What's the Limit for LMA?

[MAS RipCity]

Since it has been a VERY slow August, the apparent signing of LMA has got me thinking...just how good can he be?

The real best-case scenario is Rasheed Wallace, minus the attitude, the temper, the lack of motivation to get better, and shying away from taking shots, which ends up being one spectacular player. Many Trail Blazer fans, including myself, thought Sheed had the talent to be the best power forward of his era if he would only assert himself in the post and work as hard as the KG's, Duncan's, and Webber's in the off-season. Even Rasheed with all of those flaws has been a multi-time All-Star and was unquestionably the best player on a team that was 10 minutes away from going to the NBA Finals. LA has already shown he is a high character person who won't battle the referees during games and has one of the top work ethics on the team. By now he has passed the first test by taking McMillan's advice and being more assertive down low. If he can eventually turn out to be the defender Rasheed was, ostensibly the only thing he took pride in, it will be inevitable for him to become the NBA's premier power forward in 2 years. L-Train will get pushed by Chris Bosh, Amare Stoudemire, and maybe Blake Griffin for 1st team All-NBA status, but Aldridge has all the tools mentally, physically, and maybe most importantly, team talent surrounding him to be the best. Think about it, he should never have to face a double team with Miller, Roy, Rudy, and Miller playing alongside him, and facing LaMarcus one on one means the way way for defenders to stop him is by hoping and praying. He is easily worth whatever money the front office signs him for.

LaMarcusAldridge:What'sTheLimit

Anybody agree? Who do you think are some other comparisons for his ceiling?

 

[BLAZER PROPHET]

I think he can be a very well rounded PF and clearly an all-star caliber player. He's practically there now.

 

[Minstrel]

I'm as big a fan of Rasheed Wallace as anyone, but he didn't have the talent to be the best power forward of his era (which, considering that would put him ahead of Duncan and Garnett, would mean he'd potentially the greatest power forward ever). That was an unrealistic standard that some Blazers fans held Wallace to and criticized him for never reaching it (there were plenty of things to criticize Wallace for, but "not being better than Duncan/Garnett" was not one of them).

The best case would be Wallace with a more assertive and consistent inside game. His floor is what he is right now, which is a borderline All-Star. I think he'll ultimately be around the level of Bosh. So, I'd negotiate as hard as possible to keep his salary down but I'd ultimately pay him the max before I let him leave. That is, I'd negotiate for the best price I could but if he actually reached RFA and got a max offer, I'd match it.

 

[MAS RipCity]

Sheed will always be held in that Tim Thomas/Darius Miles category, but not as much as those two, of players who have all the talent in the world to dominate their positions but don't have the desire to do so.

 

[MARIS61]

He's by far our best player, and is improving at a faster pace than anyone also, so no limit at all other than those invented by Nate.

 

[Natebishop3]

I really like Aldridge's game. I think he'll be one of the top 2-3 power forwards in the league for the rest of his career. I don't think he'll be the best ever, but there's a chance he could be a James Worthy or a Kevin McHale. At least that's what I'm hoping for. And by that I mean, a really good player on a championship caliber team.

 

[andalusian]

I do not think he will ever be as good offensively as Brandon - and I think that when all is said and done - Greg will be a better defensive player than him - but I think he will be a better two-way player than either of them.

 

[THE HCP]

He'll make 6 or 7 all-star games!

 

[MAS RipCity]

I really like Aldridge's game. I think he'll be one of the top 2-3 power forwards in the league for the rest of his career. I don't think he'll be the best ever, but there's a chance he could be a James Worthy or a Kevin McHale. At least that's what I'm hoping for. And by that I mean, a really good player on a championship caliber team.

I would take that in a New York Minute...the big question is, do we get great clutch performances out of him?

 

[BLAZINGGIANTS]

My dad and I were talking about this recently. The entire City of Portland was ready to embrace him on a level rarely seen around these parts. More than Clyde. More than Roy now. Sheed could have owned this entire freakin' city. Funny thing is, Sheed was more "Fuck the authority. Fuck the powers that be. Fuck whitey." Sheed's fluidity, athleticism, and overall basketball ability for a player his size was amazing. Duncan is great, don't get me wrong. But we should be looking back on Sheed's career, and gawking at how he dominated his position. Call me a homer for my opinion, but I don't even like Sheed, and I still think we only saw glimpses of what he could have been, should have been. I still think he was an amazing player, but I think we got cheated out of what likely was a dominant player at his position.

That being said, I love LA. I think he has nearly all the talent Sheed did, but with more heart. He'll give Portland his everything. Funny thing, Sheed didn't try, and we gave him everything we could. Why are we holding back on LA? I think LA's performance will be a little bit better than Sheed... along the lines of Sheed's two All-Star appearances in Portland, but with more consistency, and for 6-8 years, rather than just two.

I still think Sheed had more potential. He was the smoothest big man I've ever seen. He just didn't play with the consistency he had the ability to do.

 

[The_Lillard_King]

the sky

 

[e.l.e.]

