Aldridge isn't a free agent, so I don't see how that's relevant. If we've shown no improvement at all in the next year and a half, which I'd find really hard to believe, then I'd trade him at the deadline before he walks. Of course, if we've shown absolutely no improvement, and are hardly a playoff team in two years, then Lillard is likely not who we think he is, so if that's the thought, we won't be past the first round, or close, in two years, with a roster around Lillard of Wes, Batum, Aldridge and hopefully a defensive C, then what the hell, why not sell high on him, too, no?
At that point you won't be selling high on him though...I don't think Allen\mgmt have any intention of trading LA away...they should, but they don't.... No, but a lot more relevant to a 29 year old veteran FA....
In terms of age, yes. Somebody posted that LMA will be 31 in three years, so the window is 3 years. I find that silly.
Their ages. Manu and Duncan are well over 31, yet the Spurs are contending for a title with them. Did you read the bold portion of the post I quoted? It's silly to say LMA has a 3-year window to win a title. There is no reason he can't be an All-Star player for the next 6-7 years, based on his style of play.
No, they are all over 30, and are in the NBA Finals. Nice try though, Ed. Manu is 35, and Duncan is 37. Pop should have traded Manu at 28 and Duncan at 31. They are WAY out of their window for being important players on a title contender!!! :MARIS61:
I'm saying if people feel that in 2 years time, a team being led by 3rd year pro Damian Lillard, with Aldridge as his #2, and, assuming no MAJOR moves(Dwight type), Wes, Nic, and a few good bench players and solid defensive C is something that can't get you out of the first round, then it would seem to me it implies Damian, more than anything, didn't really improve all that much. And if people really think we can't get past the first round in 2 years with that core, then more than anything, Damian is the issue, because I would think 2 years from now, he should be able to carry that team to the 2nd round at least. So if people think we're even further away, we should be trading Damian THIS offseason also.
I won't go as far as you, but I totally agree with your line of thinking. LMA seems fine to stay in Portland next year, and thinks the team has a legitimate chance to make a run in two years. Yet people want to trade him for Tristin Fucking Thompson and Nerlens Noel, for some ungodly reason.
Yeah, I wouldn't trade him. But I also think we'll be good enough to keep LMA. My point is if people really feel we won't be good enough, then I think ultimately that says more about Lillard being unable to step up as a #1. Or people aren't putting much thought into it.
There's a pretty large difference between having Lillard at his current level for the next 8 years, or LMA for the next 22 months. If Lillard was doing what he's doing right now 7 years and $56M into his Blazer tenure, and about to walk for nothing in 2 years, AND someone offers the #1 pick, we can discuss that then. Heck, I'll probably be one proposing it. Until that point, it's a pretty ridiculous strawman.
What about having Lillard without LMA, though? There is no guarantee that the Blazers replace LMA with another All-Star big. None at all. Portland finally drafts and develops a big high in the draft into an All-Star, and suddenly it's time to trade him for draft picks and an undersized PF in Thompson.
It's not a strawman. It's asking a serious question about Lillard expectations and roster building. People are annoyed about building around Aldridge because he is more of a #2 guy. And if you have a #2 as your centerpiece, you're not really going anywhere. Do you view Lillard as being a #1 guy, or is he only going to be a #2. And if you think he's only going to be a #2, then rather than hopping on that same mediocrity train, by that logic, it's better to keep on sucking. Why suck with him when you can suck more without and hopefully land that once a decade prospect when he comes along.
Your argument for trading LMA seem to revolve around the assumption he walks for nothing in two years. Would your feelings on the situation change if you instead thought he would stay? Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2
Of course there's no guarantee that Portland replaces LMA with an All-Star. And I'm sure that any big you get will have lower performance than LMA over the next two years (even if you pick Noel with #1, which I wouldn't). But I'm also pretty sure that whoever you pick #1, #19 and Thompson combined will have a better performance and more all-star appearances over the next 9 years* for the Blazers than LMA will over the next 2. *or 7, if you trade them at the same point you trade LMA
Well shit, I'd hope 3 players would be able to outproduce one. If we trade Lillard to Orlando for the #2 pick, Mo Harkless and Aaron Afflalo, they will combine to outperform him also on a generic stat level.
Of course. If he signed a 3- or 4-year extension right now to 2018 or 2019(can't happen), I'd happily take him with the chance that he plays more like LaMonster with a defensive-minded center. But since he can't, you're rolling the dice awfully hard if you keep him. At least if you make the trade and it goes horribly and the picks come out at lower-than-expected value (think OJ Mayo instead of Dwayne Wade), you still get some level of performance out of them. If you don't trade him, and the less-optimal instance occurs, you get a 2018 2nd-rounder or something.
Totally disagree with you. I'll take Lillard's next 8 years over the impact/stats/All-Star games of #2, Harkless and Afflalo's next 8.
Unless the Blazers get a sure thing #2 in return, I'll keep LMA for the next year and a half and see if Lillard develops into a #1, and at some point, maybe a legitimate #3 will surface (Batum??). Tristan Thompson and Nerlens Noel (and JJ Hickson, I suppose) do not make the team better next year than the team with LMA, and you don't trade All-Stars for projects unless you're starting the rebuild. The rebuild has already started, like it or not, and LMA/Lillard/Batum are the players Olshey wants as the core.
getting the "some level of performance" over just a 2nd makes it a treadmill team, however. Thought people want to avoid that.
