Who do we get at the 5th and 6th picks?

#31
I

If we end up getting the 5th or 6th pick it's pretty much a crapshoot who we will get. The draft is 4 deep on the upper tier prospects IMO. I would hate to get left out in the cold again. Let's hope if we are #5 that Johnson works out well and someone ahead of us picks him.
I want a top 4 pick too, but it this cold is anything like last year's, I think I could live with that.
 

Attachments

#32
I want a top 4 pick too, but it this cold is anything like last year's, I think I could live with that.

What I meant was the Hawes draft.. Should have been more specific. Had more to do with the coin flip than the actual draft, but the top picks were already determined pretty much before the draft.
 
#33
This is my list..

#1 - definitely Wall
#2 - Cousins, or Turner depending on how the workouts go
#3 - Cousins, Turner or Favors depending on workouts
#4 - Whoever is left between Turner, Favors and Cousins
#5 - Aldrich or Udoh (whoever works out better)
#6 - Aldrich or Udoh (whichever is left. If both are still available then see above)

It's not really a complicated list that I have. We all pretty much know Wall will be #1 whether the Kings get the pick or another team which is why I didn't include him in the "what if we get the #2 pick". Lowest we can go is 6th, and I feel that all the players below are who we should be looking at because one of them will definitely be available at our pick. I am not that high on Johnson or Aminu. Both will probably be SFs in the NBA. Aminu reminds me a lot of Al Thorton who isn't bad, just not top 6 material. Johnson I can't see as being a great NBA player.. Just one of those players after watching him a few times didn't really stick out as a top tier pick or anything. Kind of your run of the mill type player who probably will have an OK career. I didn't include either Monroe or Davis because I don't think either are top 6 picks anyway.

1. Wall
2. Cousins
3. Turner
4. Favors
6. Aldrich (tie)
6. Udoh (tie)

With our luck we will have one of the above come draft day. One thing I DO NOT want is a PF that is 6'8 and all of 220lbs soaking wet. Or a PF that sits outside all day and shoots jumpers.
 
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#34
Such a tough question, because as it appears now, none of these players available at 5/6 have the potential to make us much better. You hope that you get a surprise here, though...

At this point, if we had the 5/6, I'd look at:

1.) Ed Davis
2.) Al-Farouq Aminu
3.) Wes Johnson
4.) Cole Aldrich

Again, so tough because all of these guys are pegged to be fringe starters and have several drawbacks:

- Ed Davis needs to add weight and offense to his game, and might be injury prone...
- Aminu could be the biggest bust of the group: while he's athletic, he doesn't do a whole lot particularly well and he's undersized...he has a PF's game, not SF.
- Wes Johnson doesn't have a whole lot of upside and can't penetrate...he's basically a jump shooter and dunker and not much of a passer...we need passing, bad.
- We all know Aldrich is a role player: a rebounder/shot blocker in the Pryzbilla mode.

Also, official draft measurements will be helpful here...especially in re: to the true height of Davis, Aminu, and Aldrich. Davis may be a little undersized...

However, there's several positives that these players could bring to the Kings, we'd just have to add more pieces to the puzzle...
 
#36
That's all I needed to hear, considering this draft is kinda blah.
This draft isnt blah by any meaning of the term blah. If Joel Pryzbilla is the BEST CASE SCENARIO for Aldrich is it worth selecting him with the 5th or 6th overall pick? What if Cole Aldrich isnt as good as Pryzbilla? Then youve made a big mistake. In my opinion, there are other players that can contribute just as much if not more than Aldrich right off the bat that have a higher ceiling as well.
This is one of those draft that has alot of future star players as well as alot of future impact players.
Al Farouq Aminu is an interesting player. He reminds me alot of Paul Pierce. Is he so good that the Kings should pick him with a high lottery pick? The same question can be asked for Wesley Johnson and I think the same answer can be given as well. The answer is no. Why? Because the Kings already have 2 good small forward prospects. Why stock up on wing players when you really dont need any? In my opinion, if we select a back court player it will be similar to what Minnesota did last year. I think everyone can agree that Minnesota was somehwhat wasteful with their picks. I think we need to select the best player available that plays a position of need. For the Kings, that position is in our frontcourt.
 
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#37
To add to the previous post, there are only 2 amazing perimeter players in this draft if you ask me. Wall and Turner. The rest of the guys in the draft with star potential are all bigmen. So if we dont get a top 4 pick, I think we MUST go with a bigman.
 