The real best-case scenario is Rasheed Wallace, minus the attitude, the temper, the lack of motivation to get better, and shying away from taking shots, which ends up being one spectacular player.

I don't even see the point in comparing him with Rasheed, given the list of differences that immediately follow. If we're going to 'minus' all those things then that gives us a completely different player.

Since the end of his (and Roy's) rookie year, I've thought he could very well end up being our best player, and still do, although Roy seems to continually raise the bar. I think the biggest areas he needs to improve is getting physical downlow and rebounding. But I do think he's been unfairly labeled as one who prefers to settle for the jumpshot. He showed quite a lot of moves downlow last year, and went to it more than some seemed to think. If he can get his rebounding numbers up to 9/game or so he could be an allstar. But given that he's one of the best running bigmen in the game and he has Oden to grab the boards, I'm not sure he'll get there.

Unfortunately he plays a position which always seems to have great competition when it comes to allstar voting, but I think he'll make a few before it's all said and done (although I doubt the fans ever vote him in), especially if the team has a lot of success.

 

[Minstrel]

I don't think he'll be the best ever, but there's a chance he could be a James Worthy or a Kevin McHale.

Pretty large range there. Kevin McHale was a top-ten power forward of all-time. If Aldridge was that good, Portland would be in amazing shape. Aldridge is already "James Worthy" level, IMO...slightly less production than Worthy's peak, but superior defense.

 

[MAS RipCity]

That's the thing, he is so much like Sheed, just minus Sheed's big negatives. He has the high release, he can shoot the jumper, both run the floor exceptionally well, and are both good defenders (LA still improving to get to his level)...not to mention both have shown flashes of being unguardable in the post.

 

[PapaG]

The real best-case scenario is Rasheed Wallace

Rasheed Wallace has averaged more than 18.5 ppg 3 times in 16 NBA seasons. He's averaged more than 7.5 rebounds 3 times in 16 seasons. He's averaged more than 1.9 assists 6 times in 16 seasons. He's never shot 78% on his FTs for a season. He hasn't shot over 48% since the 2000-01 season.

LMA accomplished all of these stats in his 3rd season. Wallace is overrated as an offensive player. His defense, however, used to be very good. Never All-NBA defensive good, but good.

 

[PapaG]

Pretty large range there. Kevin McHale was a top-ten power forward of all-time. If Aldridge was that good, Portland would be in amazing shape. Aldridge is already "James Worthy" level, IMO...slightly less production than Worthy's peak, but superior defense.

James Worthy basically played SF for the Lakers.

 

[Natebishop3]

Pretty large range there. Kevin McHale was a top-ten power forward of all-time. If Aldridge was that good, Portland would be in amazing shape. Aldridge is already "James Worthy" level, IMO...slightly less production than Worthy's peak, but superior defense.

Yeah, I guess what I meant was that I'd be happy if he was an All-Star caliber sidekick to Roy. If Roy is the Jordan or the Bird, then LA could be the Pippen or the McHale, and trust me, if we're winning championships, the hype will be there.

People like to add an air of mystique to Pip or McHale, but I think a lot of that is because they won so much. If Pippen or McHale were by themselves and never won a championship, would they be held in such high regard?

 

[Minstrel]

People like to add an air of mystique to Pip or McHale, but I think a lot of that is because they won so much. If Pippen or McHale were by themselves and never won a championship, would they be held in such high regard?

I don't think there's a mystique or hype about them. They were legitimately great players. Like any player, if they hadn't won, they'd have been downgraded (which I don't agree with, but that's another subject). But I don't think they were really elevated beyond their ability level. Pippen was a great all-around contributor, athletic scorer/play-maker and arguably the most disruptive perimeter defender ever. McHale was one of the best low-post scorers ever, a very solid rebounder and a strong (even underrated) defender.

I think they're both easy first ballot Hall of Famers. If Aldridge reached that sort of level, that would be fantastic.

 

[PapaG]

I don't think there's a mystique or hype about them. They were legitimately great players. Like any player, if they hadn't won, they'd have been downgraded (which I don't agree with, but that's another subject). But I don't think they were really elevated beyond their ability level. Pippen was a great all-around contributor, athletic scorer/play-maker and arguably the most disruptive perimeter defender ever. McHale was one of the best low-post scorers ever, a very solid rebounder and a strong (even underrated) defender.

I think they're both easy first ballot Hall of Famers. If Aldridge reached that sort of level, that would be fantastic.

So, is LMA a SF, or a PF? Because Worthy played SF, and Pippen played a quasi-SF with guard responsibilities.

 

[LOTBfan]

I do not think that anyone is going to dethrone Timmy for a long time, but beyond that, LA has the potential to be huge. We all use the term "big 3" now, but if Oden ever develops or we somehow pull out a super star caliber point, the whole league will have to rethink using that term so loosely.

I only own 3 jerseys, and they all have the number 12 on them

 

[Natebishop3]

I do not think that anyone is going to dethrone Timmy for a long time, but beyond that, LA has the potential to be huge. We all use the term "big 3" now, but if Oden ever develops or we somehow pull out a super star caliber point, the whole league will have to rethink using that term so loosely.

