I could not disagree more... but we will find out this coming season with the "King" gone and Bosh now the man.
Here is the problem with that deal a core of Lillard and Wiggins while exciting is not as enticing as a core of Harden, Howard, and Parsons so no Bosh. Now you just traded Matthews and LA for Wiggins and cap space.
They're different players. Bosh is a more versatile defender and probably a better rebounder, but he doesn't have the unstoppable post game that Aldridge has developed.
Let's leave Bosh out of this, as he's staying in Miami. So, if you're trading Aldridge, you'd be trading him to the Cavs only. If that happened, we better be getting Wiggins AND Tristan Thompson for a minimum. (Thompson is at least a very good rebounder, even if he can't decide which hand to shoot with.)
Bosh is better defensively, infact id say Bosh is the best defensive PF in the league, and Bosh was damn good on Toronto and put up some incredible numbers but his teams were never top offensive teams and he was hard pressed to make the playoffs in a horrible weak east. Id take LMA for the Blazers simply because stotts offense is designed around LMA and the pressure and mismatches he causes other teams. That and im not sold on Bosh being able to revort back into a 20+ ppg player who can carry an offense. If I was starting a franchise from scratch thats a different matter.
He's changed his game, but he's still a more efficient scorer, generally a superior rebounder and (IMO) a better defender.
His overall scoring efficiency is higher than Aldridge's, though. I don't think the difference is huge, but I'd prefer Bosh slightly over Aldridge. Aldridge is still very good, though.
He's definitely a better defender, especially in the PnR, I'll give you that. Rebounding is questionable, especially looking at the last couple of years. And surely, his efficiency offensively stems from the attention paid to LeBron and Wade, as well as his significantly lower usage rate. Back in his Toronto days he was definitely a more dynamic offensive player, scoring off drives, jumpshots, getting to the free throw line, etc. Last couple of years he's been strictly a jump shooter and he's even admitted that he's not the same player he was before. I guess this season will really prove how much of that talent still remains, since he's probably going to be the first option again.
Sure, but the two go hand in hand. You can't on the one hand ding him for not being the dynamic go-to guy when he had to play with James and Wade and then also dismiss his scoring efficiency because he plays with those two. Playing with other stars has benefits and drawbacks in terms of individual production. I don't think Bosh meant he's become a worse player or a less talented one. I think he meant he changed his game to fit in Miami. He re-invented himself as a stretch power forward to work off James' and Wade's post-ups and drives. If his numbers take a significant dive this year, I'll agree that he simply lost his Toronto era ability and he's not better than, or as good as, Aldridge. Right now, though, considering he's continued to play well, especially when the team has needed him to take a bigger role, my default is that he's still as talented as before, just playing differently for the good of the team. I think that's generally the league's view of him, too, since he still seems to be viewed as a max player (though that doesn't say anything as to whether he's better than Aldridge, since LMA would get a max deal on the free agent market too).
I guess the big question will be how he plays this season. I can see both sides of the argument. Still favor LMA though, although I would take Griffin over every other PF right now.
I think we're building a better version of the Blazers in the here and now. Fuck Cleveland and Miami. I hope they crumble into dust and miss the playoffs
