Joel's Draft Notebook - Durant's Bad Day
Okay, so the kid had a bad workout.
So what? It happens.
As reported here at Basketball News, certain top-two pick Kevin Durant came into his first major workout in Orlando entirely out of shape because he’s been spending too much time living the NBA lifestyle (as the recent Rumor Mill put it, the “whirlwind tour of sponsors and commercial shoots”) instead of preparing for the NBA game. According to our very own Steve Kyler, Kevin Durant looked out of shape, less chiseled and sculpted than many of those projected to fall right beneath him in the draft.
Does this mean that Kevin Durant might slip behind one of those more toned incoming rookies creeping into Seattle’s telescope at #2?
Not a chance.
Name one top-ten player who would be a bigger help to the Sonics than Kevin Durant: Brandan Wright? Mike Conley, Jr.? Al Horford? Yi Jianlian?
It would be silly for a team to pass up on such a stellar young talent because he’s 20 years old and a bit caught up in the early glitz of his newfound celebrity. Remember—Greg Oden has been The Next Coming since he was in eighth grade, but Kevin Durant really didn’t hit anybody’s radar as an elite talent until he proved himself to be just that during his first NCAA season.
But Seattle passing on the kid? There’s just no way.
Think of it like this: Let’s say you’ve got a few girls you’d like to ask out; one is absolutely perfect in every way but already has a boyfriend, another is also absolutely perfect, but has put on five pounds in the last couple of months, and the other four or five are reasonably attractive, but just aren’t quite as lovely as the first two.
Since girl #1 is taken (Oden), girl #2 is the obvious date. She can lose those five pounds, but the other girls can’t get any prettier.
And so it is with this situation. Kevin Durant’s out of shape, and it was a bad workout. Seattle surely has confidence that he’ll shed the weight and absolutely nail his next one. Let’s face it—he might be a little immature, but KD could be this franchise’s savior. He could be “The One.” Do you really think they’re going to pass that opportunity because of a few extra burgers and a couple fewer hours in the gym, knowing that once he’s in their system those days quickly will be over?
Let’s be realistic. It was a bad workout. So what?
It happens.
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