Saw an interesting idea on FanIQ (via Blazer's Edge), so I thought I'd give my take on it... the question is, if you were the Portland Trailblazers, who would you trade the #1 pick for?Critical Fanatic had only 2 players that he'd trade the right to draft Oden for... LeBron James and Dwight Howard.
The first one, I'd agree with. I think LeBron James is a no-brainer. He's already the best player in the NBA at age 22, and he's the most physically gifted player in the history of the NBA. No matter the potential of Oden, LeBron James is a guy I would trade him for.
The other choice of Dwight Howard, I would disagree with. Obviously, Howard is an utterly fantastic player. But I do have some concerns about him turning into one of the top 3 players in the NBA. Steve Kerr wrote an article on Yahoo! earlier this season, basically wondering whether Dwight Howard would really develop into a good back-to-the-basket player. I have some of those same concerns. I mean, he still scored 17 PPG and shot 60% from the field, but is he ever going to be a dominant offensive force? I'm not sure.
There is only one other guy I would trade the pick for, and that is Dwyane Wade. He is 25, but I thought he was the best player in the NBA this year when he was healthy, and we saw what he could do when he led the Heat to the NBA title in 2006. He is a great scorer, but he still remains unselfish and plays hard every night. I think he and LeBron will be the two best players in the NBA next season.
Other possibilities were intriguing, but not enough. Tim Duncan is the best PF ever (in my book), but he's on the wrong side of 30 to be trading Greg Oden for. Ditto for Kevin Garnett, who has started to decline (albeit slightly). Kobe Bryant is getting older as well. Beyond that, there's really no one I would consider.
So who would make you give up the #1 pick?