"I want to be the best Trail Blazer ever,"

[PtldPlatypus]

I've heard this before.

I kinda thought the same at first, but there is a noticeably stark contrast between the two quotes.

"I want to be the best Blazer -- ever," Aldridge said. "If I stay the rest of my career, I should be able to catch Clyde by then. I should be able to leave a mark on a big-time franchise that is going to be seen forever. And I will be able to say I played here my whole career. This city has embraced me and grown with me. I have so much history, it just makes sense to stay."

"I want to be the best Trail Blazer ever," Lillard told a group of reporters after the Blazers (35-26) disposed of the woeful Kings for their fourth straight win. "I can't say things like that without leading the team to a successful season, winning games, and having a huge impact on that happening. That goes along with it. My production and my leadership has to say that."​

One guy points to a single player, trying to catch that player, and basically being remembered. The other points to his part in producing wins and successful seasons. One is focused solely on individual accolades; the other primarily on team accomplishments.

They couldn't be more different.

 

[crandc]

Anyone still want to tank and get a high draft pick?

 

[TBpup]

Anyone still want to tank and get a high draft pick?

Not when they are playing like this. When they were losing 6 games in a row at home? Yes.

So which team are they? I would hope they are more like the current version but the lapses in consistency and complete disappearing acts by some players at times is inherently frustrating.

 

[Jon]

I kinda thought the same at first, but there is a noticeably stark contrast between the two quotes.

"I want to be the best Blazer -- ever," Aldridge said. "If I stay the rest of my career, I should be able to catch Clyde by then. I should be able to leave a mark on a big-time franchise that is going to be seen forever. And I will be able to say I played here my whole career. This city has embraced me and grown with me. I have so much history, it just makes sense to stay."

"I want to be the best Trail Blazer ever," Lillard told a group of reporters after the Blazers (35-26) disposed of the woeful Kings for their fourth straight win. "I can't say things like that without leading the team to a successful season, winning games, and having a huge impact on that happening. That goes along with it. My production and my leadership has to say that."​

One guy points to a single player, trying to catch that player, and basically being remembered. The other points to his part in producing wins and successful seasons. One is focused solely on individual accolades; the other primarily on team accomplishments.

They couldn't be more different.

honestly, Aldridge could have been the best Blazer ever and i believe he would have stayed...... if it wasnt for Lillard. it was Aldridge's team until Dame hit that game winner against New Orleans. at that point, it wasnt his team anymore and he didnt want to be here because of it. jealousy. he left out of jealousy. im not buying into the whole "i want to be close to my family". bitch, you made MILLIONS. how can you not move your family here. ALL OF THEM. IN MULTIPLE HOMES.

straight jealousy. thats all it was.

 

[Reep]

The goal is to win. A Walton-led Blazer team did that. A Drexler-led team went to the Finals twice and should have gone a 3rd time. IMO, Dame has to get to the Finals at least once to be in the discussion. 'Greatness' to me is how high you can get....not so much how long you were good. Some of that is also circumstantial as you have to have the right players around you. It's for the same reason I don't put Marino quite as high as guys who have won multiple SuperBowls.

I would argue Dame is never going to pass Drexler in states alone. Getting to the WCF still has him below Clyde. If Dame could win a title, then and only then, does he pass Drexler.

Having said that, how do you define "best"? If it isn't based solely on performance, but includes intangibles and things outside the game, then Dame could probably become the best just by getting to the WCF and continuing to be a great leader, and finishing out his career in Portland.

 

[Denny Crane]

It's hard to put him over Walton and Clyde. Considering Walton's short career, Dame might be considered the better Blazer.

Clyde was considered one of the top 50 all time NBA players when that list first came out. Dame isn't quite in that class, though he's a joy to watch and see on TV in other settings.

 

[OSUBlazerfan]

I love Dame, but it's tough to rank him above Drexler and Walton. I think he's at the Porter level now.
1. Drexler
2. Walton
3a. Porter
3b. Lillard
5. Lucas
6. Kersey
7. Roy
8. Paxson
9. Petrie
10. Buck Williams
73. Aldridge

After Dame signs his next 5 year contract after this one, and brings the Blazers to the WCFs (+), then he'll rival Walton and Drexler.

No love for Pip?

 

[blue9]

I kinda thought the same at first, but there is a noticeably stark contrast between the two quotes.

"I want to be the best Blazer -- ever," Aldridge said. "If I stay the rest of my career, I should be able to catch Clyde by then. I should be able to leave a mark on a big-time franchise that is going to be seen forever. And I will be able to say I played here my whole career. This city has embraced me and grown with me. I have so much history, it just makes sense to stay."

