First Sheed, then ZBo, now Aldridge...

[KeepOnRollin]

It seems, though, that most of your issue comes with coaching, not with LMA. With his role and the way he performs it.

Personally I think it is about 50/50 both. As I mentioned above, for all of Nate's faults he did get LMA to play inside last year (even though LMA has admitted he basically hated it). If a player isn't willing, and a coach barely tries it...

 

[KeepOnRollin]

I totally agree. The way the roster is constructed at present though I'm not entirely sure they want to win this year.

If we didn't want to win then I don't think they would run the starting lineup into the ground like they have all season. I now the bench is crap but if you aren't trying to win too many games anyways then...

 

[noknobs]

If we didn't want to win then I don't think they would run the starting lineup into the ground like they have all season. I now the bench is crap but if you aren't trying to win too many games anyways then...

The coach doesn't make the roster, the GM does. I think once we struck out on Hibbert it became full rebuilding mode. As in, this year means nothing except collecting experience and ping pong balls. I'm sure Stotts will try to win regardless until the fat lady sings, but I think playing his starters this much is going to have a negative impact.

 

[Natebishop3]

Yeah, but you have to actually address the team needs rather than throw out this mantra of "building for the future". THIS HARDLY EVER WORKS. We'll be stuck with a bunch of shitty raw talent...guys that will be nothing more than role players and bench. You can only trade Aldridge if you're getting a legit starter in return who has proven themselves.

You look at our team and stockpiling young talent, cap space and draft picks isn't what we need at all.

Getting a center + bench would put us back in the playoff race. Dumping Aldridge for young 3rd string PFs and draft picks and we're a 12 win team.

You keep saying that "it hardly ever works", but what is the alternative? Look at the top teams around the league. They're either in a major market that a star wants to go to via trade or FA, OR they were drafted by their team.

Major Market teams:

Miami - LeBron, Bosh, Wade
LA - Dwight, Nash, CP3, Kobe
NY - Carmelo, Amare, Deron

Small Market teams that built through the draft -

San Antonio - Duncan, Manu, Parker (all drafted)
OKC - Durant, Westbrook, Ibaka
Memphis - Gay, Conley, and then Gasol/Randolph were picked up on the cheap.

Your argument doesn't hold much water when the top three teams in the west were all built over time through the draft and trades for unknowns.

 

[RR7]

And how is it any different, then, that we're also building through the draft, and by adding unknowns? Lillard-PGOTF-draft, Aldridge-draft, Batum-draft, Wes, realtive unknown added. Leonard-draft. We ARE building through the draft.
Look at the teams you mention, are any of them all the same age? What is everyone's fascination here, dating back to Aldridge's rookie year, and all of our bench guys being seemingly untouchable, with having a roster of guys all the same age. They don't all just grow happily together. That team didn't. OKC traded away Jeff Green for an older player. Duncan is 6 years older than Parker. Memphis is 1st in the west with a 31 year old PF, and a PG who is only 25. Lillard and Aldridge are closer in age than that. So why should we worry of "wasting his prime" here? When Memphis is easily showing you can have people at different stages of their career and development and be a competent team. It doesn't happen overnight. And when it doesn't, most in here want to break it all down. It's broken down. I don't see great compelling reasons to break it further.

 

[KingSpeed]

Pet peeve- when people say losing games gets us more ping pong balls. That is not the way the lottery works anymore. You get more number combinations. The balls have numbers on them, not team names. So the correct thing to say is losing gets us more number combinations or more lottery tickets.

 

[EL PRESIDENTE]

You keep saying that "it hardly ever works", but what is the alternative? Look at the top teams around the league. They're either in a major market that a star wants to go to via trade or FA, OR they were drafted by their team.

Major Market teams:

Miami - LeBron, Bosh, Wade
LA - Dwight, Nash, CP3, Kobe
NY - Carmelo, Amare, Deron

Small Market teams that built through the draft -

San Antonio - Duncan, Manu, Parker (all drafted)
OKC - Durant, Westbrook, Ibaka
Memphis - Gay, Conley, and then Gasol/Randolph were picked up on the cheap.

Your argument doesn't hold much water when the top three teams in the west were all built over time through the draft and trades for unknowns.

So then we should keep Aldridge since we drafted him and continue building the team up through more free agency and some draft picks. Glad you agree with me.

It's a process of building a team in a small market and that takes patience, not turning on the leading scorer when he really isn't the problem and playing musical draft chairs. If you actually took the time to look at the make up of the team, you would see that trading him is beyond stupid....especially for what has been mentioned.

 

[RR7]

It's a process of building a team in a small market and that takes patience, .

Probably biggest thing right there. Knowing when to be patient.

 

[HailBlazers]

Fans are emotional, ie not that.

