I say the best way to rebuild this team is to move Aldridge. He's got a great outside shot, yes, but his rebounding is weak and his game is predictable. Worst of all, I don't see him giving 100% every night. The other night, in a big game against the Celtics, he only managed to pull down 4 rebounds. Is that really what you want from your 6'11 power forward?? In short, I don't think Aldridge is the kind of guy you build a team around. I wouldn't mind seeing what he could bring us right now--a good young player and a #1 pick would be about right. Then we could trade Wallace, Felton, Camby, et al, for younger players or picks, and start the rebuilding process with a bang. This team is going nowhere, and we all know it. The sooner we rebuild, the sooner we can start enjoying good basketball again.
Unless it's for the number one overall pick (Anthony Davis in all likelihood) then the intersection between his value and where you want to be in a couple of years after a massive rebuild are unlikely to line up right now. LA has his flaws, but he's legitimately a top 15 player in the league, he's on a very reasonable contract given his production and the timing just isn't right. If the team is still shitty in two or three years when his contract is set to expire that might be the time to seriously consider moving him, but not yet.
A #1 pick or THEE #1 pick? I would say based on what I have seen so far in college, that scenario would be risky. But it all depends on who that young player is you get with the pick. No one is untouchable. But you can't be stupid either.
If we can get a deal similar to what Utah got for Deron Williams (top 5 pick (Kanter), young promising player (Favors), and a former All-Star (Devin Harris)), I think you would have to take it. It would help us get a jump-start in rebuilding. Otherwise, unless we get lucky, a core of Mathews, Batum and Aldridge is going to keep us in the 10-16 range of draft picking purgatory.
Agreed. The pick would have to be a very high one, and we'd have to get a promising young player like Favors. But if we could make that kind of a deal, we should definitely do it. Aldridge is still too soft, I don't care what anyone says. His rebounding is atrocious most of the time, and he too often settles for the jump shot. We need some studs up front who are willing to bang.
He's permanently soft, though one of those rare big man coaches like McHale or Silas could add to his repertoire of softly-performed moves. I posted a month ago that 2 Batums for him would increase our wins.
Didn't Dallas just win a championship with a "soft" 4? Surely you jest. He put up 30 while shooting 80% last night.
If Aldridge could play like this but as the 2nd option it would be perfect. As it stands he's not a very good first option on a night to night basis. Before he got injured in the home game against Washington he was putting up close to 24 ppg on over 50% though, which admittedly is pretty damn dominant, especially with our offensively challenged coach at the helm. If we could get a good PG who knows how to set up a big guy and throw the lob I think LA would thrive, sorta like Andre did for him last year. We would still need a closer though, especially come playoff time.
Not gonna even read this past the title and I already know that it's the most retarded thread this board has seen in a long time. That's saying something.
I agree. Its one of the dumbest things I've seen here in a while. Its typical blazer fan mentality, just pile on someone, for anything until you run everyone out of town.
Can't wait tell LA develops a face up jumper and suddenly some of these posters realize how special of a player we have in LA. Even without that he has the most and best post moves of any PF and the soft label and bad rebounder really are unwarranted. He hasn't banged in the post the last 7 games but it might be because of how tired he is from carrying this team the whole first half of the season, rebounding he is avg not great not bad, he has the tools to be an elite rebounder if rightly motivated.
Aldridge has a face up jumper. He just can't dribble for shit, thus no driving game ala Bosh, Dirk, Amare....
Aldridge isn't really going anywhere, but it's nice to have some freedom to mention the possibility. In the many trades proposed on this board, if we could include Aldridge in a few, it would open a world of new possibilities. Suddenly, much bigger changes are possible in the roster. It would make trade proposal threads more fun.
Like someone said, LA is a legitimate top 15 player in the NBA. I'm not opposed to trading him, but it would have to be something that makes us much better- or appears to up front. The minimum I'd take is a top 3 pick, all-star and another solid player. So far as him being soft, for a PF he gets enough rebounds and plays good defense. Speaking of that, I am always amused by calling players soft or not. LA isn't a soft player if you understand basketball. He just has a soft face so therefore he must be soft. It's like people who thought Bayless was an all-star in waiting because he played with a scowl on his face- and nothing more. That made him a rough & tough talent laden player. But he really isn't. To the casual fan, player features determines their game and not how they actually play.
I think Shooter is on the right track but isn't taking it far enough. If we could somehow crash the team plane I bet Stern would give us at least the first pick in the draft out of sympathy, we'd have more cap space than anyone else and Mrs HCP would have a lot more free time for us.
You would think we would land the top spot in both this and next years draft. Harrison Barnes or Andre Drummond and Shabazz Muhammad or James McAdoo is better than anything we have to start with now
