I'll get the ball rolling. WHY did we sign Aldridge?

[Fez Hammersticks]

The one objective reason for keeping Aldridge over Zach, was LMA's potential to be a far superior defensive player. Instead, LMA seems to have lost interest in playing defense. If he was a go-to player on offense, that might be acceptable. For a guy who is merely a nice 3rd option, it isn't.

I admit I am biased. I thought LMA was going to be an all-star - a game-changer at both ends. He is not even close to that, and I am very disappointed.

Thought we were going to get this

But we ended up with this

 

[Entity]

I love LaMarcus, but I saw this just now and it blew me away:

Points per 36 minutes this season:
16.7 Greg Oden
16.3 LaMarcus Aldridge

 

[KingSpeed]

Thought we were going to get this

But we ended up with this

You're insulting Keith Van Horn.

KVH's 2nd year averages:21.8 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 1.5 apg, 1.0 spg, 1.3 bpg

Amazing. When did Sheed ever do that? When will LMA ever do that?

What the hell happened to Van Horn? He averaged almost 20 ppg his rookie year and lost out Rookie of the Year to Duncan. Duncan's still around. Where's Keith Van Horn?

 

[HOWIE]

You're insulting Keith Van Horn.

KVH's 2nd year averages:21.8 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 1.5 apg, 1.0 spg, 1.3 bpg

Amazing. When did Sheed ever do that? When will LMA ever do that?

What the hell happened to Van Horn? He averaged almost 20 ppg his rookie year and lost out Rookie of the Year to Duncan. Duncan's still around. Where's Keith Van Horn?

He was part of that Jason Kidd deal wasn't he? I don't think he ever played for New Jersey after the trade. I'm guessing he is watch league pass on his couch saying "I bet I could still do that" while watching Duncan, Shaq, and heck let's throw out there Portland's Mr. Howard.

 

[ebott]

You're insulting Keith Van Horn.

KVH's 2nd year averages:21.8 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 1.5 apg, 1.0 spg, 1.3 bpg

Amazing. When did Sheed ever do that? When will LMA ever do that?

What the hell happened to Van Horn? He averaged almost 20 ppg his rookie year and lost out Rookie of the Year to Duncan. Duncan's still around. Where's Keith Van Horn?

I don't specifically remember, but looking at his statistics over the years it appears as though he had some injury issues. He missed a lot of games in an otherwise solid first 6 seasons. Then he went to the black hole of New York where careers go to die.

Offensively I'm not gonna harp on Aldridge too much. The reason that the vision of the big three works so well is that Aldridge's game of mid range jumpers and offensive rebounds blends very well with Oden's post game and Roy's driving ability. So to evaluate Aldridge without those two elements just isn't fair.

But his lack of ability on the defensive end is just inexcusable. The one thing that everyone said separated Aldridge from guys like Channing Frye and Bargnani was his defense. Now he doesn't even have that. Call me crazy, but I'd rather have Channing at <5 mil than Aldridge at 11 mil.

My dream for Aldridge is that he can play the role for Greg that Charles Oakley played for Patrick Ewing. On offense he's basically a mid range jump shooter, but his defense and hustle are what make him worth the near max contract. Weren't there rumblings that the Blazers were looking to bring in Oakley as a big man coach?