Simple question: LaMarcus Aldridge...

[Fez Hammersticks]

Is he just a breakout player or is he a true franchise player?

 

[Eastoff]

why are we whispering so loud?

 

[BlazerCaravan]

Yes.

 

[Pinwheel1]

Define franchise player. I count less than 20 in the league. I would say he is our best player, but I think a franchise player should be a super star and he is not quite there. Yet

 

[Natebishop3]

I think he's a franchise player. I think something clicked for him finally, paired with Brandon going down so he had the motive and opportunity..... easy conviction.

 

[oldmangrouch]

He has to prove he can sustain this level of excellence to be a "franchise player". There are very few players who deserve that label.

 

[Minstrel]

He's a breakout player. If he sustains the breakout, he'll be a franchise player. If he sustains the franchise, he'll be an icon player.

Dunno what happens when you sustain the icon.

 

[Boob-No-More]

He's a breakout player. If he sustains the breakout, he'll be a franchise player. If he sustains the franchise, he'll be an icon player.

Dunno what happens when you sustain the icon.

Hall of Fame.

 

[BlazerCaravan]

He's a breakout player. If he sustains the breakout, he'll be a franchise player. If he sustains the franchise, he'll be an icon player.

Dunno what happens when you sustain the icon.

You become a legend. Larry, Michael, Sabas, Pele, Babe, etc.

 

[maxiep]

He's two, two, two things in one. He's a breakout player who has become a franchise player. I remember when my wildest dream for him was to become almost as good as Chris Bosh. He's a damn sight better than that right now as he can play in the low post and also plays that other 47 feet.

If he doesn't win MIP, then I don't know what to say.

 

[Minstrel]

You become a legend. Larry, Michael, Sabas, Pele, Babe, etc.

And when you sustain the legend? This goes on forever...

 

[BlazerCaravan]

And when you sustain the legend? This goes on forever...

Hehehe! Canonization. The Beatles, Da Vinci, Einstein. From there, it kind of peters out.

 

[Further]

I think he is half a franchise player. Not good enough to truly carry a team like a Bron, Kobe or Durant, but he is good enough that if you paired him with another equally good player, they would be in contention year after year.

 

[BlazerCaravan]

I'm going to reserve judgment on the actual question until the end of next season. I want to see what he does for us in these playoffs, in the offseason (if he learns the Dream Shake or gets 3 point shot, or gets a better nose for the boards....) and next season. I want to think he's franchise-level. He's led a rag-tag team to a respectable record since taking over. That's something the Jordans of the world do. He still needs a Pippen though (Roy, Batum, Wallace, someone else?). (Yeah, I'm totally overstating using those examples, but it's the archetypal example).

 

[3RA1N1AC]

if he comes out of the gate like this next year, and the blazers are winning, he will be talked about as the best pf in the league

 

[blazerboy30]

Before I can give an opinion... What is a "franchise player"?

 

[Hey]

Yes, he's a top 10 player right now.

 

[alex42083]

He's one of those "All-Star caliber" players right now -- not a franchise player yet. But if he gets his 25-10 in the playoffs and leads us to a playoff series win, making big buckets down in crunch time... then he'll become a franchise player in my eyes. He's got a lot to prove.

And then we can start making preparations to put his No. 12 in the rafters, like we did with Brandon a couple years ago.

 

[Minstrel]

Before I can give an opinion... What is a "franchise player"?

I would define it as a player good enough to be the primary driver of success on a championship-caliber team. Could Aldridge be the centerpiece of a championship team? If so, he's a franchise player. If not...he's not.

 

[Rastapopoulos]

I think he is half a franchise player. Not good enough to truly carry a team like a Bron, Kobe or Durant,

Hm. I don't think Durant has ever carried a good team (well, that USA team was pretty good, but they almost got beaten a couple of times). Westbrook is arguably OKC's MVP this year, and OKC with just Durant and no Westbrook (well, they were Seattle then) were terrible, and his "advanced stats" were god-awful. Substitute "Duncan" or "Nowitzki" or "Howard" and you'd be more on point.

I'm just happy that Aldridge is a fuck of a lot better than he used to be. Is this a flash in the pan? I'm always wary of MIPs - they tend to return to Earth. But I think McMillan is a good coach to keep him on track. I think an interesting question is: on the off chance that (a) Oden stays healthy for any length of time, (b) he doesn't leave the Blazers, and (c) he's still pretty good, how will LaMarcus look playing next to him? How much of Aldridge's improvement comes with more of a smallball lineup? Would having a player like Oden who HAS to camp out down low (unlike Camby, who can feed the post from the top of the key) make Aldridge back into a jump shooter?

