Drummond or Lillard is Oden or Durant 2.0

I remember the Oregon newspaper headlines in the middle of June, 2007. "Oden or Durant?" "Durant or Oden?". The conventional wisdom has always been "You can't teach size", and Portland went with the pick that nearly every other GM, analyst, and otherwise person who isn't utilizing their 20/20 hindsight picked; Greg Oden.

The big man had game, and was developing well. He had question marks about injury history, but Portland rolled the dice, just as it did with Sam Bowie in 1984 when Michael Jordan was on the board.

Neither decision ended well. Kevin Durant, who was at the time the John Wooden Award winner and Naismith College Player of the Year, also went on to become the Rookie of the Year, 3x consecutive scoring champion, 3x all-star, 3x All-NBA First Team, 2010 Fiba Gold Medalist with Team USA, who has led his team further into the postseason every year. He is the player's player, a true professional. Humble, unafraid, and clutch. Michael Jordan needs no introduction, suffice it to say that Portland still managed to make it to the NBA Finals, only to get "MJ'd" like so many other teams did. A legendary player with the intangible, immeasurable, oh so difficult to grasp will to win. Jordan brought back-to-back-to-back championships to Chicago not once, but TWICE. He also won a gold medal with the '92 USA Olympic team (The Dream Team), and a whole other list of things that cemented his name under G.O.A.T.

If the 3rd time is the charm, then we may finally have a great team in Portland again. In yet another draft lottery, with yet another high pick, and yet another choice between a big man and a talented player who isn't a "7 foot Center" Portland has a chance to finally make the right choice.

I hear the outcries already coming from here and there: "It's different this time! Drummond has talent!" "He's a physical specimen!" "We can't pass on him!" "We have to roll the dice!".

The main knocks on Andre Drummond are clearly not his body, athletic ability, or his talent. He's a raw, gifted, towering hulk of NBA sized goodness that scream Dwight Howard, who is arguably the best big man in the NBA since Shaq. The problem is that there is also a faint whisper that says "I was born to underachieve". What did old Albert Einstein say about insanity?

The other choice Portland has is Damian Lillard. A point guard from Oakland, California, Lillard is not the intimidating tower of brawn that is Drummond. A point guard of prototypical point-guard size, Lillard is as fast and athletic as any other top point guard in the NBA. He didn't go to a huge basketball school like Kentucky, Duke, or even a relatively large school like UCLA. He went to a school many have never heard of out in Ogden, Utah, called Weber State.

Lillard is nothing to scoff at. He is talented, fast, athletic, and he can shoot the ball well from anywhere on the floor. The 2nd in the nation in scoring last year, he is drawing comparisons to scoring point guards Russell Westbrook and Derrick Rose (Which I find to be a little off, because he is a better shooter than both). He may not have been known as a floor general in college, but his coaches insist that he was just too good not to take over the game. He wasn't surrounded by Michael Kidd-Gilchrist or Anthony Davis type players who he could pass the ball to. He was the #1, #2, and #3 option on his own team.

The thing that many people aren't considering are the intangibles. Lillard seems to have that drive and motivation that winners like MJ, Kevin Durant, and few others in the world, let alone the NBA possess. He has the will to go hard every day, the love of the game that keeps him away from clubbing, drinking, partying and other distractions, and the work ethic to always stay humble and try to improve himself.

His college coach said that he was the in gym early every morning and late every night. Other students would go out and do college kid stuff on Friday and Saturday night, while he was in the gym. Damian says that he's not someone who you need to worry about being in the news for getting into trouble. Remember the Jail Blazers era?

Drummond on the other hand has been criticized for his "motor" or lack of drive. Does he play hard for the entire game? Does he bring his all every day? Perhaps in the future Drummond will become the next great big man. He has all of the tools at his disposal. I hope he does become the next great big man. Nobody wants anyone to fail. Except guys like Hitler. The question is do you pick the guy who you know what you are getting, or do you go with the BIG (pun intended) question mark?

Portland in June of 2012 is yet again faced with a draft day choice. Let's just hope that they make the right one this time.