"I want to be the best Trail Blazer ever," Lillard told a group of reporters after the Blazers (35-26) disposed of the woeful Kings for their fourth straight win. "I can't say things like that without leading the team to a successful season, winning games, and having a huge impact on that happening. That goes along with it. My production and my leadership has to say that."​

One guy points to a single player, trying to catch that player, and basically being remembered. The other points to his part in producing wins and successful seasons. One is focused solely on individual accolades; the other primarily on team accomplishments.

They couldn't be more different.

You posted exactly what I was going to post after reading through the thread. LA all about himself, Dame all about the team.

 

[blue9]

Anyone still want to tank and get a high draft pick?

Kinda. Despite being in the middle of a fight for the 3rd seed, we're still a go-nowhere team. People are blinded by the standings right now and have forgotten that we've rarely beaten a good team at full strength this season, and have often lost to mediocre teams playing without their best players. If we remain within striking distance of home court in Round 1 through the next 10-12 games, then that'll be something to be excited about.
Dame is amazing, and I want us to succeed for his sake. But the team would be better off in the long run with a lotto pick - we need something of value in order to improve the roster.

 

[handiman]

No love for Pip?

That's the problem with rating/ranking anyone from that group. Sheed, Sabonis, Pippen, Grant, and maybe Stoudamire and Smitty, they all seem worthy of consideration for those #7-10 spots.

 

[blue9]

That's the problem with rating/ranking anyone from that group. Sheed, Sabonis, Pippen, Grant, and maybe Stoudamire and Smitty, they all seem worthy of consideration for those #7-10 spots.

Sheed, Sabas and Pippen are VASTLY better than Grant, Mouse, and Smith.

 

[SlyPokerDog]

I want to be the LaMarcus Aldridge of forum moderators.

 

[Jon]

I want to be the LaMarcus Aldridge of forum moderators.

lie to us and have us all hate you when you leave to go to another forum?

 

[Jon]

I want to be the LaMarcus Aldridge of forum moderators.

OR, you know, you would have to say "you know" every other word. you know?

 

[42N8Bounce]

Sheed should definitely be ahead of Roy and Aldridge, imo, though Aldridge's two games in Houston in 2014 do count for something. It was incredible.

Roy as 7th best ever is laughable

No love for Pip?

Ok, ok. I took another look at this using Seasons, PER, Win-Share, Playoff Games, All Star Appearances, and Championships as my primary criteria. Here's what I came up with (yes, very subjective):



As much as it pained me to do it, I currently have Aldridge above Lillard. Lillard will most likely overtake LaMarcus in my book by the end of next year.

@KingSpeed Yep, good point. Sheed jumps ahead of Roy. Roy slides down a few spots to 9th.

@OSUBlazerfan Pippen makes the list at number 28.

CJ makes the list at number 21.

 

[Mediocre Man]

Ok, ok. I took another look at this using Seasons, PER, Win-Share, Playoff Games, All Star Appearances, and Championships as my primary criteria. Here's what I came up with (yes, very subjective):

View attachment 18963

As much as it pained me to do it, I currently have Aldridge above Lillard. Lillard will most likely overtake LaMarcus in my book by the end of next year.

@KingSpeed Yep, good point. Sheed jumps ahead of Roy. Roy slides down a few spots to 9th.

@OSUBlazerfan Pippen makes the list at number 28.

CJ makes the list at number 21.

Just using my eyes, and no stats, I think I'd still have Paxson, Uncle Cliffy and Buck ahead of Roy. Also hard for me notvto have Sabas ahead of him

 

[Drttimmy]

Anyone still want to tank and get a high draft pick?

As long as we see both team and individual growth, I'm all in competing. We've seen growth, finally, this year, although only in the last month or so. For two years running, tanking made a lot more sense to me. Hopefully, they keep it up because they're a lot more fun to watch now.

 

[Drttimmy]

I love Dame, but it's tough to rank him above Drexler and Walton. I think he's at the Porter level now.
1. Drexler
2. Walton
3a. Porter
3b. Lillard
5. Lucas
6. Kersey
7. Roy
8. Paxson
9. Petrie
10. Buck Williams
73. Aldridge

After Dame signs his next 5 year contract after this one, and brings the Blazers to the WCFs (+), then he'll rival Walton and Drexler.

Curious, why you put Paxson over Petrie? I wasn't around for Petrie's run, but ROY and team career leader in several categories before Terry and Clyde came along. He also netted us Lucas. Paxson, had a couple nice years, but I'm not sure he was the best or most talented Blazer in any one year. In the end, he netted us Jerry Schiting.