#38
This is my list..

#1 - definitely Wall
#2 - Cousins, or Turner depending on how the workouts go
#3 - Cousins, Turner or Favors depending on workouts
#4 - Whoever is left between Turner, Favors and Cousins
#5 - Aldrich or Udoh (whoever works out better)
#6 - Aldrich or Udoh (whichever is left. If both are still available then see above)

It's not really a complicated list that I have. We all pretty much know Wall will be #1 whether the Kings get the pick or another team which is why I didn't include him in the "what if we get the #2 pick". Lowest we can go is 6th, and I feel that all the players below are who we should be looking at because one of them will definitely be available at our pick. I am not that high on Johnson or Aminu. Both will probably be SFs in the NBA. Aminu reminds me a lot of Al Thorton who isn't bad, just not top 6 material. Johnson I can't see as being a great NBA player.. Just one of those players after watching him a few times didn't really stick out as a top tier pick or anything. Kind of your run of the mill type player who probably will have an OK career. I didn't include either Monroe or Davis because I don't think either are top 6 picks anyway.

1. Wall
2. Cousins
3. Turner
4. Favors
6. Aldrich (tie)
6. Udoh (tie)

With our luck we will have one of the above come draft day. One thing I DO NOT want is a PF that is 6'8 and all of 220lbs soaking wet. Or a PF that sits outside all day and shoots jumpers.

I think you are making a bit of an assumption on Wall. Regardless of who wins the lottery, I guarantee there will be talk of Evan Turner going 1st.

John Wall stumbled a bit in the tourney if you didn't notice. He still likely goes first, but not as much of as slam dunk as before.
 
#39
This is my list..

#1 - definitely Wall
#2 - Cousins, or Turner depending on how the workouts go
#3 - Cousins, Turner or Favors depending on workouts
#4 - Whoever is left between Turner, Favors and Cousins
#5 - Aldrich or Udoh (whoever works out better)
#6 - Aldrich or Udoh (whichever is left. If both are still available then see above)

It's not really a complicated list that I have. We all pretty much know Wall will be #1 whether the Kings get the pick or another team which is why I didn't include him in the "what if we get the #2 pick". Lowest we can go is 6th, and I feel that all the players below are who we should be looking at because one of them will definitely be available at our pick. I am not that high on Johnson or Aminu. Both will probably be SFs in the NBA. Aminu reminds me a lot of Al Thorton who isn't bad, just not top 6 material. Johnson I can't see as being a great NBA player.. Just one of those players after watching him a few times didn't really stick out as a top tier pick or anything. Kind of your run of the mill type player who probably will have an OK career. I didn't include either Monroe or Davis because I don't think either are top 6 picks anyway.

1. Wall
2. Cousins
3. Turner
4. Favors
6. Aldrich (tie)
6. Udoh (tie)

With our luck we will have one of the above come draft day. One thing I DO NOT want is a PF that is 6'8 and all of 220lbs soaking wet. Or a PF that sits outside all day and shoots jumpers.
Excellent post without so much blah-blah-blah. Plain and simple.

You win this thread for me.

All season long fans were tortured from having to watch the softie Hawes and the problem of too many good players at the 3 but not enough playing time for all of them. We don't need a 3 ( like Greene and Casspi )and we certainly don't need another undersized "big" ( like Landry ). We all know we need that legit BIG and we cannot pass on the opportunity to get that defensive BIG in this draft if we will be picking beyond Wall and Turner. So all these talks about drafting this player blah-blah-blah is good is just not smart ( or tantamount to having an Alzheimers disease or very short memory ), if the player being talked about is not a legit defensive BIG. IMO, we shouldn't even mention Wes Johnson or Aminu in this thread.

Also, if we don't get that defensive BIG in this draft Petrie will again sign up another May or Moore type of players just to pissed off the fans.

How do you like that?

We don't want to revisit that feeling again. :p
 
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#40
I agree with Gary here. If you get #5-6 pick, you going to have to draft for NEED becuase after 1-4, there aren't a lot of differentiation in talent in the top 10. So you just go with a true center.
 
#41
This is my list..

