I just got boxes of 2007-08 Topps and Fleer Ultra at my desk. When I first saw them, i thought the year of Greg Oden and Kevin Durant is here, but it's just so depressing now that Oden is out for the season with microfracture surgery. Sure, there are still plenty of reasons to collect him, Durant, and plenty more players from this draft, but i was looking forward to seeing him in the NBA.

First, I was looking forward to seeing the Blazers as a team and that hasn't happened in a long time. LaMarcus Aldridge and Brandon Roy joining forces with Oden and some other solid, young players was exciting. We could all watch them struggle early and get better as the season continued. We could see two of the best young big men in the league compliment each other. Now, we'll get to see them struggle another year, but without Oden. The bright side is that they'll probably wind up in the lottery (ok, definitely) and get another high draft pick to add for 2008-09. Roy and Aldridge will also get another year under their belts before they face playoff pressure and added scrutiny. But I wanted to watch Oden this year.

It will also be a great time to wait for his cards to soften up plenty and then pick some of the up. It presents a great opportunity to build a decent Oden collection for way less than they would have had to pay if he were playing. This class is still so loaded it’s tough not to be excited about it. You’ve got to be excited about Kevin Durant, Mike Conley, Al Horford, Jeff Green, Corey Brewer, Acie Law, Joakim Noah, Thaddeus Young, Brandan Wright and maybe even Yi (maybe not).

Portlant area dealers are weeping uncontrollably also about the loss of Oden:

“It will certainly have an effect on basketball sales the rest of the year. Here the impact won’t be so much among serous collectors, but more the non-die-hard collectors. Obviously, with Oden as driving force and him not playing, it’s not going to sell among the more marginal collectors.”