The Association- June 23, 2007

Take Your Pick Portland

With Thursday's NBA Draft quickly approaching, the biggest question remains unanswered...who will be the first pick? The Portland Trail Blazers have the not-so fortunate position of having to pick between phenoms Greg Oden and Kevin Durant. There's no doubt that there is a lot of pressure on Portland to deliver on this pick. Portland is infamous for its selection of Sam Bowie in the '84 draft, passing Michael Jordan. Bowie was a complete and utter bust during his career, averaging 10.9 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.78 blocks per game during his eight year career. So there's no doubt that Blazers GM Kevin Pritchard is sweating more than Patrick Ewing in the fourth quarter right now.

If Portland passes on Oden it would go down as one of the most shocking moments in draft history and there will be more second guessing of that move then there was of the much maligned Sopranos finale. I'm sure that David Stern has been practicing saying "With the first pick in the 2007 NBA Draft, the Portland Trailblazers select Greg Oden, Center, Ohio State," since the day after the lottery. If Portland decides on Durant, the look on Stern's face could be as awkward as Eli Manning's after the Chargers took him number one a few years back.


No matter who Portland selects on Thursday, there's one certain, the fans in Portland win, and as long as ticket sales for next year are through the roof for next year, everyone wins....for now.


Talk About Burning Bridges


If there was an annual "Worst Teammate Award", I'm sure that Kobe Bryant would win in a landslide.

I don't think that there has been a player that has turned more people against him in such a short amount of time than Kobe. In a matter of weeks Kobe turned all of Laker Nation against him with his antics. First Kobe demands a trade. Okay, that's acceptable. Then Kobe backs off of his demands, saying that the Lakers are his team and he wants to stay. Bryant then repeated this process a couple of more times, solidifying himself as the most bi-polar athlete of all time.

Now this is where it gets REAL juicy....

This week, a video has surfaced on the internet (which is so stupidly being sold for $1.99 a view) of Kobe outside of a deli ripping Laker management and his teammate, Andrew Bynum. Now there has always been criticism of Kobe for being a less than model teammate. He's selfish on and off the court and was one of the leading reasons Shaq wanted out of L.A. For Kobe to go out and to rip on a center who is 19 years old is just insane. Kobe should go and review some old Laker tapes from his early days where he's throwing up airballs in clutch spots and not exactly playing up to snuff.

Bryant has crossed the point of no return with this latest stunt and solidifies himself as a first ballot entry into the "Worst Teammate Hall Of Fame" alongside such greats as Terrell Owens, Pacman Jones, and Barry Bonds. Kobe wants a trade and may get it, but no player should have the right to tell you where you're going to trade him. Kobe should take a page from Kevin Garnett's book and learn how to play the game on and off the court with class and dignity. You never hear KG complain, or whine, or throw his teammates under the bus. KG goes out there every night, for an awful team, plays his hardest and keeps his mouth shut, even though he has every right to be upset with his situation. Bryant is telling the makes of the video to stock up on Bulls gear. A little presumptuous don't you think? If I were Chicago, I'd be watching Kobe very closely right now, because if their situation doesn't pan out like Kobe seems to think it will (which there is a chance it will not due to the fact Chicago would likely have to include Ben Gordon, Luol Deng, and Ben Wallace, i.e. the core of their team to bring Bryant to the Bulls.) it might only be a matter of time before Kobe is crying up a storm again demanding a trade. Even though Kobe might be worth it on the court, sometimes players like him are too much of a headache to have on your team.