>>I don't know if that's fair. Personally I find him too brash and obnoxious, but he does seem to genuinely care about winning. And is willing to put his money where his mouth is. (See "Steinbrenner").
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>I am sure he cares about winning, I'll bet he fainted when he saw the #1 and #2 picks on this powerful draft went to the west and he gave up on his Mavericks and is looking for some alternative <g>


Portland is going to be an interesting team next season. They lucked into the one superstar in the draft, Greg Oden. Along with rookie of the year Brandon Roy, LeMarcus Aldridge, and Jarrett Jack they will immediately be a force to be reckoned with. As long as management can keep a lid on the longstanding "anything goes" attitude -- bye bye, Zack Randolph -- it could be the Walton days again.

The other impact player in the draft, Kevin Durant, will take a couple of years to develop. He was unbelievably talented at the college level -- player of the year as a freshman, that should tell you something -- and can create his shot. That's really what it's about at the NBA level. At 6'10" and 190 pounds, though, he's going to have to bulk up before he can have a similar impact in the NBA. The power guys he'll be matching up with in the show are going to use him like a ten cent toothbrush until he gets stronger.