Greg Oden or Kevin Durant?

So I've been having an off-again/on-again debate with some friends regarding the NBA Draft this June. More specifically, if you had the #1 overall pick and both of these players declared, who would you select: Greg Oden or Kevin Durant?

Now, for the past couple of years, the name we kept on hearing about as the Next Big Thing from the high school basketball ranks was Oden's. But Durant has exploded into the scene in a big way this year as well. I remember reading about him before the season started, and how he was a very very good one too. But I don't think anybody expected him to put up the numbers he has put up this year.

So from the times I have seen both play on T.V., here are my thoughts on them:

Oden:

- Imposing defensive presence. Great shot blocker and can jump to the ceiling.
- Very agile for a big man, runs the floor well after a defensive rebound or block by him.
- Limited offensively so far, but the injured wrist is a huge factor in that.
- Does not need to be a big scorer to have a huge impact on the game, but you'd like to see him eventually be the centerpiece of an offense to see what he can do.

Durant:

- Has size, athleticism and a jumper: basically Kevin Garnett with range.
- Can also take guys off the dribble
- Needs to get bigger though. He's about 180-190 lbs right now, 10-15 more lbs of muscle would be good.

Long story short - the "safe" pick would be Oden. A legit center with tons of potential and defensive skills, this is whom you would build around usually. And I tend to believe in building a basketball team from the inside out too. But there's something about Durant that makes me think he's just gonna be amazing at the next level, that "It factor" that keeps me glued to the TV when I watch Texas play.

In the end, I might have to go with Durant. A comparison for me would be the Rockets picking Hakeem Olajuwon #1 and the Bulls picking Michael Jordan #3 in the 1984 NBA Draft. The Rockets never regretted picking Olajuwon #1 overall, and both teams ended up with franchise players (sorry, Portland and Sam Bowie). But while one was arguably the greatest center of all time at best (and a top 5 center of all time AT WORST), Jordan was Jordan.

Now I'm not saying Durant will be Jordan-esque, far from it. And you can't go wrong either way; but when all is said and done, I might have to say "Durant is Durant".