#1 - definitely Wall
#2 - Cousins, or Turner depending on how the workouts go
#3 - Cousins, Turner or Favors depending on workouts
#4 - Whoever is left between Turner, Favors and Cousins
#5 - Aldrich or Udoh (whoever works out better)
#6 - Aldrich or Udoh (whichever is left. If both are still available then see above)

It's not really a complicated list that I have. We all pretty much know Wall will be #1 whether the Kings get the pick or another team which is why I didn't include him in the "what if we get the #2 pick". Lowest we can go is 6th, and I feel that all the players below are who we should be looking at because one of them will definitely be available at our pick. I am not that high on Johnson or Aminu. Both will probably be SFs in the NBA. Aminu reminds me a lot of Al Thorton who isn't bad, just not top 6 material. Johnson I can't see as being a great NBA player.. Just one of those players after watching him a few times didn't really stick out as a top tier pick or anything. Kind of your run of the mill type player who probably will have an OK career. I didn't include either Monroe or Davis because I don't think either are top 6 picks anyway.

1. Wall
2. Cousins
3. Turner
4. Favors
6. Aldrich (tie)
6. Udoh (tie)

With our luck we will have one of the above come draft day. One thing I DO NOT want is a PF that is 6'8 and all of 220lbs soaking wet. Or a PF that sits outside all day and shoots jumpers.
Bingo.

Me, personally if we get stuck in #5/6 we should look to trade up.
 

Bricklayer

Don't Make Me Use The Bat
#42
I think getting stuck at #5 or #6 is also when you may look to trade the pick. Of course who knows what you could trade it for. But for instance if you had a chance to either take Aldrich at #5 or #6 or trade the #5 or #6 pick to Chicago for Noah, you would have to strongly consider it. You have to figure Aldrich's high end is Noah. (I should note here that unless its because of the personality issues I don't see Chicago having any interest in trading Noah -- just an example).
 

gunks

Hall of Famer
#44
Crazy notion:

If we do (un)luck out and get 5 or 6, I think we should maybe think to pair our pick with either Hawes or Landry to move up in the draft (and hopefully get another asset or two in return).

Hawes still has potential, and we pretty much know what we have in Landry (an offensively leaning, undersized, poor rebounding PF - I'm not too high on him honestly, at least not as a starter), so it is risky to trade one away for an unknown like Cousins or Favors. But say we draft one of Aldrich, Udoh, or Whiteside instead? Landry/Hawes/JT/Draft Pick/Brockman/May...That is quite the frontcourt logjam. I'd say one of those guys would have to go anyways. And I'd rather hold onto JT (who I still think will level out as a solid 15/10 guy) than Hawes (he of the suspect work ethic). And call me crazy, but I'd rather we trade Landry now than overpay for the guy when he wants a new contract next offseason, we all know how Petrie likes to overpay. The other guys (Brockman, May) dont really have the value to get us up a spot or two in the draft.

Of course, Petrie doesnt HAVE to draft a big in this draft. There are some talented wing players who would be available at 5 or 6. But our frontcourt does need an upgrade, and I feel that Favors or Cousins would be a lurch in the right direction.

I'm hoping we get top 4, and this entire arguement proves moot. But it will be a lot more interesting if we end up with 5 or 6 (interesting in a bad way.).
 
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Bricklayer

Don't Make Me Use The Bat
#45
There is also this -- earlier this season I raised the question of what about Greg Oden if we were locked out of the top picks. With the Blazers resinging Camby, and Pryzbilla still a possibility, maybe just maybe Oden could be had. If you are up for the risk.
 

gunks

Hall of Famer
#46
Well, the Maloofs are gamblers.

If we get Oden and he stays healthy, that would be HUGE. Like, Kings are a contender again huge.

Then again, since being drafted has the guy even played 82 games total? He makes Marcus Camby look like an iron man.

I dont know how excited I would be about that trade. I wouldnt be upset, but my optimism would be pretty cautious.
 

hrdboild

Moloch in whom I dream Angels!
Staff member
#47
I'm still intrigued by the possibility of getting Greg Oden. Yes we can give somebody a max contract this year, but other than Lebron, Wade, or Bosh (all who would be tough to get) is there any specific player that looks like the missing piece on this team? I don't know that there is. Depending on how the draft shakes out, we might still be in need of a big man. Greg Oden comes with a lot of risk attached right now, but I doubt Portland will want to sign an extension until seeing what he plays like next year. That makes him a restricted free agent next year. And depending on how his year goes, he might prefer to play elsewhere. The pressure won't be nearly as big for him in any other city.
 

