Losing Greg Oden for Season Also Hurts NBA

Cries of despair could be felt from the NBA's offices last week, even over the wails of Portland Trail Blazers fans.

After the summer brought the league a series of letdowns on the court and controversies off it, Greg Oden's entry into the NBA finally offered the league a bright light to shine on its product and regenerate talk about basketball.

Not corrupt and misbehaving referees.

Not teams that rolled through the season only to be flushed away after it.

Not disgruntled players and humiliated stars.

No, Oden and Seattle 's Kevin Durant - the top two picks in last summer's draft - refreshingly turned the focus back to the game itself. And when the news broke last week that Oden would miss the season after undergoing microfracture surgery on his right knee, the league's offices had to be wailing over their misfortune nearly as much as snake-bitten Trail Blazers fans.

Surf through the summer's headlines. Try hard to find a compelling story about points and rebounds that didn't involve Durant and Oden. Perhaps the reshaped Boston Celtics will hold your attention. USA Basketball's success might briefly tickle the senses. But don't look too much further. The list of compelling plot lines quickly dries up.

It's a big problem for a sports league. Debates should rage as training camps prepare to open. Offseason changes. Matchups. Rising stars. Contending teams. They should dominate conversations focused on basketball. Instead, the summer has been headlined by negatives that often had little to do with the sport.

There was Tim Donaghy fixing games, and fellow official Joey Crawford's suspension for improper conduct - news that questioned the NBA's credibility.

The league's best player, Kobe Bryant, demanded to be traded from the Los Angeles Lakers - arguably the NBA's most prestigious team. It's most marketable player, LeBron James, got stuck on the embarrassing end of an NBA Finals sweep. The league's best team, Dallas, couldn't escape the playoffs' opening round. And its most exciting team, Phoenix , once again fell before reaching the finals.

What was left to get fans excited? In other summers the concerns may have swelled, questioning the league's ability to remain relevant against baseball's resurgence and the NFL's regular doses of adrenaline.

But Oden and Durant offered the league a life vest.

The pair generated waves of excitement and anticipation well before they were drafted. They drew comparisons to Michael Jordan and David Robinson - iconic characters the league has been hoping for years to rediscover. They generated debates over who would make the better draft pick, who would become the better player, and who would win more championships.

The difference in those discussions were easy to see.

They were all about basketball.

Once conversations turned to Oden and Durant, attention was immediately diverted away from disgruntled stars and disgraced officials. They made people focus on the product - scoring and rebounding, blocking shots and burying them. And when matched up with talk of other stars - Bryant's on-and-off frustration with the Lakers, or Kevin Garnett's trade demands - it's easy to see that Oden and Durant provided the league with a vital injection of fundamental needs.

Excitement.

Good character.

Compelling skills.

So at a time when the NBA Finals' television ratings were setting record lows, the league and its network partners pushed Oden and Durant to the forefront. They gave the Blazers and Sonics - two teams years removed from their last competitive seasons - the NBA's prestigious nationally televised Christmas Day game. The slot is traditionally reserved for the league's best teams, but it's also the ultimate platform to launch the Oden-Durant rivalry.

The Blazers were also handed 19 national broadcasts this season, a year after Portland went without a single nationwide appearance. They were even given a slot on TNT's high profile, season-opening double-header broadcast - a chance to let the world witness a new era unfold.

The NBA appeared set to immediately thrust its new dynamic duo into the limelight.

Now, it is left to wait.

Sure, Durant is still healthy. His play alone will stimulate fans' imaginations and fill highlight reels.

But there's something extra in the power of two. It's the same enchantment that made Magic Johnson and Larry Bird such a compelling rivalry. It keeps their energy from becoming isolated, and gives it new dimensions.

So while Trail Blazers fans may feel crestfallen from last week's news, they shouldn't feel alone. The NBA needs a healthy Oden every bit as much as the Blazers. And you can bet the league is counting the days until he returns.

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