I fully expect Ainge would have taken Oden. Anyone would have at that point in time – though he did look like he was 40 even back then

The point is that Oden’s appearance is almost exactly what would be expected in someone with Acromegaly, a hallmark of gigantism. Specifically, the signs of Acromegaly include: prominent facial lines & cheekbones, bulging forehead, frontal bossing, enlarged jaw, spaced teeth, in addition to very deep voice, and more. To learn more, just search on the term “acromegaly.”

And btw, I would not be surprised to learn that this information was kept from the public, for obvious financial reasons. All this is none of the public’s business, but it should have been Portland’s business before they decided to take him in 07.

When the leprechaun didn’t give up the #1 pick Ainge was forced to innovate.

It worked out ok I’d say.

Greg Oden clearly suffers from gigantism, a disorder of the pituitary gland. People with that disease get to be big and tall abnormally, due to out-of-control growth hormone. Their bodies do not develop normally, hence they are prone to many health problems, including: serious heart problems, vision problems, diabetes, high blood pressure, cancer and bone fractures. And because their bodies are abnormally structured, they are subject to all manner of musculo-skeletal problems. Yao Ming was another such player, though he lasted longer than Oden.

Bottom line: the fact that Oden has gigantism is obvious. The fact that Portland ignored that, and STILL doesn’t get it, indicates that they are all morons over there.

Sure Oden is a “good kid” (setting aside his tendency to send photo’s that hit the internet)
Sure he was the one that was going to break the Bowie curse (remember the light rail ride to the fans)
Sure he was dominant in his one and done season at Ohio State.
Sure he is much better than Trader Bob or the Jail Blazers.

But c’mon. Let’s look at the facts.

They gave a franchise contract to Roy and 5 months later he is retiring, Does Portland not have an MRI machine, or was it occupied by Oden 24×7?
They were on the verge of signing Oden afraid that he would excel post free agency,
They had a terrible GM signing in Chow and now any executive is gun shy of landing in Portland.
They are in the worse position of any NBA team in the league – meaning that the top teams compete, the bottom teams draft high, the worse teams draft high, leave town, and get a new arena & fan base and the mediocre teams (like Portland) stay just where they are, generating no excitement and no new blood.

Chad, why not just tell the truth. What wrong with saying: “Knowing what we know today, we would have gone in a different direction”. To say the organization has no regrets just tells the fan base that maybe buying a few games through tickemaster to see a talented team is preferrable to mortgaging (sp?) their hearts for a mediocre team.