Kingster

Hall of Famer
#48
There is also this -- earlier this season I raised the question of what about Greg Oden if we were locked out of the top picks. With the Blazers resinging Camby, and Pryzbilla still a possibility, maybe just maybe Oden could be had. If you are up for the risk.
Draft picks are inherently risky, but I have to think Oden is riskier than a high draft pick. Maybe if the pick is below 10.
 

Bricklayer

Don't Make Me Use The Bat
#49
Draft picks are inherently risky, but I have to think Oden is riskier than a high draft pick. Maybe if the pick is below 10.

Oden's chances of becoming a star C are >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Cole Aldrich's.

On the other hand the chances of each becoming a solid roleplaying center...maybe equal. Maybe even, depending on how low level you call roleplaying center, tilting toward Aldrich. This is why after the top group of acknowledged might be stars somebody like Oden suddenly looks intriguing. He too might be a star big.
 

bajaden

Hall of Famer
#50
Oden's chances of becoming a star C are >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Cole Aldrich's.

On the other hand the chances of each becoming a solid roleplaying center...maybe equal. Maybe even, depending on how low level you call roleplaying center, tilting toward Aldrich. This is why after the top group of acknowledged might be stars somebody like Oden suddenly looks intriguing. He too might be a star big.
Oden is definitely inticing. I wish I could get past the risk part. There are players that I really like that would be available in the 5 or 6 range. But would they ever be as good as a healthy Oden? I doubt that Aldrich could ever be as good an offensive player as Oden could eventually be. But defensively, he may be just as good as a healthy Oden. Or at least very close.

If I'm Portland, I would do this deal. First off, the owner wanted to draft Durant instead of Oden. Now two years later he's still angry and rumors are that the GM is in trouble. So its possible the owner would see this as way out of what he considered a bad choice. Not to mention that adding an Aldrich to an already good team that has Camby and Pryzilla on it would move them up another notch.

I don't know if I would do this deal or not. Tough decision. Glad its not mine..
 

Kingster

Hall of Famer
#51
Oden's chances of becoming a star C are >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Cole Aldrich's.

On the other hand the chances of each becoming a solid roleplaying center...maybe equal. Maybe even, depending on how low level you call roleplaying center, tilting toward Aldrich. This is why after the top group of acknowledged might be stars somebody like Oden suddenly looks intriguing. He too might be a star big.
Sure, before the injuries. After the injuries, who knows whether Oden can be mediocre, much less great. Another Ralph Sampson anyone?
 

Bricklayer

Don't Make Me Use The Bat
#52
Sure, before the injuries. After the injuries, who knows whether Oden can be mediocre, much less great. Another Ralph Sampson anyone?

He's one injury -- the broken kneecap, from emerging as a dominant force in this early season. People talk like he hasn't played in years, but he has. Impactwise per minute he was right there with Dwight Howard before the broken kneecap. Actually I think per minute the stats were better than Dwight's. And then pop, again. Thing is that a broken kneecap is not, so far as I know, longterm debilitating. I think the risk would be in another break, but the knee should function pretty much as it did before the injury. I could be wrong, but that's my impression -- the ligametns are still healthy.

That's not a statement about the risk of him getting injured again, because that is who knows. People claim they know, but there's no magic injury index for somebody suffering multiple injuries to different body parts. Big Z and Camby were horribly injury prone through their early years, and here they still are a dozen years later.

But it is a statremnt about this idea that his CURRENT injuries have somehow eroded his CURRENT skill. He was at the absolute best we had seen him early this season, after the wrist, the foot, the microfracture. AFTER all thoise injuries he ws dominating. And then you add in one more, and again as I understand it an injury which should not have long term debilitating effects unless it recurs. I don't necessarily see the erosion unless he becomes gunshy. I see the risk of further injuries, not the risk of declining skills because of the ones he has had.
 

Kingster

Hall of Famer
#53
He's one injury -- the broken kneecap, from emerging as a dominant force in this early season. People talk like he hasn't played in years, but he has. Impactwise per minute he was right there with Dwight Howard before the broken kneecap. Actually I think per minute the stats were better than Dwight's. And then pop, again. Thing is that a broken kneecap is not, so far as I know, longterm debilitating. I think the risk would be in another break, but the knee should function pretty much as it did before the injury. I could be wrong, but that's my impression -- the ligametns are still healthy.

