...with Aldridge as our "best" player. http://www.oregonlive.com/blazers/i...l-star_lamarcus_aldridge_the_last_pillar.html I already felt he was too "nice" and not "good enough" to be the guy on a title contender and this only confirmed my feelings. Home boy wants it easy. Titles aren't easy, being the man isn't easy. His jealousy of Brandon was always evident, and we are in for 10 years of mediocrity with Aldridge as our "best" player unless we nab someone better than him (not likely). His value will never be higher and I say we trade him.
Trade LA for who? LA is exactly the player teams tank in the draft and hope of getting. He can't close because our guards can't close. A big man in todays NBA can't be your closer, look at the spurs they have the best PF of all time and had to get him someone who could create there own shot at the end of the game(Manu) and a slashing guard to open his game up. LA is the best post scorer in the NBA at the moment, the only PF/Center in their prime or younger with a back to the basket game. Now that i'v got that out of the way I'm trying to understand your reading that article and coming to the conclusion that LA is to nice and not good enough to be on a title contender. But seeing as its your first post and a post thats a pretty controversial argument especially considering that artical doesn't talk about your conclusion so i'm gonna say I got trolled. Screw it couldn't get that dang image to work.
The only thing about this article that concerns me is LA's desire to be #1 seems stronger than his desire to win titles. What if we fall ass backwards in Deron this summer? Will LA get irritated about being second best again?
I didn't really see anything in here that made me think Aldridge is soft. I think a lot of people felt like he was the player with the most upside by far in that draft and already in his first year Duncan and the Spurs sure seemed to realize we had someone special. In some ways there are some analogies to Batum; two players who are tremendously talented but not super assertive. These are the type of players who need trust and lots of encouragement from a coach (AND demands to improve.) I'm not sure if either got that from our coach, but at least now circumstances have given them both their chances and hopefully we can build around them.
I saw it as he wanted to be more involved in the offense. When Roy was healthy all we ever did for LMA was a pick and pop now and then.
Problem is that the "old Roy" and the "new LA" never really got much time together to work out their game. The tragedy of it all is that the main thing that our team and LA needs is a Roy like player.
Wow, that was a interesting first post, lol. The only problem with your plan is that any player that we could nab who is better than LMA is going to want to be traded to a NY or LA team.
Def ain't a troll. He's an infamous Oregonlive poster who I talked into giving this place a try. He is colorful and controversial but also a huge Blazer fan.
Does reality always trouble you? LA was just telling it the way it was going to be had the "Big 3" stayed together. With Roy as "the man" and Oden as the guy in the paint, that would have left LA as the pick and pop 3rd wheel. As great as he would have been in that role, and as dominant as that team could have been, he wouldn't have had the opportunity to develop his low post game as much as he has, or have gained the same level of recognition as he has attained as the team's first option. The important thing for THIS Blazers team as opposed to the one featuring the "Big 3" that we all dreamed about, is that LA has been able to raise his game to legitimate All-Star status. I'm glad he has and I hope he's a Blazer for a long, long, time.
So do you fail to understand that that is exactly what LA's best role is? He is the third best guy on a championship team. Plain and simple. He cares too much about his own numbers and less about fitting in. That much is clear. He wants everything easy. LA seems like a really nice person, but that's irrelevant to the fact he's a very good, but not alpha level, player.
Lol Aldridge is the least of our concerns. Let's talk about Felton, Crawford, Wallace playing like shit on the road, the coach and the management. Those are at leat 100 times worse than the issues with Aldridge.
I have to admit, I like your style. It's one of the dumbest posts I've read on here in quite some time, and basically just seems like a lame troll attempt, but it is direct and to the point. I happen to think LMA would be great alongside a top-tier PG, and could be a 25ppg scorer with an elite distributer like a Steve Nash, Deron Williams, or Chris Paul. Unfortunately, Portland has been stuck with the scrappy (code for non-athletic) Steve Blake, the snailish Andre Miller, and the jiggly Ray Felton at PG. In terms of winning titles, or even a playoff series with those PGs, it's clear that LMA has turned chickenshit into chickensalad, and became an All-Star because of his own hard work.
That's a very strange (and I'm being kind) thing to say about a guy who has worked his ass off the past two off seasons to improve his game to all-star level. And for the sake of the Portland Trail Blazers, they are very lucky he did. At the time he started putting in all that work on his low post game, no one knew that two and a half years later Roy would be retired and Oden would be having his fifth knee surgery. Pretty impressive for a guy who "wants everything easy". BNM
If LaMarcus can only develop when he is the #1 and would have rather quit (leave the Blazers) than play a part on a winning team, then he is not good enough "best" player material. Plain and simple. --- And LA averaging 25 pts with a better PG is not going to help this team any. Actually grabbing rebounds on a consistent basis might, however.
he didn't say he would have wanted to quit, he said he doesn't think they would have paid him. And while it's easy to say oh, he should have taken less to play for a winner, he's just speaking the truth. If they were paying max to two other guys, it's unlikely they come close to the contract they gave him. And why stay here for 8 a year when you can get 15 elsewhere? As for developing, I think that's also part of who was here. He was coached as a pick and pop player, and an outside shooter to spread for Greg.
welcome to the site definition8 =] i do agree in some respects to that article, i don't believe LMA is batman on the championship team, but definitely a pretty decent robin. i dont think he's scared of hard work or putting in the effort but his character is what it is.
Sly!!!!! Really? This is what we have rules for! A hint for the rookie....... starting off your S2 career with a link to a fucking Jason Quick hack job is no way to lay a proper foundation. Nice try though.
