used to post back then). In 2008 there wasn’t a clear cut number 1 with Beasley, Mayo and Rose all being number one picks at various stages but by about March 2008 I had decided that Rose would be number 1 on my mocks as he was probably less of a risk than Mayo or Beasley.

Imagine Miami had got Mayo to run the point or even had won the lottery and taken Derrick Rose in 2008!

I always had Oden ahead of Durant in any mock drafts that I did in 2007/08 ( posted on Draft Express where I used to post back then). In 2008 there wasn’t a clear cut number 1 with Beasley, Mayo and Rose all being number one picks at various stages but by about March 2008 I had decided that Rose would be number 1 on my mocks as he was probably less of a risk than Mayo or Beasley.

Imagine Miami had got Mayo to run the point or even had won the lottery and taken Derrick Rose in 2008!

I always had Oden ahead of Durant in any mock drafts that I did in 2007/08 ( posted on Draft Express where I used to post back then). In 2008 there wasn’t a clear cut number 1 with Beasley, Mayo and Rose all being number one picks at various stages but by about March 2008 I had decided that Rose would be number 1 on my mocks as he was probably less of a risk than Mayo or Beasley.

Imagine Miami had got Mayo to run the point or even had won the lottery and taken Derrick Rose in 2008!

I know they desperately wanted Rose, and were supposedly pretty high on Mayo as well, but if that happens, I think you might not have seen LeBron in a Heat uniform. Them trading Beasley was what made the money work, but I still think a team of Rose, Wade and Bosh would be damn interesting, though not as amazing as the current big 3 in Miami. But would LeBron, Wade and Bosh all sacrificed even more to be on the same team had Derrick Rose been the PG? As incredible as that might have been, I do not think so. Might have led LeBron to the Knicks honestly, or to reconsider his options. I think Miami is pretty happy with the way things turned out from the 2008 draft, even without getting their guy in D-Rose.

I know they desperately wanted Rose, and were supposedly pretty high on Mayo as well, but if that happens, I think you might not have seen LeBron in a Heat uniform. Them trading Beasley was what made the money work, but I still think a team of Rose, Wade and Bosh would be damn interesting, though not as amazing as the current big 3 in Miami. But would LeBron, Wade and Bosh all sacrificed even more to be on the same team had Derrick Rose been the PG? As incredible as that might have been, I do not think so. Might have led LeBron to the Knicks honestly, or to reconsider his options. I think Miami is pretty happy with the way things turned out from the 2008 draft, even without getting their guy in D-Rose.

Honestly I would’ve taken Durant and Rose. Rose has been my favorite player since his senior in high school so I never would’ve considered Beasley. I was always high on Durant too, I love scoring swingmen (not as much as Rose though, which is why I would’ve piocked Beasley in another draft) and I usually don’t like big men (although Blake Griffin is making me eat me words) and I was never all that impressed with Oden except for the Florida game.

Honestly I would’ve taken Durant and Rose. Rose has been my favorite player since his senior in high school so I never would’ve considered Beasley. I was always high on Durant too, I love scoring swingmen (not as much as Rose though, which is why I would’ve piocked Beasley in another draft) and I usually don’t like big men (although Blake Griffin is making me eat me words) and I was never all that impressed with Oden except for the Florida game.

oden and rose. Thats the way i felt at the time.

oden and rose. Thats the way i felt at the time.

 For me it all came down to the draft measurements. Once I saw KD was so long, and tall I knew he had potential to be a great defender, and he was already the best offensive player in the draft. That was a talent I thought you couldn’t pass up. 

Also when the measurements for Beasly came back, and we all so that he was a tweener instead of a PF I backed away completely. 

 For me it all came down to the draft measurements. Once I saw KD was so long, and tall I knew he had potential to be a great defender, and he was already the best offensive player in the draft. That was a talent I thought you couldn’t pass up. 

Also when the measurements for Beasly came back, and we all so that he was a tweener instead of a PF I backed away completely.