Bench 370? You're Twice the Player Kevin Durant Is

According to Collin Cowherd. Check it out.

Now, before you go piling on CC, remember that with the exception of Sailor Ripley, we're all human. Some folks bet on Beta over the VCR. People lost fortunes investing in pay phones during the dawn of the wireless age. Veritable basketball geniuses thought Jai Lucas would come in and transcend point guard play for the University of Texas.

So forgive Cowherd for pushing his chips all-in even in the face of the curse of Sam Bowie. It happens. Dennis Hopson, Roy Marble, and Harold Minor all happen. For every Chris Bosh there's a Greg Oden. For every Ladanian Tomlinson there's a Tyrone Richardson.

It's nearly a clichéd axiom at this point. Scouts, GM's, and "smartest guys in the room" types have a tendency to over-think things. It's in their nature to put too much credence in measurables like 40 times, bench reps, and broad jumps. These are important attributes to be sure, but they should only be taken into account after the single most important question involved in talent evaluation is answered.

Can the person play? You know, like is he a great player, and shit?

Take a look at the this year's NFL draft as proof positive. Uber-underachieving offensive tackle Trent Williams goes top five while super stud wideout Dez Bryant, one of the two or three best wide receivers in all of college football, falls into the Cowboys' lap late in the first.

Both of these kids have the measurables, but can they play?

I'm no GM, but when Eddie Jones runs around you like you're wrapped in HenryJames' rubber linens, I'm not drafting you in the first round much less the first five picks of the draft.

I don't care what your measurables are.

Conversely, if you wreck shop with Zac Robinson throwing you the pill against NFL caliber DB's, then I'm paying attention.

For professional sports general managers it's a question that doesn't get asked enough in my humble opinion. It's a question that can prevent teams like Portland from getting Mike Mamula'd.

Mike Mamula is the cautionary tale that should be hammered into the collective skulls of professional sports intelligentsia. Mamula was the DE/LB out of Boston College who prepared for the NFL combine fanatically and tested off the charts as a result. So much so that his combine numbers fooled the Philadelphia Eagles into drafting him with their first round pick despite his mediocre play on the field.

So thorough was the Mamula pre-draft ruse, that Vasherized traded his Rocky II poster and Talia Shire bobble head for a Mamula scrunchie.

In the spirit of Mamula, as the video will attest, Portland, Cowherd, and a lot of NBA missed the boat during the Durant vs. Oden debate.

But these sorts of things happen all the time.

Falling victim to scouting miscalculations like these are analogous to hiring the wrong properly licensed lawyer because his school taught the bar exam while others teach actual law.

Now, as far as the NBA's concerned, Kevin Durant is doing most of the teaching.