Thanks for the input
I had thought that it probably wouldn't be an issue, but then mentioned the thought to someone I encountered who had recently adopted a dog, and they were pretty appalled by the idea that I might turn down an otherwise nice dog because of a physical/structural issue. To me, it's not really any different than saying that I didn't want a dog with nervy/shy temperament because I'd like to do therapy work with the dog, or a dog with severe noise sensitivity because I plan to use it as a field retriever... I understand sometimes things don't work out the way you think they will, even with the odds stacked in your favor, and I'd never give up a dog because it turned out differently than I'd hoped, but I don't see an issue with choosing carefully to increase the odds of having the dog be a good fit. I'd probably be looking for a dog in the 18 month-3 yr range, old enough to have a pretty good idea of temperament (my primary concern), and get a pretty good idea so far as structure. I'd imagine that if hips look decent at even just 12 months old, the dog would likely be ok, OFA will give a prelim rating earlier than 24 months, and touts it as fairly consistent with later ratings, and I know pennhip can be done on younger dogs, though I'd probably be a bit more wary of "just ok" hips on a younger dog than a 2 or 3 yr old.
I also had some concerns about what poor x rays could mean for the dog's future... if I insist on x raying a dog before adopting, and the dog turns out to have moderate to severe joint issues, I'd feel pretty terrible if the dog then sat in rescue/shelter forever due to having "health problems", or was put down due to being difficult to place. Then again, better for the new owner to know, rather than find out a bit down the road and not be prepared. I'd imagine that would be a case by case thing, depending on the rescue/shelter, and adoption climate at that time.