LINK Would you trade RLEC + Aldridge for Stoudamire? Man, I just don't know... Stoudamire comes off as somewhat of a me first guy, could very well hang us out to dry in 2010, and is having kind of a down year compared to last year (maybe 'cause Shaq is playing better this year). On the other hand, he's only 2.5 years older than Aldridge (STATS just turned 26), and there's no guarantee Aldridge will ever be the player he is now (even in a down year). I think in the end I would pass because of his character and the high probability of him bolting in 2010 to be the man on a team (a'la Joe Johnson, Marion etc.). Of course I would do RLEC+Outlaw or something laughable for him, but the Suns would ask for Aldridge for sure. Thoughts?
If you want a guy that doesn't give you consistent effort, especially on D, go for it. I'm fine with Aldridge.
he will probably opt out in 2010 so you're potentially talking about a 1.5 year rental. wouldn't do that even if he was a better fit than aldridge, which he's not.
I agree that Aldridge over STAT. But part of that is that I don't think that Nate would be the right coach to get top production out of Amare just like Porter isn't. We have Oden, which will keep us as a half court team and thats not the right system for Amare. Aldridge on the other hand does quite well in our system and he plays defense to boot. D'Antoni's system is a star maker system that elevates players above their actual ability. Since he took over for the knicks and I have seen players like Duhon go for 22 assists, it has reinforced this view. Marion, Diaw, Barbosa and others have all had extreme production under D'Antoni and were being looked at around the league as better players then they actually are. I thought that STAT was the exception to this, and to a degree he is, but even his value was inflated by his old system.
first of all they wont trade amare at the deadline...no chance imo. second...if the suns are really talking about trading players like amare...it could mean they are feeling that their current roster wont make the playoffs which would obviously be great for us. bad news for the blazers is that we would play the lakers in the first round almost like not making the playoffs. that is why the 7th seed is a must.
I don't care if we make the 8th seed and play the Lakers, at least its the playoffs, it will get our boys a chance to gain some experience. And who knows, maybe the Blazers would be the team that would knock off the big boys on the block. But in the end, I expect several teams to all be shuffling positions right up till the end of the season, and small streak or decline could mean the difference between 6th and 8th.
Well obviously you haven't been paying attention to the playoffs the last few years. The kind of talk you are throwing out there completely ignores the noise that several last seeds have made in the playoffs, including Golden State and Atlanta. I don't care if Atlanta did lose the series, taking the Celtics to 7 was making noise to be proud of.
I agree with most posters here and we should keep LMA. I think he will be a lot better fit for this team.
first amare seems like a me first type guy as hes showing in phoenix. second LA has lots of upside still. we arent trading fr amare. thats a gurantee. second...the best playoff spot we get is 6. thats if we play great and i doubt that with guys like sergio and outlaw getting major minutes.
We are going to continue to challenge for the division title. That means we can get the three seed. Ed O.
I was listening to ESPN recently and they were showing interviews of him- what a cancer! When he was averaging the most minutes and most shots per game all he did was bitch and undermine the coach for not playing him enough and him not getting the ball more. No thanks.
I agree with someone earlier, if it was Bosh I would do it for sure, but with Amare, nah. He seems to be somewhat of a cancer and whines a lot. Also seems disinterested in playing defense.
Why on earth would Bosh walk away from Portland? Richest owner of a pro sports team in this hemisphere? Check. Another all-star to help carry the burden? Yes. Potentially dominant big man? Yes. Depth? Youth? A respected head coach? Yes. Yes. Yes. Bosh would go... where? Cleveland? NY? I like LA, but if we got Bosh in a deal I don't think I'd be worried for an instant he would be going anywhere. Ed O.
Completely agree, would be a great situation for him and I think he knows he would be stupid to leave if such a thing happened. With Amare he has more of a ego and would probably be pissed that he is on another team without being the man.
As much as I like Aldridge, an Aldridge + LaFrentz deal for Bosh (and I'd be willing to throw in more, like Outlaw) would be exactly the sort of consolidation deal I'd love to see. Turn some lesser assets into an upgrade of one of the team's top-three players. I quite agree with others that there's little reason to believe Bosh would leave. Unlike free agency in other sports, the free agent market in the NBA doesn't provide the possibility to get more money. No other team would be able to offer Bosh as much as Portland could. Bosh would be on as talented a team as he could hope for.