I only own 3 jerseys, and they all have the number 12 on them

Detlef Schrempf?

 

[Natebishop3]

I don't think there's a mystique or hype about them. They were legitimately great players. Like any player, if they hadn't won, they'd have been downgraded (which I don't agree with, but that's another subject). But I don't think they were really elevated beyond their ability level. Pippen was a great all-around contributor, athletic scorer/play-maker and arguably the most disruptive perimeter defender ever. McHale was one of the best low-post scorers ever, a very solid rebounder and a strong (even underrated) defender.

I think they're both easy first ballot Hall of Famers. If Aldridge reached that sort of level, that would be fantastic.

I don't think there was hype, but I think there was mystique. There's always a mystique about a player of that caliber on a team that wins so many championships. Pippen and McHale were absolutely great players, but like you said, if they had not won, they probably would have been downgraded.

 

[Minstrel]

So, is LMA a SF, or a PF? Because Worthy played SF, and Pippen played a quasi-SF with guard responsibilities.

He's any position we want, of course.

I wasn't comparing them in terms of position, just in ability level.

 

[PapaG]

I don't think there was hype, but I think there was mystique. There's always a mystique about a player of that caliber on a team that wins so many championships. Pippen and McHale were absolutely great players, but like you said, if they had not won, they probably would have been downgraded.

Pippen was a much more complete player than McHale, and McHale played with a much more talented team overall.

Pippen is one of the most underrated players in NBA history, IMO. Jordan, Pippen, and a bunch of one-dimensional role players. It's amazing that team won 6 straight titles when those two had full seasons together.

 

[Natebishop3]

Pippen was a much more complete player than McHale, and McHale played with a much more talented team overall.

Pippen is one of the most underrated players in NBA history, IMO. Jordan, Pippen, and a bunch of one-dimensional role players. It's amazing that team won 6 straight titles when those two had full seasons together.

How can one of the 50 greatest of all time be underrated?

 

[PapaG]

How can one of the 50 greatest of all time be underrated?

Many casual fans/relatives I talk to believe he should not have been on the list, and some people believe he would not be on a current list. Regardless, he's seen basically as a sidekick to Jordan, which completely undervalues what Pippen brought to those teams.

 

[Charcoal Filtered]

After three years in the league, how many players make the jump from being a one block a night PF to a two block menace? I would love to see it happen, but it is just not likely for LMA.

I think a Tom Chambers like career is more likely.

 

[PapaG]

After three years in the league, how many players make the jump from being a one block a night PF to a two block menace? I would love to see it happen, but it is just not likely for LMA.

I think a Tom Chambers like career is more likely.

How many 2 block/game PFs are there?

Rasheed Wallace has a career 1.36 bpg. He never averaged 2 bpg in a season. Aldridge had 1 bpg last year, which was his lowest total so far in his career.

Tom Chambers? Really? Chambers never blocked 1 shot per game in a season over 16 seasons. LMA has done it every year in the NBA. Plus, Chambers never even averaged more than 6.7 rpg in a season. LMA has done that in two years as a starter.

 

[Iwatas]

It is fascinating to me how Hollinger, Basketball Reference and others do not have a "most similar at age" for LMA. There are really very few comparable PFs at the age of 23 - in large part because 6'11" players are usuaally good for 10-12 rebounds per game. Not LMA.

It is clear that LMA is no Tim Duncan:

AGE PPG PCT FT PCT RPG APG stls blcks tos pf
23 23.2 .490 .761 12.4 3.2 66 165 242 210

Our boy:
AGE PPG PCT FT PCT RPG APG stls blcks tos pf
23 18.1 .484 .781 7.5 1.9 77 77 121 207

Duncan is a MUCH better rebounder, a better scorer, and a better passer (though with 2x the turnovers). He was also a much better defender. Aldridge is also a level below the Karl Malones and Charles Barkleys of NBA lore. So I do NOT think we have a potential HOFer here. Still, Mchale's numbers as a 23 year-old rookie were much worse.

Based on what he has shown us so far, LMA is a second tier star. He'll make the all-star game many times, but he is not going into the HOF. He is certainly going to be a top-5 PF in the NBA within a year or two, which makes him good enough to win championships with Roy and Oden on the floor.

iWatas

 

[Iwatas]

I found a pretty-close comparable: The rookie Derrick Coleman.

DC
AGE PPG PCT FT PCT RPG APG stls blcks tos pf
23 18.4 .467 .731 10.3 2.2 71 99 217 217

LMA
AGE PPG PCT FT PCT RPG APG stls blcks tos pf
23 18.1 .484 .781 7.5 1.9 77 77 121 207

Still a big rebounding disparity, but otherwise a pretty good match. DC, we remember, was supposed to be a superstar, but his head was not screwed on. So he never really got better after his first few years. I would very happily settle for the player DC was supposed to become. )

iWatas