Letter N wrote:
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Blazers
- 2006 - drafted Tyrus Thomas @ #4 (bad pick) --> they didn't draft Aldridge (picked #2 by Chicago) or Roy (picked #6 by Minnesota), both of those players were acquired via trade
- 2007 - drafted Greg Oden @ #1 (bad pick) --> instead of Kevin Durant
- 2012 - drafted Damian Lillard @ #6 --> it came down to Lillard, Barnes and Drummond. They already had Batum at SF and were planning to sign Hibbert in free agency (which they did, but it was matched by Indi), so it was a no brainer to fill their void at PG
Thunder
- 2007 - drafted Kevin Durant @ #2 --> thanks to Portland passing on him
- 2008 - drafted Russell Westbrook @ #4 --> was really a no-brainer pick
- 2009 - drafted James Harden @ #3 --> thanks to Memphis drafting Thabeet @ #2, was really a no brainer
If anything, this history points out the difference in talent typically available in the top-5 and the remainder of even the lottery. The 2012 draft was another example of that, which was the very reason so many were in favor or 'tanking' last year, to avoid ending up with 2nd-tier talent like Ross.
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