GO goes KO

Training Camp is only three weeks away? Did the summer go by that fast? Wait, I live in The Netherlands, we didn’t have a summer in 2007. Unless you call grey clouds and rain summer. This means you are one depressed person. The first NBA game of the 2007/’08 season is October 30th, and to be seen on TNT. The reigning world champion San Antonio Spurs, led by veteran big man Tim Duncan, will take on the Portland Trail Blazers, and rookie big man…. Josh McRoberts. No disrespect to Mr. McRoberts, but damn, it should the number one draft pick, maybe the best center coming out of the draft since Shaquille O’Neal, a guy who along with Bill Russell could be the NBA’s version of the Olsen Twins; ladies and gentlemen I am obviously talking about Greg Oden, aka The Man Who Wasn’t There. Sadly enough.

I wonder what’s going through David Stern’s head right now. Obviously, after the ref-scandal the League had a lot of negativity to deal with, but now with a new season nearing, with the huge trade that landed Kevin Garnett in Boston which also made Stern very happy, life was getting better again. And on that evening, late October, Tim Duncan, who portraits the NBA the Stern way, would square off against Greg Oden, a humble rookie. Now that would be good for the ratings, wouldn’t it? Arguably the best team in the whole League versus an exciting up-and-coming team should generate some interest, so desperately needed since no one watched the Finals last June. The Trail Blazers would be on National Television (TNT, ESPN and NBA TV) 18 times this season, with even a game on Christmas Day, where Oden would play against number two pick Kevin Durant and the Seattle SuperSonics. Let’s just hope Kevin Durant (R.O.Y. ’08) will be there, or else we would be better off setting fire to our Christmas trees for no specific reasons (not that I’m a pyro, but who doesn’t like a nice fire in the middle of the winter?).

I read people comparing him with Sam Bowie, or Ralph Sampson, but that’s ridiculous. Oden is still very young, and there’s no reason why he shouldn’t fully recover from microfracture surgery. But as a fan of the game you feel bad. I would love to see him finally play. Watching him donning the black Blazers jersey, and living up to the hype that has been surrounding him for years. A true center giving a city, craving for some success, finally something to cheer about. Blazers GM Kevin Pritchard rightfully so admitted he was disappointed about the whole situation, but also mentioned the future is “incredibly bright”. When you look at players like LaMarcus Aldridge, most recent rookie of the year Brandon Roy and Channing Frye, of course Pritchard has all the reasons to be optimistic about the future of the franchise. But with a healthy Oden the bright future he spoke of would’ve been right now, instead of next year.