 

[EL PRESIDENTE]

Remember when we traded ZBO to allow Aldridge to take over? That sweet cap space....yah...we've gone down that road and nothing really came from it. It wasn't crucial to deal him at all. Same situation some people are just strong headed with poor vision and ideas so they pretend they can find a diamond in the rough with throwaway players

 

[BrianFromWA]

good grief Brian. He was dominant and that honor was a reflection of that. Being an inconvenient fact for your argument, doesn't make it irrelevant

STOMP

You're projecting. Personally, I think he was more deserving of it last year than the year before, but this isn't the thread I'm going to debate that. And my argument has nothing to do with what he did last year or in 2010-11, it's with what he's doing now and what the team should look like in the next couple of years.

 

[noknobs]

Pet peeve- when people say losing games gets us more ping pong balls. That is not the way the lottery works anymore. You get more number combinations. The balls have numbers on them, not team names. So the correct thing to say is losing gets us more number combinations or more lottery tickets.

Pet peeve - When people take comments too literal and then proceed to 'educate' others on common knowledge.

 

[Natebishop3]

So then we should keep Aldridge since we drafted him and continue building the team up through more free agency and some draft picks. Glad you agree with me.

It's a process of building a team in a small market and that takes patience, not turning on the leading scorer when he really isn't the problem and playing musical draft chairs. If you actually took the time to look at the make up of the team, you would see that trading him is beyond stupid....especially for what has been mentioned.

Aldridge doesn't fit the window. He'll be at the end of his peak when Dame and Batum are finally hitting their groove. I'm not talking about trading Aldridge for cap space, I'm talking about trading him for a high lotto pick and another promising young talent. He puts up good numbers, but do you think Aldridge is someone you want to go to war with? Has he ever shown up in the playoffs? My point is that you can trade Aldridge, start Hickson, and you don't lose THAT much, but you could gain a couple of very nice pieces that fit our window better.

Or you could sit on Aldridge, waste our cap space this summer on some crappy bench player or overpay someone like OJ Mayo, and then use our mid-range lotto on another Luke Babbitt. Is that a playoff team? Or, more important, is that a championship team?

 

[Natebishop3]

Remember when we traded ZBO to allow Aldridge to take over? That sweet cap space....yah...we've gone down that road and nothing really came from it. It wasn't crucial to deal him at all. Same situation some people are just strong headed with poor vision and ideas so they pretend they can find a diamond in the rough with throwaway players

We traded ZBO because Roy wanted him gone.

 

[HailBlazers]

Aldridge doesn't fit the window. He'll be at the end of his peak when Dame and Batum are finally hitting their groove.

Gonna have to call BS on this one. Aldridge is what 27? Dirk was 32-33 when he won his ring.

 

[RR7]

Doesn't fit our window? come on.
Zach didn't fit Memphis' window, and that window wouldn't have opened for another year or two from now if they did things "the right way".

 

[Natebishop3]

Gonna have to call BS on this one. Aldridge is what 27? Dirk was 32-33 when he won his ring.

Aldridge is not Dirk. Not even close to Dirk. Not even in the same universe as Dirk.

 

[EL PRESIDENTE]

Aldridge doesn't fit the window. He'll be at the end of his peak when Dame and Batum are finally hitting their groove. I'm not talking about trading Aldridge for cap space, I'm talking about trading him for a high lotto pick and another promising young talent. He puts up good numbers, but do you think Aldridge is someone you want to go to war with? Has he ever shown up in the playoffs? My point is that you can trade Aldridge, start Hickson, and you don't lose THAT much, but you could gain a couple of very nice pieces that fit our window better.

Or you could sit on Aldridge, waste our cap space this summer on some crappy bench player or overpay someone like OJ Mayo, and then use our mid-range lotto on another Luke Babbitt. Is that a playoff team? Or, more important, is that a championship team?

Yeah I know Aldridge only has 2 or 3 seasons left in him. Please. He is only 27 and relatively injury free for his size.

We only need lillard to get better, fill out the bench and a few smart moves and we are back in it. Lillard and Aldridge have good potential to be a nice 1-2 combo.

Suppose we do this, it's only a number of seasons until you repeat the same song and dance with lillard or whomever the current scapegoat of the moment is. It's a perpetual circle jerk with the strange fetish to want to stay in the lotto.

Your plan is horrible...just trade your best player for unknowns and hope they stick. It's what loser franchises do....you're throwing darts at a board. Some people will never be happy.

It's best we just "agree to disagree"

 

[RR7]

Aldridge is not Dirk. Not even close to Dirk. Not even in the same universe as Dirk.

And we don't need him to be Dirk if Lillard can be what he looks like he has the potential to be. We need him to be roughly what he is, IMO. And he has a game that will be fine as he ages.

 

[KingSpeed]

Gonna have to call BS on this one. Aldridge is what 27? Dirk was 32-33 when he won his ring.

My thoughts exactly. Also, Nate- Faried was a mid first round pick. We just have to make better decisions. They're not all Babbitts. Fuck, Matthews wasn't even drafted.

 

[RR7]

Is the only time a team can have an open window to a title when everyone one of it's players is 26-29, at their peak? It's that or nothing?