Two years ago Roy made the jump.
This year: Aldridge.
Next year I want Batum or Oden.

 

[Rastapopoulos]

One thing I've noticed about Aldridge: he gets better as the season goes along. He did most notably in his rookie year (he wasn't even included in the rookie game at the AS break, but was first-team all-rookie by the end) and this year. If he'd've played like he's been playing for the past couple of months from day one, there's no way he would've been left off the AS team.

 

[BBert]

I think Aldridge is "kind of" a franchise player. He's a franchise player when his teammates and his coach want him to be. He'll be a true franchise player when he demands it.

 

[e_blazer]

I think he is half a franchise player. Not good enough to truly carry a team like a Bron, Kobe or Durant, but he is good enough that if you paired him with another equally good player, they would be in contention year after year.

Two out of three of those guys haven't lead a team to a title yet. Those guys are all wing players. They're splashy players that the league and media love to highlight, but IMHO, the way Aldridge is playing he's more of a franchise player in the Duncan mold. Not flashy, but very, very effective and perhaps more of a key ingredient to winning a title than a flashy wing player. Kobe couldn't do squat until the Lakers got Gasol. If Aldridge can play like he has the past few months consistently, and I think he's shown that he can, he's definitely a franchise player in my book.

 

[GrandpaBlaze]

What is all this talk of him being a franchise player when he isn't even an all star?????

Sheesh.

/Sarcasm

Gramps...

 

[ant]

I think an interesting question is: on the off chance that (a) Oden stays healthy for any length of time, (b) he doesn't leave the Blazers, and (c) he's still pretty good, how will LaMarcus look playing next to him? How much of Aldridge's improvement comes with more of a smallball lineup? Would having a player like Oden who HAS to camp out down low (unlike Camby, who can feed the post from the top of the key) make Aldridge back into a jump shooter?

I was thinking about this, too. Everyone was excited to pair LA and Oden because they seemed like good compliments (Oden inside, LA outside). With the new and improved LA who lives down low, I bet Oden will thrive as an offensive rebounder (punishing teams if they double team LA) and he'll get used a lot like Joel to set picks for the shooters (we really need a big wide man who sets good picks...Camby and LA just don't have the knack).

Of course, this has an * next to it...

*Pending a healthy season for the big fella

 

[STOMP]

off the top of my head, I'd think that cases could be made for Derrick Rose, Kevin Love and Dorrell Wright for MIP too.

Regardless, besides Finals MVP, the award I want to see LA win this year is a spot on one of the All NBA Teams

STOMP

 

[EGame]

Love winning MIP would be a joke. Not to say he hasn't improved because he has, but what has he lead his team to record wise? Yup, that ends that. I could see Rose winning it if he weren't most likely going to be MVP so I doubt he takes both, but who knows. Aldridge should get it over Wright really.

 

[KingSpeed]

Rose should probably win MIP and MVP. Also, don't forget Wesley Matthews. And to think we thought Nic would be competing for the award.

Also, I have no problem with Love winning the award. It's not MVP which centers on team success. It's an individual award and he has earned serious consideration.

 

[The_Lillard_King]

Two out of three of those guys haven't lead a team to a title yet. Those guys are all wing players. They're splashy players that the league and media love to highlight, but IMHO, the way Aldridge is playing he's more of a franchise player in the Duncan mold. Not flashy, but very, very effective and perhaps more of a key ingredient to winning a title than a flashy wing player. Kobe couldn't do squat until the Lakers got Gasol. If Aldridge can play like he has the past few months consistently, and I think he's shown that he can, he's definitely a franchise player in my book.

Hey e, usually agree with your posts, but you think Lebron is a splashy player that is hyped by league and media? Lebron led a team to the best record in the NBA and then when he left that team they became the worst team in the NBA. And I sort of see the argument with Durant, but fourth year in the league and leading the NBA in scoring (he is only get get better). And Kobe did win three championships without Gasol, which is more than squat.

 

[KingSpeed]

Hey e, usually agree with your posts, but you think Lebron is a splashy player that is hyped by league and media? Lebron led a team to the best record in the NBA and then when he left that team they became the worst team in the NBA. And I sort of see the argument with Durant, but fourth year in the league and leading the NBA in scoring (he is only get get better). And Kobe did win three championships without Gasol, which is more than squat.

The season after Shaq was traded, Kobe couldn't even get the Lakers into the playoffs. And then in 06 & 07, couldn't get out of the first round (despite having 3-1 lead in '06). Kobe can't do squat without a skilled big man in the post. Jordan won 6 titles without any offensive post player as good as Shaq or Pau. But I digress....