Curse of the Blazer bigmen?

[SenorSpur]

The latest injury to Portland Trailblazers franchise center Greg Oden bring to mind a mysterious and disturbing trend with bigmen that have been drafted throughout the history of the franchise. Maybe it's all simply a coincidence, but if you're a longtime Blazers fan, this trend should be disturbing nonetheless.

LaRue Martin - 1972

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LaRue_Martin
Martin has been cited as the worst first overall draft pick in NBA history. A 6-foot-11 center out of Loyola University Chicago, LaRue Martin entered the NBA with much fanfare in 1972. Martin set the basketball world abuzz when he outplayed Bill Walton in a game between Loyola and UCLA, in the midst of their storied le runs, in 1971–72. The Portland Trail Blazers were so impressed with Martin that they made him the first overall pick in the 1972 NBA Draft. However, Martin never caught on in the NBA, and after the Blazers drafted Walton in 1974, he never had the chance. In four seasons Martin never scored more than 7.0 points per game, and he never shot better than .452 from the field.

Bill Walton - 1974

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Walton
Walton was drafted number one overall by the Portland Trail Blazers and was hailed as the savior of the franchise. His first two seasons were marred by injury (at different times he broke his nose, foot, wrist and leg) and the Blazers missed the playoffs both years. It was not until the 1976-77 season that he was healthy enough to play 65 games and, spurred by new head coach Jack Ramsay, the Trail Blazers became the Cinderella team of the NBA. The following year, the Blazers won 50 of their first 60 games before Walton suffered a broken foot in what turned out to be the first in a string of foot and ankle injuries that cut short his career. Walton returned to action for the playoffs but was reinjured in the second game of a series against the Seattle SuperSonics. As it turned out, Walton would never play for the Trail Blazers again. During the offseason, Walton demanded to be traded, citing unethical and incompetent treatment of his and other players' injuries by the Blazers' front office. He did not get his wish and sat out the 1978-79 season in protest, signing with the San Diego Clippers when he became a free agent in 1979

Mychal Thompson - 1978

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mychal_Thompson
Thompson was a fixture in the Portland lineup for eight years (though one season was missed due to injury), where he started at both power forward and center positions. He was named to the 1979 All-Rookie team, and had his statistically best season in 1981-1982, where he averaged over 20 points and 11 rebounds per game. In the 1986 off-season, Thompson was traded to the Spurs in exchange for center/forward Steve Johnson.

Sam Bowie - 1984

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Bowie
In 1984, Bowie entered the NBA draft, and after the Houston Rockets selected Hakeem Olajuwon with the first pick in the draft, the Portland Trail Blazers selected Bowie over North Carolina shooting guard Michael Jordan. Some past NBA critics have discussed, and would agree, that the label put on Bowie to be a "bust" is largely due to the fact that Jordan eventually had an amazing basketball career, not that Bowie was that poor a player. Further, they would agree that at the time of the draft, Bowie was a logical pick on paper given that the Trail Blazers had just picked a shooting guard the previous year (Hall of Famer Clyde Drexler).

Greg Oden - 2008

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greg_Oden
Oden left with a foot injury in his NBA debut against the Lakers. The Blazers are awaiting the results of an MRI.

As a basketball fan, I hope this is not a trend and that Oden goes on to a healthy and productive career.

[Indazone]

He needs to leave the Blazers as soon as he can. He's another Bill Walton waiting to happen.

[JamStone]

Bill Walton led the Blazers to an NBA le and was a role player for another NBA le with the Celtics. Oden would be fortunate to accomplish those things before he gets his C.E.I.

[SpursDynasty]

Damn fluke.

[pauls931]

Even after you're a blazer, you're still in danger if you're a big man. RIP Duckworth