Also, curious on Aldridge. I get being outside the top 10, but there are a lot of guys in between -- Kiki, Cliff, Wicks, Sheed -- who, arguably, screwed us too, albeit, in different ways.

 

[42N8Bounce]

Curious, why you put Paxson over Petrie? I wasn't around for Petrie's run, but ROY and team career leader in several categories before Terry and Clyde came along. He also netted us Lucas. Paxson, had a couple nice years, but I'm not sure he was the best or most talented Blazer in any one year. In the end, he netted us Jerry Schiting.

Also, curious on Aldridge. I get being outside the top 10, but there are a lot of guys in between -- Kiki, Cliff, Wicks, Sheed -- who, arguably, screwed us too, albeit, in different ways.

Paxson lead his teams to 33 playoff games. Petrie 0. Paxson also played for 9 yeas and netted a 53.7 win-share. Petrie played for 6 years with a win-share of 26.1. As far as overall talent, Paxson (16.9) actually had a higher career PER than Petrie (15.8). Although there's some nostalgia with Petrie being the first Blazer, I think Paxson brought more to the organization overall.

The post of mine that your referenced was a first pass, with a bit of a poke at Aldridge (ranking him "73"). I looked at the numbers a bit more in depth on this later post and ranked Aldridge #4, just ahead of Lillard. Although I don't like the terms that Aldridge left under, it's undeniable that he ranks high as one of the best Blazers ever. 9 years with the club, a 69.4 win-share, and 4 all-star appearances.

Dame's getting close, but he's not quite there yet. It's just a mater of (Dame) time.....

 

[42N8Bounce]

Just using my eyes, and no stats, I think I'd still have Paxson, Uncle Cliffy and Buck ahead of Roy. Also hard for me notvto have Sabas ahead of him

Yep. Good points. It comes down to valuing short quality (Walton?) vs long contributions (Kersey?). Roy had 3 all-star appearances with a PER over 20, but only played 5 years. Whereas Paxson, Uncle Cliffy, Buck and Sabas all had more career win-share than Roy primarily because they played more years.

 

[blue9]

Just using my eyes, and no stats, I think I'd still have Paxson, Uncle Cliffy and Buck ahead of Roy. Also hard for me notvto have Sabas ahead of him

Sabas definitely. He's my #1 favorite player of all time, but I'm willing to concede that he's not #1 hands-down...though I would say he deserves to be Top 5 in Blazers lore, and I won't hear any arguments that say otherwise.
I think lowly of Roy - he was a self-absorbed diva - but at the time he was playing, he ranked higher than Cliff and Buck did at the time they played. Roy was arguably Top 3 SG at his peak...even if it was only a year to a year-and-a-half.

 

[blue9]

I looked at the numbers a bit more in depth on this later post and ranked Aldridge #4, just ahead of Lillard. Although I don't like the terms that Aldridge left under, it's undeniable that he ranks high as one of the best Blazers ever. 9 years with the club, a 94.7 win-share, and 4 all-star appearances.

You need to take a closer look at LA when he was playing second (or third) fiddle behind Roy/Dame, compared to when he was first fiddle. He rode the coattails of Roy and Dame, and when he didn't have either he rode us straight into the lotto. Meanwhile, after Dame "lost" LA - along with the real difference-makers in Wes and Nic - the team barely suffered at all. Had the team KEPT a healthy Wes and Nic, the team would have been BETTER without LA.

Point: LA isn't worth a Top 20 mention in Blazers lore. Dude is faker than porn star tits.

 

[LayneStaley]

As far as I’m concerned it’s already...

Drexler
Walton
Dame
LA
Sheed (Could have been the greatest with some Anger Mang. classes)

 

[Mediocre Man]

Sabas definitely. He's my #1 favorite player of all time, but I'm willing to concede that he's not #1 hands-down...though I would say he deserves to be Top 5 in Blazers lore, and I won't hear any arguments that say otherwise.
I think lowly of Roy - he was a self-absorbed diva - but at the time he was playing, he ranked higher than Cliff and Buck did at the time they played. Roy was arguably Top 3 SG at his peak...even if it was only a year to a year-and-a-half.

Buck was the piece that got us over the hump. He was the glue that made this team championship contenders.

Cliff is

5th in games played
4th in points
2nd in blocks
10th in rebounds

Paxson is also all over the top 10 in many categories.

 

[LayneStaley]

Only one blazer has been to more than 4 all-star games, that seems wrong.