First of all: Dave, you wiley sonofagun. I think your ambassador idea is really cool, but I'll be darned (darned!) if the BaBambassador has ill intentions.

(Tom, to help ease you in, you'd get off on a better foot saying Kobe > MJ than LMA > Tyrus Thomas)

Anyway, on to the fanpost: I had not seen much of Oden in the preseason since his eye-opening debut, so Sam Smith's (he received a 'buyout' from the cash-strapped Chicago Tribune but recently returned to work for Bulls.com, in a supposed independent role)takecaught me off-guard:

9 [in the West]. Trail Blazers.

So I'm not convinced yet. Greg Oden hasn't struck me yet as ready for the NBA and there isn't a point guard there. They are the young roster that is the envy of the league, and they are inching up on getting in the mix. But they still continue to work in too many new and young pieces to be consistent enough.

...

So is Greg Oden washed up? Hey, it's never to soon to try to wreck a guy's career. That's what they mean about the pros being a tougher world. The Next Great Big Man has come under some critical scrutiny—even in loving Portland—with some very uninspired play in the preseason. He hasn't played for a year, so we have to give the kid a break. He's averaged 11.5 points and 7.8 assists in 23.7 minutes in the preseason. Which is OK, but not Russell, Chamberlain, Hakeem and Shaq, who he was supposed to be. To be fair, he never said that. He's got two blocks in six games. His offense basically is getting the ball deep and dunking. But even the writer who follows the team used words like "awkward," "nondescript" and "lumbered." Brandon Roy and coach Nate McMillan were quoted saying Oden is just too tight and tense.

But people close to Oden know what's wrong. Generally, big men, despite their menacing demeanor, tend to be the most sensitive NBA players. Remember Wilt saying, "Nobody loves Goliath." Oden isn't a natural leader; just a natural talent. He needs support. He needs Mike Conley, his old running buddy and the son of his agent.

Conley, of course, is the Memphis Grizzlies' starting point guard, though one of four point guards they have and hardly irreplaceable on a contending team. The Trailblazers, without a point guard, are dying to get Conley. So far the price has been LaMarcus Aldridge. Too high for Portland.

但在某些时候,如果它意味着重击opment and happiness of the Next Great Thing, they may have to. This is also something to watch. Rudy Fernandez looks like he could be a star, and Memphis is trying to collect them. The Trailblazers appear to have some great young talent in reserve, like Nicholas Batum, who looks like he's being showcased, and Jerryd Bayless. And if they were willing to take Darko off the hands of the Grizzlies, who knows. Maybe even Antoine Walker. There could be something there, and I have the feeling Oden may not be all he can be without Conley.

Don't worry, I found it strange too, and a massive leap in armchair psychology.

That said, the Blazers should consider dealing Aldridge for Conley, because Aldridge is a jump-shooting ninny. :)