That's not a statement about the risk of him getting injured again, because that is who knows. People claim they know, but there's no magic injury index for somebody suffering multiple injuries to different body parts. Big Z and Camby were horribly injury prone through their early years, and here they still are a dozen years later.

But it is a statremnt about this idea that his CURRENT injuries have somehow eroded his CURRENT skill. He was at the absolute best we had seen him early this season, after the wrist, the foot, the microfracture. AFTER all thoise injuries he ws dominating. And then you add in one more, and again as I understand it an injury which should not have long term debilitating effects unless it recurs. I don't necessarily see the erosion unless he becomes gunshy. I see the risk of further injuries, not the risk of declining skills because of the ones he has had.
It's all about the risk of future injury. Is he injury prone, or is he not? - that is the question. And my gut tells me he is injury prone. I saw the risk of further injuries before Oden had this latest injury. He's been beset by injuries. Before Oden got this latest injury, I was wondering on this board if he had a really good injury free year that Portland would be in a very tricky situation. They would have to pay him big bucks in a long term contract because of his near term performance, but at the same time they would be sweating bullets about finding themselves in a "Webber", a "Yao Ming", or a "McGrady" situation. Portland lucked out. He got the injury this year before they entered into a long term contract. I'm all for taking prudent risks. I just think Oden is more of a casino gamble than a prudent business gamble.
 

bajaden

Hall of Famer
#55
6th pick should be Xiaver Henry, we need a 2 and he fits the bill. Anything 2-5 should be a bigman.
First off, lets hope we don't have to deal with the sixth pick. But if we do, I'm not about to pick Xavior Henry. Not my intent to discredit him in any way. It just that in a draft loaded with big men, I'm not going to pick any shooting guard in the top 6 not named Evan Turner. And I'm not going to pick any point guard not named John Wall. Favors, Cousins, Aldrich, Davis, Udoh, Motiejunas, Patterson, Whiteside, and Vesely would all be ahead of Henry on my list.

Henry is a nice player and he has upside. Personally I think he should go back to school. He's not a very good ballhandler and that should be prerequisite for any SG we aquire. If I just wanted a SG that could shoot the ball and didn't care about ballhandling and some passing ability, I'd draft James Anderson. At least he can light it up from the outside.
 

Kingster

Hall of Famer
#56
First off, lets hope we don't have to deal with the sixth pick. But if we do, I'm not about to pick Xavior Henry. Not my intent to discredit him in any way. It just that in a draft loaded with big men, I'm not going to pick any shooting guard in the top 6 not named Evan Turner. And I'm not going to pick any point guard not named John Wall. Favors, Cousins, Aldrich, Davis, Udoh, Motiejunas, Patterson, Whiteside, and Vesely would all be ahead of Henry on my list.

Henry is a nice player and he has upside. Personally I think he should go back to school. He's not a very good ballhandler and that should be prerequisite for any SG we aquire. If I just wanted a SG that could shoot the ball and didn't care about ballhandling and some passing ability, I'd draft James Anderson. At least he can light it up from the outside.
Two questions:

1) Where do you have Whiteside ranked on your own board?

2) Where do actually think he will go?

The reason I ask is that I'm deathly afraid of OKC getting a shot at him. If he grows up and matures physically and mentally, and he turns out very legit, and they pick him, OKC could be NBA Champions for 10 years. The last thing I want is for OKC to get a big man that can play. Heaven forbid...
 
#57
Id definitely pick up Oden if I had the chance to acquire him for a reasonable price, all things considered. I dont recall any players that have had non career ending injuries keep them from having a long productive career. Given Odens age, his prime years are still ahead of him. sure his offense leaves alot to be desired, but hes a HUGE and athletic player. He can and will be a force in the league at some point. If you can attain Oden for an MLE type of contract and he ends up staying relatively healthy then the deal is a GREAT bargain.
 
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bajaden

Hall of Famer
#58
Two questions:

1) Where do you have Whiteside ranked on your own board?

2) Where do actually think he will go?

The reason I ask is that I'm deathly afraid of OKC getting a shot at him. If he grows up and matures physically and mentally, and he turns out very legit, and they pick him, OKC could be NBA Champions for 10 years. The last thing I want is for OKC to get a big man that can play. Heaven forbid...
On my draft list of where I think he'll go, I have him ranked 18th. On my list of where I would consider him, I have him 13th. If your asking would I pick him with the 6th pick, the answer is no. He's a terrific athlete for a big man, or should I say tall man. Since he's as thin as bean pole I doubt the word big is appropiate.

