Article: What if the Raptors Drafted Aldridge

http://www.torontosun.com/sports/basketball/2011/02/11/17246456.html
This article is kind of interesting. It has more to do with the Raptors than the Blazers. I am so glad that the Blazers ended up with Aldridge and not Bargnani (not sure if Chicago would have swapped Bargnani for Tyrus Thomas, but probably).

 

Wouldn't it be awesome but kind of sad if Aldridge ended up surpassing Roy as the best player from that draft?

 

Not sure why that would be sad as long as he is playing for the Blazers. Maybe a little sad for those internet GM geniuses who wanted to trade him for ......anything

 

We'd probably have this guy:

 

Sad because it means that Roy is no longer the great player that he once was, you know? Who knows, maybe Aldridge would have surpassed Roy regardless, but we'll never know that now. In Roy's absence Aldridge has become a monster, which is absolutely amazing for us, but it also means that Roy has fallen from the player he used to be.

 

It really does not mean that at all. If Roy cane back as the exact same player as he was exactly 1 year ago (an allstar) LMA could still end up the best player in the draft. As doubtful as that appears, (for Roy to make a complete recovery, LMA is that complete of a player.

 

I think about everyone thought Roy was the most NBA ready coming out of college, but some of the regulars here were predicting that LA could turn out better with some seasoning. I can't remember who they were, and I wasn't one of them. If LA finishes out the season like he's played the last couple of months, those guys should take a bow.

Go Blazers

 

if?

 

Rondo?

 

I'm still waiting to see how Rondo does without KG, Allen, and Pierce.

 

Word to that. It must be nice to not have anybody guard you your first 5 years in the league.

 

Adam Morrison was such an overachieved hype. He busted big time in the NBA.

Zagsfan20 Your player that you praised so much sucked it up big time.

 

Funny his main argument for having LA instead is because of his rebounds which many feel is his weakness, but I guess compared to Bargnani it's a strength.

 

Teams have been guarding Rondo quite a bit the last couple of years. NBA head coaches aren't dumb enough to base their game plans on what opposing players were like 5-10 years ago. Rondo's the second-best player on the Celtics after Garnett and in the argument with Rose and Deron for second-best point guard in basketball.

 

Bargnani is a historically bad rebounder - the worst rebounding 7-footer since Brad Sellers/James Edwards. Prior to this season, there were only 9 examples of 7-footers who played at least 20 MPG and had a TRB% of 10.0 or less. Bargnani had three of those nine. And, he's well no his way to a 4th with a career low TRB% = 9.0. Nobody else appears on that list more than twice (Sellers and Edwards).

Aldridge may not be a great rebounder, but he's at least respectable - especially on the offensive glass. Bargnani is just flat out horrible.

BNM

 

O Rly?

 

Both had to play forward, but James Edwards was strong enough to play defense, and thus a good player. Brad Sellers supposedly was a hot shooter, but his twigness made him unplayable.

As for Morrison, I'd criticize the scouts who misjudged his mental endurance, his stick-to-itiveness.

 

Rondo is the 2nd best Celtic after Paul Pierce. Have you watched Garnett as of late?

 

So much of KG's game was predicated on athleticism. Dude is old now.

 

Rondo is the best defender at the PG position, top 3 passer and the best rebounding PG. The BIG problem with his game is on the offensive end. He isn't a good shooter and his FT shooting is about as good as Shaq's. He is the second best player on the Celtics but I do agree with wanting to see what he would do without the Celtics HoF around him. At the moment they make up for his lack of offensive game, without them and more pressure being put on him to score I wonder if the rest of his game would decline because of it. At the moment he can just be willy nilly on offense and not really have to put up a lot of shots or score because of how many offensive weapons the Celtics have on the floor.