 

[EL PRESIDENTE]

Is the only time a team can have an open window to a title when everyone one of it's players is 26-29, at their peak? It's that or nothing?

Yes. Let him also blow you away with his knowledge of relatively unknown young prospects in the league

 

[KingSpeed]

Good players we could've gotten instead of Babbitt:

1 18 Eric Bledsoe PG United States Oklahoma City Thunder (from Miami,[d]traded to LA Clippers)[D] Kentucky (Fr.)
1 19 Avery Bradley SG/PG United States Boston Celtics Texas (Fr.)

1 27 Jordan Crawford SG United States New Jersey Nets (from Dallas,[h]traded to Atlanta)[F] Xavier (So.)
1 28 Greivis Vásquez

These guys would be great on our bench. Landry Fields was available in 2nd round.

 

[EL PRESIDENTE]

Also all players must be born within 2 months of each other like all championship teams

 

[Natebishop3]

Yeah I know Aldridge only has 2 or 3 seasons left in him. Please. He is only 27 and relatively injury free for his size.

We only need lillard to get better, fill out the bench and a few smart moves and we are back in it. Lillard and Aldridge have good potential to be a nice 1-2 combo.

Suppose we do this, it's only a number of seasons until you repeat the same song and dance with lillard or whomever the current scapegoat of the moment is. It's a perpetual circle jerk with the strange fetish to want to stay in the lotto.

Your plan is horrible...just trade your best player for unknowns and hope they stick. It's what loser franchises do....you're throwing darts at a board. Some people will never be happy.

It's best we just "agree to disagree"

I didn't even present a "plan". I explained why I thought trading Aldridge wasn't a bad idea. Window doesn't just include age and health.... it also includes contract. Maybe you didn't notice, but Aldridge is a UFA in two seasons. Think he wants to stay here when we're a losing shitty ass team? I certainly wouldn't.

How is this team going to magically get better? You like to talk about imaginary cap space, who are we going to add that makes us a championship contender this summer? Who will we draft with a low-end lotto pick that will make a difference? Outside the top 5, this draft sucks balls.

What's your "plan" Einstein? Let's see what you want to do so I can shoot holes in it like you love to do so much.

 

[RR7]

So hostile. Damn.
Aldridge expires in 3 years. So only 1 year more than Batum. Same amount as Wes. Does that also then screw up our timeline? If we're a losing shitty ass tyeam with the exact same roster as now with him, then he has every reason to want to leave. That just assume snobody will get better, and we sign nobody worth a damn.

 

[noknobs]

Aldridge is a UFA in two seasons. Think he wants to stay here when we're a losing shitty ass team? I certainly wouldn't.

Can I borrow the Delorean?

2 years in NBA speak is eternity. There's so much that can happen in that time. 2 years ago Roy was our future. If Aldridge expresses a desire to not resign then we can move him. At the moment that's hypothetical, as is calling us a losing shitty ass team two years into the future.

 

[Hobbesarable]

So hostile. Damn.
Aldridge expires in 3 years. So only 1 year more than Batum. Same amount as Wes. Does that also then screw up our timeline? If we're a losing shitty ass tyeam with the exact same roster as now with him, then he has every reason to want to leave. That just assume snobody will get better, and we sign nobody worth a damn.

I noticed you defend Aldridge in various threads. What is it about Aldridge that you like so much?

 

[EL PRESIDENTE]

I didn't even present a "plan". I explained why I thought trading Aldridge wasn't a bad idea. Window doesn't just include age and health.... it also includes contract. Maybe you didn't notice, but Aldridge is a UFA in two seasons. Think he wants to stay here when we're a losing shitty ass team? I certainly wouldn't.

How is this team going to magically get better? You like to talk about imaginary cap space, who are we going to add that makes us a championship contender this summer? Who will we draft with a low-end lotto pick that will make a difference? Outside the top 5, this draft sucks balls.

What's your "plan" Einstein? Let's see what you want to do so I can shoot holes in it like you love to do so much.

Let lillard develop and get more comfortable with the game. He is a franchise point guard and its not going to take him long to get there. He will be the alpha dog and Aldridge can be the second option not a bad situation

Leonard will improve as well. Probably not as a starter but he will get his

Assemble bench and fill holes in with smart veterans that are available

I'd like to get a center that would allow Hickson to come off the bench and maybe an upgrade at the two guard to get Matthews on the bench or have a backup two guard and keep Matthews in the starting rotation. Hickson would be great in the second unit to provide scoring and rebounding.

These are doable moves right now...

 

[Natebishop3]

So hostile. Damn.
Aldridge expires in 3 years. So only 1 year more than Batum. Same amount as Wes. Does that also then screw up our timeline? If we're a losing shitty ass tyeam with the exact same roster as now with him, then he has every reason to want to leave. That just assume snobody will get better, and we sign nobody worth a damn.

Two years. I'm not counting this season.

http://www.spotrac.com/nba/portland-trailblazers/lamarcus-aldridge/

He's a free agent before the 2015 season.