The one player will we have to trade to take it to the next level

I disagree with the basic premise that we have to trade anyone to get to the next level. The "next level" was there for the taking if Oden had just stayed healthy, with or without Batum. But now that Batum is blossoming into a stud at SF, if Oden can come back and we can convince Camby to re-sign....man, this is going to be a fantastic team next year.

 

LMA is nowhere close to any of these players.

Well, maybe Sheed in that he always goes missing in the 4th quarter.

 

Name a champion in the last 10 years where Lamarcus Aldridge the 2nd best player on that team.

When have you ever wanted him on the ball, with his game, down the stretch? Every player on the floor in the 4th quarter can shoot fade away/turn around J's.

 

The most common things I find about championship teams, with the one exception being the Detroit Pistons team with Rip/Chauncey, and even that team fits some of these:

1. At least 2 star level players on the team.
2. They are already a good team when they get a good find late in the draft.
3. GM not afraid to take chances.
4. A coach that can handle players and their individual agendas.
5. Hungry vets looking for a ring before they go out.

and the big one as of late that seems to be important:

6. On the good receiving end of a lop sided trade.

 

The Detroit Pistons. Rasheed Wallace, IMO, was the second-best player on that team (after Billups) and I think Aldridge compares reasonably well. Wallace was a superior defender but, by that point in his career, was worse than Aldridge on offense.

You might reasonably say that I've selected the only team that works, but I think this Blazers team, as currently constituted, is closest to that Pistons team and so is a good analogue. A team without a couple of dominant players, but one star (Roy versus Billups), a very good but non-star player (Aldridge versus R. Wallace), a versatile defensive wing (Batum versus Prince), a solid non-star guard (Miller versus Hamilton) and an excellent defensive big (Camby versus B. Wallace).

It's possible Portland can become more like the Spurs or the Lakers of recent vintage if Oden can put together healthy years. In which case, Aldridge would be a third-best player, like a Bynum or Ginobili. We'll have to see.

 

LMA is not as good as Wallace was with the Pistons, but I agree that's the closest comparison.

Like I said, generally speaking he's at best a 3rd best player on a championship team. Looking at the teams from the last 10 years, I think you'll agree.

 

You are under estimating the physicallity of Lamar Odom. Just because he swings between small forward, power forward and center doesn't mean he doesn't bring toughness to the team.

Besides which, Portland doesn't have an excellent low post scorer like Gasol.

The Pistons, on the other hand, were physical with Sheed, Wallace, Prince and company.

So were the Spurs.

So was Boston two years ago (probably the most physical team the NBA has seen in some time.)

Why limit your comparisons to the Lakers?

Lots of teams have won titles while having a physical power forward who does the dirty work. I dare say most of the titles in the last 30 years were won by teams that had such players.

Rodman, Horace Grant, Robert Horry, Tim Duncan, Ben Wallace, Kevin Garnet, Kendrick Perkins, etc.

It isn't the only ingrediant needed but it most certainly doesn't hurt the team in any way.

 

Those Pistons were a veteran, team, too. I see Batum becoming a better overall player than Prince, and he is still 3 years younger than Prince was at the time. Aldridge is Detroit's Rasheed, but 5 years younger. Roy is even 3 years younger than Billups was during their title year.

If Oden is still a part of the future, then getting rid of Aldridge just doesn't make any sense to me, unless it's for a Bosh-like player without giving up Batum.

 

Odom is not a banger. An asshole? Sure. But he is not a bruising player.

Wallace, yes. Claiming Sheed was physical is fucking hilarious, though.

Robert Horry? Kendrick Perkins? Jesus, let's just throw out every player who ever played and call them "physical". So, anyhow, back to my post. Who was the banging PF on the Laker championship teams in the last ten years, since this guy didn't answer it.

 

Proof please?

 

Like the Celtics? the Lakers? the Spurs? the Pistons?

Those are the winners of the last 10 NBA Championships. All those teams had great "banger" PF's right?

 

Well, maybe each of those team's 4s weren't quite a Carlos Boozer/Karl Malone type banger, but each of them had all-nba caliber defenders at either the four or the five ... If LMA ever gets to that point then I don't really care how he generates his offense

 

...then Clyde realized Hakeem Olajuwan was the missing ingredient and the rest is history.

 

I think LaMarcus saw this thread. He's bringing it tonight!

 

But what if Oden is healthy but isn't all that good and it's a wash between him and Cousins with maybe Cousins being the more productive player?

 

I disagree with this. We were ousted in the first round in 1989. Then we added Buck Williams and boom, we went to the Finals in 1990. No, we didn't win the title, but Buck was definitely the piece that put us in contention.

 

To be fair, we had Dale Davis 2001-03 and he is about as tough a banger you can find and we didn't win a playoff series in his era.

 

Sheed did play a physical game when Detroit played well. Just because he doesn't now doesn't mean he never did. But then again your crack about Horry and Perkins leads me to believe you haven't ever seen either guy play one time.

Either that or we have a different idea of what physical would mean.

I take it to mean they play tough D and deliver a hard foul when a hard foul is needed.

What do you mean by physical?


As for the every player who ever played crack, that's just sad.

 

Yet, we never won a title. Thus, I don't view Buck Williams as a missing ingredient, at least in terms of bringing a championship to Portland.