Shams just posted on the Athletic that there is still no traction. A day later, but there it is. At this point Blazers are good
This is not true. There was plenty of rumors that LMA did request a trade the year before we beat Houston. Many of us wanted to trade him that summer because it was very apparent that he would leave the team.
I agree. I think adding Scoot was far and away the best talent Joe could have added. *Edit* I want to qualify this by saying, leading up to the draft, I expected the value of the pick to be much higher than it wound up being. But as it turns out, draft picks didn't have that much relative value as I thought. Otherwise, we probably wouldn't have gotten Scoot. I think Charlotte would have traded the pick if offers were better.
I was one who wanted to trade Aldridge. But that situation was far different. We didn't have him locked up for 4 years. Rumors are far different from what has happened with Dame. However, I was pretty sure Aldridge was leaving. Olshey had no leverage at all with Aldridge, but he hadn't publicly asked out. Olshey was an idiot for not trading Aldridge as soon as he didn't sign that extension.
It was the summer after Dame's rookie season, so LMA still had two years left on his deal. https://www.sbnation.com/nba/2013/6...ade-rumors-lamarcus-aldridge-portland-blazers
Yes, that's when his value was probably it's highest, and when we should have started working out an extension. I actually just wanted to trade him at this point, as I didn't like how soft and moody he was. He didn't seem committed to me. He certainly wasn't a pro, like Dame has been throughout his career. As soon as he showed hesitation to signing the extension he should have been traded.
Rumors ----- LMA did not ask for a trade. He played out his contract and moved on. He did not sign a super max like Dame and then demand a trade the next year to a single team. Like I said, apples to oranges.
Aldridge bounced because the Blazers were slapping together undersized rosters. Turning games into an uphill battle from the opening tip. Meyers Leonard & Joel Freeland were the only frontline players in Portland to help Aldridge defend the paint. The 2 new guards Lillard and McCollum were absolutely atrocious defenders. Opponents were controlling the glass & ramming nasty dunks home. People began blaming an aging Aldridge (who was never an elite defender) for playing bad defense. Fans turned on the Blazers only All-Star, because the flashy new young guys padding stats while playing matador defense was better for their fantasy teams. Aldridge was burned out with the Front Office retooling, rebuilding, we're small but we try hard, OK we're not very good, we will fix it but we won't, check out all these cool offensive stats, look at all these amazing college players we might draft. Similar to what the Blazers have put Lillard through for the past 2 seasons.
It was mostly because of injuries. Oden then Roy and then Wesley got injured. One year the Blazers were full of promise and the next they started falling apart. Wesley's injury was the straw that broke their back. If I recall even LMA was nursing an injured finger the same year. But even LMA said later that he wished that he had stayed and given his relationship with Dame a chance before leaving.
I really wanted Steven Adams in the 2013 draft. He was as raw as a player could be, but I watched him in the combine and his fitness level was at a different level than the other centers. He was also built like a rock. I wonder if things would have gone differently with Aldridge if the Blazers had drafted Adams instead of McCollum. Adams certainly would have been good at doing all the dirty work that a big man does. He still does it, setting fantastic screen and was sorely missed by the Grizzlies in the postseason.
He's doing a listening party in Portland at the Roseland. Do that shit in Miami or something since that's the only place you want to be, you fuck. Portland ain't it for you anymore.
This is either satire or the inane rambling of someone who want actually watching the Blazers 10 years ago. CJ barely played before Aldridge left. Lopez/Aldridge were one of the largest and best rebounding frontcourts in the league, and Matthews/Batum were one of the better defending pairs of wings around. Undersized roster and porous defense were absolutely not the reasons LMA left.
EVERYONE in Portland wanted Adams except the Blazers Front Office!! Portland drafted a short, terrible at defense PG McCollum to replace Wesley Matthews and pair with Lillard. I think I got suspended from Blazers Edge for disagreeing with writers and Olshey moochers, who spent all day defending everything about CJ McCollum and bad Blazers roster decisions. "Dear Wyachi, your bad jokes are beginning to sound like you are constantly trolling our beloved GM Neil Olshey, and our terrificly wonderful shooting guard who averages 20ppg. CJ McCollum is the most amazing SG since Drexler, and we strongly support giving him more shots so he can become an All-Star very soon. You are dragging down our super duper optimistic Blazer fan website, and we have asked that you remove yourself until you decide to stop posting bad stats after losses. When you can agree to say only positive comments about our Blazers, you may return."
The Irony in this post is how slow Adams looked against the Blazers in 2019 when Portland won the series 4-1. Adams was so slow that CJ and Dame made it look easy. Adams is a decent backup center though.
Never heard he requested a trade. Were there any rumors we missed? I know we all speculated on trades we would all like.
Neil Olshey is probably the reason LA bailed on Portland...now that Olshey has been fired for being an asshole, he was probably still an asshole when LA's contract was expired.