If we look at his positives, he's a terrific shotblocker. He led all of college in blocked shots. As I stated, he's a terrific athlete and he certainly has the height and wingspan that your looking for. OK, now that I've covered the positives, lets take a look at the negatives. He's a terrible man defender. He lets much shorter and average players push him around in the paint. Needless to say his lower body strength matches his upper body strength. He's a very good weakside shotblocker, but not as good when doing man defense. In the game he played against Jerome Jordan. A player with more of an NBA body and a 7 footer as well, he got abused. Jordan got anywhere he wanted on the floor and scored anytime he wanted. This was my first chance to see Whiteside go up against someone similar to what he would face in the NBA. Needless to say, I was disappointed. And I'm not a big fan of Jordans.

On offense he seldom if ever passes the ball when he gets it. He forces bad shots as a result at times. He does have a post game. Its a little rough around the edges to say the least, but it shows promise. He also has a jumper that doesn't look that bad. He's inconsistant with it, but in time I can see it being a weapon. His footwork in the post is terrible and at times he looks lost on the floor. I know your big on basketball IQ. I would say that Whiteside is low on that particular quality at the moment.

To go along with all of this, despite being a freshman, he's going to turn 21 shortly. He wasn't able to pass all the requirments to be elligible for college until he turned 20 years old. Add to the mix that he's rumored to be extremely immature and not very dedicated to improving, and you have a kid with a lot of physical ability and a giant red flag hanging off of him. I would be shocked if someone took him in the lottery, and he could slide all the way down to the very bottom of the first round. I doubt it, but it could happen..
 
#59
On my draft list of where I think he'll go, I have him ranked 18th. On my list of where I would consider him, I have him 13th. If your asking would I pick him with the 6th pick, the answer is no. He's a terrific athlete for a big man, or should I say tall man. Since he's as thin as bean pole I doubt the word big is appropiate.

If we look at his positives, he's a terrific shotblocker. He led all of college in blocked shots. As I stated, he's a terrific athlete and he certainly has the height and wingspan that your looking for. OK, now that I've covered the positives, lets take a look at the negatives. He's a terrible man defender. He lets much shorter and average players push him around in the paint. Needless to say his lower body strength matches his upper body strength. He's a very good weakside shotblocker, but not as good when doing man defense. In the game he played against Jerome Jordan. A player with more of an NBA body and a 7 footer as well, he got abused. Jordan got anywhere he wanted on the floor and scored anytime he wanted. This was my first chance to see Whiteside go up against someone similar to what he would face in the NBA. Needless to say, I was disappointed. And I'm not a big fan of Jordans.

On offense he seldom if ever passes the ball when he gets it. He forces bad shots as a result at times. He does have a post game. Its a little rough around the edges to say the least, but it shows promise. He also has a jumper that doesn't look that bad. He's inconsistant with it, but in time I can see it being a weapon. His footwork in the post is terrible and at times he looks lost on the floor. I know your big on basketball IQ. I would say that Whiteside is low on that particular quality at the moment.

To go along with all of this, despite being a freshman, he's going to turn 21 shortly. He wasn't able to pass all the requirments to be elligible for college until he turned 20 years old. Add to the mix that he's rumored to be extremely immature and not very dedicated to improving, and you have a kid with a lot of physical ability and a giant red flag hanging off of him. I would be shocked if someone took him in the lottery, and he could slide all the way down to the very bottom of the first round. I doubt it, but it could happen..

Thanks for that.. Was unsure about him as well, but didn't know enough about him.
 
#60
It's all about the risk of future injury. Is he injury prone, or is he not? - that is the question. And my gut tells me he is injury prone. I saw the risk of further injuries before Oden had this latest injury.
My problem with Oden is that while his injuries don't seem cronic on the surface, they also keep coming. In his only year of college he suffered from a broken hand (if memory serves me). He then missed his entire first NBA season, followed with only 61 games the next year. This season he played in only 21 games. That is 4 straight years with injuries. I would call that a trend.

I hope for his sake that he can stay healthy, but I get scared away when I consider that in 3 seasons in the NBA he has played in only 82 games.