First Sheed, then ZBo, now Aldridge...

I'll say it again...I don't want to let "a stupid jab" pass--there wasn't a "stupid jab" to begin with. I thought he deserved All-NBA in 2010-11, and deserved it more last year. But I didn't want to derail a thread by bringing up whether or not he should've been an all-star in both, or all-NBA in both when we were talking about how his play had changed this year.
To your second point, who was the last Blazer traded at the peak of their value? Last year there were many people on this board saying that to give up Wallace to get a bunch of picks (reported from 3 to 5 1sts) in the Howard to NJN rumor was stupid, b/c you were giving up an All-Star who fit great with this team for some imaginary draft picks in the future. Fast forward 3 months, and not only was the board shocked that NJN would be stupid enough to give up a likely lotto pick for him, but happy that we'd gotten something of value at all for a guy in a down year whose contract was about to expire.

As for how LMA had been playing up until the BOS game, you (and if I'm reading it right, PapaG) view that as a reflection of his surgery or lack of preparation b/c of rehab or whatever. That's fine. But it seems pretty obvious (to me, anyway) that it's less a physical problem b/c he's been able to go inside against Garnett and Varejao the last two nights, and that by his own admission he a) has lost a step, and b) that he doesn't like going inside, and doesn't think that makes him 'a finesse player' b/c he "has to bang Chuck Hayes 6 times just to get into position for a jumper". Maybe he just started feeling better for the first time this year. Maybe Stotts has tweaked the offense the last two games because HE saw that having LMA be Dirk Jr. isn't working. Maybe LMA decided that what the team needed was for him to play more inside. Whatever the case, it's been working for him. He had 23/8 on 16 shots in BOS (in 3 quarters) and 21/9 on 21 shots tonight. He's gone from shooting 83% of his shots from outside (at a 42% clip) to shooting only 30% from outside (though at a 27% clip)--while maintaining his 18 shots a night. They're just a much better scoring opportunity now.

There are plenty of teams who would probably love LMA as a jump-shooting big 2nd- or 3rd-option. OKC, HOU, DAL come immediately to mind as teams with a rebounding/defending big and a scoring guard who can accept LMA opening up the middle by taking inefficient long jumpers at for 5 of every 6 shots. If that's how LMA is going to be playing, he's better there than here and it's a matter trying to get the most you can for him. If he's going to be "the Man" in the middle for the Blazers like he has the last two nights, then he's definitely someone to keep and build around.
The question the staff has to answer for themselves is: are you willing to bet that LaMonster's sticking around for awhile?

 

I can't speak for anyone else-all I was showing was that he's extremely inefficient with his offense this year, that the number of long jumpers he's taken has gone from ~65% to ~84% (and he's not shooting them as well--46% and 45% the last two years, 42% this year) and the number of inside shots/tips/dunks is roughly 1/3 of what it was during his all-star and all-NBA seasons. You can blame the injury if you'd like. He isn't. You could blame Stotts' offense. He didn't.

If he keeps playing the way he's played the last two nights (and the last two seasons) then I think you'll see a lot of the opinion of him on the board change for the better. I'm already happy to see that it either wasn't injury-related, or if it was, it's fixed...because he's done well banging against two of the best in the league in KG and Varejao the last two games.

If Lillard turns into a poor man's version of Gilbert Arenas mixed with Mike Bibby, then I'm sure he will be bashed. As he should be.

 

He is a much better trade chip than Gerald, even if LaMonster never comes back again. My point has been threefold:

1) He's much better (and better for the team) being LaMonster and shooting half of his shots (at least) in the paint and around the rim. Up until the BOS game, he hadn't been doing that. And I really like (and have said so) how he's played the last two games.
2) If he's really just turning into (for whatever reason--losing a step, injury, new offense, whatever) a poor man's Nowitzki, it's worth looking at what you can get for him. We have too many other players who are much more efficient (largely b/c they're good 3pt shooters or garbagemen) to have him taking 10-15 shots a game from the perimeter, and our defense isn't good enough to overcome that inefficiency, to say nothing of the 2nd -order effects that come with long-range shooting from a big (decreased offensive rebound potential, longer boards generating fast breaks for opponents, not getting opponent into foul trouble or getting cheap points from the FT line, etc.)
3) IF you're going to trade him, it should be at least for a) either a lotto pick in 2013 or 2014, or multiple 1sts later on; b) a capable big -- doesn't have to be a young stud big if you're getting another stud in the deal. and c) a long-term rotation player. I put ideas into the other thread. In no circumstance do I think this is the year for the LMA Fire Sale/Z-bo Trade--if he's not bringing back a commensurate haul, don't deal him.