Oden or Bynum...who would you take?

[EveryManALion]

Obviously the quick answer is Bynum BUT lets assume Oden was not Mr. Glass and Bynum still had his strange bowling injuries and shooting 3's whenever he wants attitude. Who's baggage would you rather have? Assuming Oden was healthy.

[ZenMaster]

You can't bend this hypothetical a bit more? That way you might get 99% to say Oden instead of only 95%..

[EveryManALion]

You can't bend this hypothetical a bit more? That way you might get 99% to say Oden..

I'm not a Heat fan and honestly not trying to troll, I am just curious about opinions, let assume both were healthy and one was not apathetic(Bynum). Who would you take? Now AND back in 2007.

The only reason I ask is they are both the two biggest risks at the center position this year.

[Uncle Drew]

Bynum, because he has shown he can be an All Star caliber player, while we have no idea what a healthy Oden looks like in the NBA.

[EveryManALion]

Bynum, because he has shown he can be an All Star caliber player, while we have no idea what a healthy Oden looks like in the NBA.

Ok well how about this, assuming from Oden's limited time that he actually played since 2007 and if he had the time to develop do you think he would be on par with Bynum or even better by now? Obviously pure speculation but its 7 AM and I am bored.

[Nash]

What baggage does Oden come with if it not being injury prone?

Also, Oden >>> Bynum

Oden was the next big thing when he came into the league with all that talent. If he wasn't injured he'd be shitting all over Dwight as the best center in the league for the past 4 years.

[alenleomessi]

oden would have had 6 years to develop a better post game and to reduce his fouls...
not only bynum.. he would have been the best big man right now.. by far

[KobesFinger]

Healthy Oden or unhealthy Bynum? I'd take current Bill Russell over unhealthy Bynum, silly question.

If both weren't injured I'd take Bynum simply because I've seen him play a full season so I know how good he is. Oden may have been highly touted and may have had all the potential in the world, but he could still have been a bust e.g. Kwame or Darko

[Mr Exlax]

So we're going to ignore Oden's injuries, but not ignore Bynum's? That's dumb. If we excuse injuries of both players, I'd take Bynum in a heartbeat. He only shot 3s cause they weren't feeding him in the post like they were supposed to. This was during the season he was hands down the most effective post player in the NBA.

[Uncle Drew]

Ok well how about this, assuming from Oden's limited time that he actually played since 2007 and if he had the time to develop do you think he would be on par with Bynum or even better by now? Obviously pure speculation but its 7 AM and I am bored.

I think I had to go with Oden. I still believe that Portland, at that time, made the right pick by taking him over KD.

[EveryManALion]

I think I had to go with Oden. I still believe that Portland, at that time, made the right pick by taking him over KD.

I agree, I don't even remember, besides Howard, who was a somewhat dominant center back then when Oden got drafted. Now we have Cousins, Lopez, Bynum, Drummond, Oden(Kind of), Did KG play the 5 at all back then or only a little bit with Boston? but who was a decent center back in 2007? That was the year I JUST started watching the NBA religiously so I do know much about that time period.

[JohnnySic]

Never injured Oden >>> Bynum

Things being what they are Bynum > Oden

[DukeDelonte13]

What baggage does Oden come with if it not being injury prone?

Also, Oden >>> Bynum

Oden was the next big thing when he came into the league with all that talent. If he wasn't injured he'd be shitting all over Dwight as the best center in the league for the past 4 years.

ummmm alcoholism? addiction to pain killers? Dude was a mess the past couple of years. He straightened himself out but let's not act like Oden is this perfect choir boy.

And until oden does anything remotely close to what Bynum did its always gonna be

Bynum >>>> Oden.

[HylianNightmare]

bynum has proved he can be the 2nd best center in the league

[2LeTTeRS]

ummmm alcoholism? addiction to pain killers? Dude was a mess the past couple of years. He straightened himself out but let's not act like Oden is this perfect choir boy.

And until oden does anything remotely close to what Bynum did its always gonna be

Bynum >>>> Oden.

Aren't both of those issues at least partly attributable to him being a 24 year old whose body almost forced him out of his chosen profession? He's had what 5-6 knee surgeries? As a man whose mother dealt with those exact same issues (had both knees replaced and then had to have additional surgeries on both knees that forced her to retire from teaching [obviously while being much older]) I can tell you that these issues are to be expected.