News / Sports
2007 NBA Draft: Oden Goes No. 1 Durant, Horford, Conley and Green Follow
Without the blockbuster deal that would send Kevin Garnett out of Minnesota or Amare Stoudemire out of Phoenix most teams looked to build for their future in the first round of the 2007 NBA Draft.
The Portland Trail Blazers surprised nobody with their selection of Greg Oden with the number one pick while the Seattle SuperSonics selection of Kevin Durant was an even more obvious decision with the number two pick.
Rumors circulating that the Atlanta Hawks would deal their number three and eleven picks for Amare Stouemire ended when they selected Al Horford and then followed with Acie Law as their back court answer.
Mike Conley Jr. was touted as the best point guard in the 2007 NBA Draft and was selected by the Memphis Grizzlies with the number four pick. Jeff Green was part of the Seattle SuperSonics trade with the Boston Celtics involving Ray Allen. Green will now join Kevin Durant in the Pacific Northwest along with Delonte West and Wally Szczerbiak.
Yi Jianlian, the seven-foot Chinese import was selected by the Milwaukee Bucks with the number six pick while Florida’s Corey Brewer landed in Minnesota as the Timberwolves took the shooting guard with the number seven pick.
The Charlotte Bobcats had been willing to trade down before the Draft but then used their number eight pick to nab North Carolina’s big man Brandan Wright. It wasn’t long before Wright was sent 3,000 mils across the country to join the Golden State Warriors as Jason Richardson was traded for the former Tar Heel.
Joakim Noah became the third Florida Gator to be drafted as the Chicago Bulls took the 6-11 power forward with the number nine pick. Spencer Hawes rounded out the top ten as the 7-1 center from Washington was taken by the Sacramento Kings.
