You will get no argument from me that LA is the better offensive player. The thing is he has the ability to be more efficient and has been more efficient than he was last year throughout his career. Like I have said in the past LA needs to develop a three point shot and work the paint more. Leaving his lower percentage mid range game to win he is shooting well or to nights when other teams have taken away these two more efficient ways of scoring.
I know, right? If he dunked every time he received the ball on offense and made it, he'd be unstoppable. Why doesn't he do that? It's sooooooo frustrating.
I really want to see this. If he turns 3 or 4 of those 8 18f jumpers into 3 pointers I'd like them a lot more. I just have flashbacks of Wallace falling in love with the three and doing nothing but chuck them up regardless if it was a good shot or not.
Wallace never made an All-NBA team in his career. LMA has done it 2x already, as well as being voted by coaches as an All-Star 3x in a row. Whatever he's doing, it seems to be working better than whatever it was Sheed started doing after his collapse in Game 7 of the 2000 WCF. The most insane Sheed stat to me is that he only one time had a PER of over 20 for a season, and also only one time in 14 playoff seasons. Yet Sheed was paid a max contract by the Blazers, and nobody blinked nor cared. I know, because I was on the ESPN Blazer community when he signed his max deal.
This. Tristan Thompson is in that Brandon Bass/Carl Landry tier. Would be a great big off the bench though.
The depressing part is that Thompson was a #4 pick in the 2011 NBA draft, while Bass and Landry were both 2nd round picks in the 2005 and 2007 drafts, respectively.
Difference is Bass and Landry are like 30 while Thompson is only 23 and he is a better rebounder than both. His future is going to be decent, He will be a steady 15/10 guy.
Yeah, that's not at all what I meant. Thompson is still an undersized PF who can't defend his own shadow. That won't change, even if he puts up 20/10 someday.
He's not all that undersized when you consider his 9'1" reach. I agree, he has a long way to go defensively. He's more Hickson than he is Landry right now. Though I don't get this TT talk, there is no way they give up the #1 pick and Thompson for Aldridge.
Hold on a second. Tristan Thompson has a career FG % of 47% (48% this season as a garbage scorer, too) and 63% on FTs. Aldridge has a career FG % of 49% (46% this season as the primary option on offense) and 79% of FTs. Please remind me to just disregard any post cmeese47 makes w/out first fact-checking the stats he offers. I assumed that Tristan Thompson must have been a high-50% FG guy this year. Then I could see trying to make an argument about FG shooting. I was wrong to trust that cmeese47 had any idea what he was posting about in terms of actually making a serious argument.
Yeah, that's been what I've been saying since last summer. Cleveland would be stupid to risk losing LMA, the #1 pick of the 2014, and an average player in Tristan Thompson for the 2015 season. That's how GMs get fired. I'm guessing that's not why you think it's a bad idea, though. Look at all the success the Cavs have had with Kyrie Irving and Anthony (or is it Andrew?) Bennett as #1 overall picks. Irving is so jazzed about it, he seems to have his agent leak that he'd rather sign the Q.O. and jet as a UFA rather than spend the next 5 years in Cleveland. The Cavs are even leaking that they may not offer Irving the max. That's a franchise LMA definitely want to play for, right?
Exum's going to be really good. But, he's out of realistic reach. I say we make a play for Payton, Garry Harris or go for a big late in the 1st like McGary or Payne.
That depends on the scouts and executives within every NBA franchise. What if Olshey thinks Exum is the next Michael Jordan, while Cleveland thinks Exum isn't worth the #1 pick, and don't like his ceiling as they have scouted it? Does Olshey offer All-NBA player Lillard for a draft pick who he and his staff think is the next Michael Jordan? That way, Cleveland could trade Kyrie Irving, and get something in return for him in case he accepts their Q.O. next summer. Those hypothetical trades are interesting to me, as well as how organizations rate the players in a draft. Memphis thought at one point that Thabeet was worth the #2 pick in the draft, for example. Why?
I don't know, you're talking to the wrong person as I've never promoted trading Lillard or Aldridge for a lottery pick. We have the key pieces, we just need another really solid player and a supporting cast.
I'm not saying you've promoted it at all, but you do know hoops to a level I respect. If the Blazers think Exum is going to be better than Lillard as a lead guard, yet the Cavs scouts don't see it and are afraid of losing Irving, Lillard would be the player most attractive to Cleveland, based on his contract status. It would be a major move, sure, and won't happen, but these are the bold moves that can be the difference between keeping a GM job or losing it.
