Did Portland Know?

Greg Oden being out for the season really puts a damper on this whole rookie extravaganza I was expecting. However, as Ziller says, the Blazers may be in an even better situation next year. And while it's totally depressing that Gode has to miss this season, Portland's future is still crazy illuminated. Nonetheless, it's curious that Oden's knee would get so bad so quickly.

Here's what we know - the Blazers put Oden through a battery of medical tests before the draft. According to the most recent reports, his knee was "pristine." However, I have a hard time believing that Oden hurt his knee so severely that he would need surgery just from getting off his couch. I would surmise that there must have been some sort of underlying problem with his knee (and I'm not the only one), and either the Blazers team didn't catch it or they thought it wasn't serious enough to worry about. Or perhaps there was something more sinister to this.

I haven't even convinced myself that this is within the realm of feasibility, but I think there is some sliver of reality that the Blazers could have known that there was a chance this could happen. Think of it this way; the Blazers knew that adding Oden would not immediately vault them in to upper echelon status. And though it's an amazing stretch of the imagination to even contemplate this, couldn't the Blazers have possibly taken Oden with the knowledge that he could miss this year, therefore ensuring that they would have another high draft pick next year?

Thinking back, the acquisition of Channing Frye was suspicious. Portland gave up their best player (Zach Randolph) in return for a guy who would theoretically be backing up Oden and LaMarcus Aldridge. This is not a valuable trade for Portland, except that they rid themselves of Randolph's chemistry destroying ways. Therefore there is no one to challenge Brandon Roy's alpha dog status. The team gets a year to learn each other, then next year they add Oden and another top 5 pick? To me , that sounds like a terrific growth plan.

Yes, this theory is just this side of ludicrous and way past the line of risky. I'm sure I'll regret typing it in the morning, but just the thought that maybe, possibly, somehow the Blazers knew what they were getting in to really intrigues me. If this doesn't destroy Portland, this could end up beautifully for the Blazers. And if this ever ends up being the case I take my hat off to Kevin Pritchard.