Interesting mostly unbiased view of the Blazers

Absolutely! I was all about exploring a deal involving LMA/Harden/Ibaka - if we could have somehow gotten both Harden and Ibaka...hoo boy!

 

No. He's not. He's about what I think Lillard's ceiling will be. A perennial All-Star.

 

I would be fine with Aldridge for Harden. That's more like it

 

No chance now. They mean last year's deadline.

 

Yup, Houston won't be letting him go. Our only chance would have been when he was on OKC and they wanted to unload him. I'm not even saying that the trade was possible, but if I was OKC I would have taken Aldridge over Kevin Martin and Jeremy Lamb.

 

Why would OKC have done that? If they wanted a to spend 14-15 million on a player, they would have kept Harden.
You guys keep bring that up and it makes no sense to me. Yeah I would have done that too. I love Harden's game. So did OKC, they just could not afford to keep all three.

 

I know that.... i was talking about last summer. I wouldn't be pissed if we traded Aldridge for Harden. I even said we should have gotten on board when that was an option.

Also, i thought that OKC should have traded Westbrook for Irving.

 

Precisely.

 

I believe it would be Aldridge and a player like Matthews for Harden and Ibaka

 

Yep. Love Irving and don't care for Westbrook. OKC should have moved Westbrook instead of Harden.

 

Harden replicates too much of what Westbrook does. They're both slashers, they both need the ball in their hands. Aldridge would have been a much better third wheel for OKC than Harden. Why else did Harden explode when he finally got out of there? He's the man in Houston. Durant, Aldridge, and Westbrook would be an awesome lineup.

 

I agree with this, and I know it was discussed at the time of the trade that many of us would have dealt Westbrook because he's arrogant. I've never liked the guy.

 

But it came down to money. They went to the finals. They had a near perfect roster. Young and talented. If they were in LA or New York, they would have kept the roster the same. They fucked it up because they did not want three max guys. (Or at least 3 "near" max guys)

 

If OKC never wins a title; it will be because of Westbrook. I am serious. The dude doesn't understand who the best player is on his team. He thinks he's just as good as Durant.

A coach like Phil Jackson; or types like him. Could play mental warefare and force Westbrook to win the game for them. The odds of keeping Durant out of the game and allowing Westbrook to shoot is a much better odd than giving Durant his.

 

So how would that differ from Harden and Lillard?

 

Lillard would be fine with facilitating Harden, IMO. He is a slasher too; but he is a fundamental player. I think he would whatever he needs to in order for his team to win.

 

I agree with you. But then I also thought Harden and Westbrook looked pretty good together as well. Harden may not have been an allstar if he was still in OKC, but if I am a OKC fan I don't care. That back court duo was the best in the NBA. They screwed up IMO.

 

I know Harden and Westbrook played on the floor together; but the majority of time, I saw Harden in when Westbrook was out most the game. I didn't see a ton of games, but more than 20 last season.

 

Lillard doesn't need the ball in his hands to be good. Yes, he can create, but he can also spot up. At times the Blazers have run Lillard at shooting guard, and he's been effective. He's a good enough shooter that he could play off the ball. Not saying he would do it all the time, but I think he and Harden could co-exist. Most importantly, Lillard isn't an ego-maniac like Westbrook.

With that said, the most important thing is that Harden has the capability to be the best shooting guard in the league. That's what we're looking for. Lillard is very good, but Harden could be a superstar.

 

Some would say Harden already is. It is between he and Wade. Kobe is now 3rd and dropping.