LOL at trading LMA, if there's one piece we keep to build around it's him. Most interesting to me is whether Cho sees LMA as our C and tries to get a good PF to pair with him for the next 5 yrs.
LMA is a much more complete offensive player than Robinson, he commands double teams, and he is a better rebounder. What I'd do with LMA is work as hard as hell to get the old-time Brandon Roy, or even better player, to be the franchise player, and leave LMA as my #2. If I were GM, LMA would be the most untouchable player on my roster, and Batum could be had in a deal that could ultimately bring in a #1 player. All of this talk of a "long-term" plan is worthless unless you have an elite player as your franchise player. Other than the Pistions, who won a single title, every other champ in my memory has had a no-doubt first ballot Hall of Fame player leading their team. The "long-term" plan to contending for titles is actually simple, at least theoretically. The reality of finding that player is not easy, of course. The "short-term" plan is what worries me. Apparently there is terrible communication between leadership and the coach, and the team is going to have to struggle to even make the playoffs.
I would have advocated trading Aldridge before the season started, but I would be hesitant to now.... This new aggressive Aldridge, the one who takes fewer jumpers, plays more in the paint, aggressively wants the ball....all the things I have complained he wasn't doing....is a player I would be very hesitant to trade... Maybe it is a result of being out from the shadow of Roy, tired of listening to criticism, finally being the #1 guy, the issue with his mom....I don't know...maybe all of it...but regardless he is playing like a franchise player should play....and I wouldn't trade that away unless the return was jaw dropping...
Haven't read the article but I see "the plan" as sticking to whoever fits in well with the team and lose players that make the team worse and their stats better by hogging the ball and not playing by the flow of the offense. players like Andre Miller. With all due respect and I've respected Andre Miller for many years, he may understand basketball but there's a reason why he never been out of the first round. This is a team game and if we're going to build our offense around one player that also doesn't play defense I would rather have Roy. LMA is our worst defender behind Miller but at least the energy he spends on offense is more often well spent. I don't want to see Andre dribble the ball aimlessly for 10 sec's anymore and I definitely don't want to see, when I look at highlights, his defender going right by him time and time again on the most important possesions. Armon is a TERIFFIC defender and while not yet a good a passer as Miller, at least when he has the ball in his hands he runs all over the place and creates havoc in the defense. Patty plays within the flow of the game, you can call him point-guard, he can guard the other team's point-guard fairly well but he isn't too-controlling of the ball in a way that hurts our offense.
I think that there's merit in the idea of moving Aldridge to center and getting a scoring PF to play next to him. David Lee would be a great fit, but I don't know if there's any way Cho could pry him from the Warriors.
Uncly Cliffy was a good player, but he never was at the level that LMA is playing at right now. Cliff's game never allowed him to dominate in the post, so he couldn't draw the defensive attention that Aldridge has been seeing. No way is #12 leaving town anytime soon.
Cliff became The Man for the Blazers the same year they brought in the 3 point line a foot. Not a coincidence that the rule change led to his increased performance, since his outside shot had really improved by that point. Essentially giving him 3-point range as an unintentional gift really made him a player worth starting as a primary option... plus we'd traded away most of the 1989-90 team by then. LMA will and should stick around because, while he doesn't have 3-point range, he has a post game now, and really seems to be showing us a New Normal rather than a benefit from a rule change.
The main argument I could see for trading Aldridge is that he's the player whose stock is the highest right now. I could see a team overpaying (essentially) in a trade for him, based on how sky-high his value is right now. I'm an Aldridge fan, but I'm not sure he's a career 25-and-10 player, the way he's been the last month. That being said, I think the line between "rebuilding" and "retooling" is whether Cho trades guys like Batum. The line between "rebuilding" and "blowing it up" is trading Aldridge. I don't think the Blazers do either one. But I think whether or not trading Aldridge is on the table - much like whether or not Batum is "untouchable" or not - tells us a lot about how much the Blazers want to change. All that said, I think the Blazers are going to be more conservative - not less - than we might, be, when it comes to trades. I think management is slower to write off guys like Roy and Oden than we are, and for that reason, the Blazers are going to try to leave the door open to their return.
I think it's stupid to make a team personnel plan without getting all input possible from the coach, who knows at least 100 times more about the game and it's players than The Choad ever will.
Seriously, what does Cho still have left to analyze in order to make a decision on roster moves? Is he waiting for that magical rotation that Nate hasn't used yet to bring us out of mediocrity?
Maybe it's just me, but I thought the article was whimpy. OK, Cho has a plan. Big deal. Every GM has a plan. And, as Cho alluded to, it only works if he has the right trading partners and gets the right players. Thus far his track record is dismal. He turned down some good offers for Rudy. He failed to take advantage of an injury exception for Oden. I mean, who knows, maybe he'll make a few deals that'll really improve the team. And it sounds like he's diss'n Nate on top of all that. I'll keep an open mind and hope for the best, but at present I don't have high hopes.
Could be that he's waiting for another team to decide to make the deal he wants. It does take at least two teams to agree to a trade, you know.
