Lamarcus Aldridge

[RWF]

Gasol please.

[DS5]

I'd rather re-sign our players, bring Tavares and sign a wing like Wes Matthews.

[Dragitoff]

I'm not that high on him.  He settles for contested long two's far too often, is a poor defender and seems more than willing to let his guy bully him. He's shooting 33% in this Memphis series.

 

You do realize he's playing with an injury that needed surgery back in March when he re-injured it but he opted to play through it to help his team (in a contract year no less)?  He isn't as good of a defender as he could be, but he's a legit top 10 player in the league and he's proven to be a good teammate.  I love Paul and wouldn't be upset to see him back.  I'm just throwing another name out there. 

[JETSET]

You do realize he's playing with an injury that needed surgery back in March when he re-injured it but he opted to play through it to help his team (in a contract year no less)?  He isn't as good of a defender as he could be, but he's a legit top 10 player in the league and he's proven to be a good teammate.  I love Paul and wouldn't be upset to see him back.  I'm just throwing another name out there. 

I know about the injury and have a ton of respect for the guy playing through it, especially in a contract year.  It's not like this is the first time that he has struggled in the playoffs.  I watched most of their series vs the Spurs and saw the same things that I mentioned in my previous statement.  Inefficient chucking and poor defense.  Portland's defensive rating improves by 21.6 when LMA is off the court in this Memphis series.

 

Some guys are stat stuffers and some guys make winning plays.  LMA just seems to lean more towards the stat stuffer type than a guy who can carry you to a Finals.  I simply prefer two way players unless you are absolutely elite on offense like Steph Curry.  Also, it's easier to cover up the defensive inadequacies of a guard than it is a PF.

 

I wouldn't have him in my top 10 list. 

 

It probably sounds like I am just being a hater towards LMA and it's not true.  I am just going to be very critical of a player if I am going to be giving them a max contract for 4 years.  LMA at 13-15 mil, I would be all ears.  LMA making 20 mil or more per year, he needs to bring more to the table in my opinion. 

 

Maybe Ferry's ability to sign bargain contact after bargain contract has got me spoiled.

Edited May 1, 2015 by JETSET

[Dragitoff]

I know about the injury and have a ton of respect for the guy playing through it, especially in a contract year.  It's not like this is the first time that he has struggled in the playoffs.  I watched most of their series vs the Spurs and saw the same things that I mentioned in my previous statement.  Inefficient chucking and poor defense.  Portland's defensive rating improves by 21.6 when LMA is off the court in this Memphis series.

 

Some guys are stat stuffers and some guys make winning plays.  LMA just seems to lean more towards the stat stuffer type than a guy who can carry you to a Finals.  I simply prefer two way players unless you are absolutely elite on offense like Steph Curry.  Also, it's easier to cover up the defensive inadequacies of a guard than it is a PF.

 

I wouldn't have him in my top 10 list. 

 

It probably sounds like I am just being a hater towards LMA and it's not true.  I am just going to be very critical of a player if I am going to be giving them a max contract for 4 years.  LMA at 13-15 mil, I would be all ears.  LMA making 20 mil or more per year, he needs to bring more to the table in my opinion. 

 

Maybe Ferry's ability to sign bargain contact after bargain contract has got me spoiled.

 

Fair enough assessment, but just as a parting note, remember, many players in the NBA are considered weak defenders but they play well enough in a good defensive system.  Ray Allen was a horrible defender but he was surrounded by other good defenders so they made up for it.  Look even now at Zach Randolph in Memphis.  Same thing.  Most people said Kyle was a terrible defender when he came to the Hawks.  He's not elite by any means, but he plays well enough.  LMA might never play both sides of the ball well enough to deserve a max contract, but the new cap rules will mean players will start making a lot more very soon.  We need to be smart how we spend that money.  LMA could be a bargain at today's rates or he could be a one-sided player not able to carry his team.  The good thing with the Hawks is they don't rely on a single player to carry them.  They carry each other.  

[JETSET]

Fair enough assessment, but just as a parting note, remember, many players in the NBA are considered weak defenders but they play well enough in a good defensive system.  Ray Allen was a horrible defender but he was surrounded by other good defenders so they made up for it.  Look even now at Zach Randolph in Memphis.  Same thing.  Most people said Kyle was a terrible defender when he came to the Hawks.  He's not elite by any means, but he plays well enough.  LMA might never play both sides of the ball well enough to deserve a max contract, but the new cap rules will mean players will start making a lot more very soon.  We need to be smart how we spend that money.  LMA could be a bargain at today's rates or he could be a one-sided player not able to carry his team.  The good thing with the Hawks is they don't rely on a single player to carry them.  They carry each other.  

I can agree with all of that. 

 

A note on max contracts.  Max contracts are based on a percentage of the salary cap and players under a max will receive a big increase in salary when the cap does increase. So, a guy making $16 million per year at a flat rate can become a bargain while the salary of a max player will increase with the cap.

Edited May 1, 2015 by JETSET

[skimaskway23]

Aldridge is greatly overrated. He shoots too many long shots as if he is kevin durant. He is also a chucker and doesnt use his size enough down low. Defense is okay, but at that price...give me marc gasol.

Jimmy butler is my #1 priority if kawhi wont come.

[Dragitoff]

Aldridge is greatly overrated. He shoots too many long shots as if he is kevin durant. He is also a chucker and doesnt use his size enough down low. Defense is okay, but at that price...give me marc gasol.

Jimmy butler is my #1 priority if kawhi wont come.

 

If Marc Gasol was really in play, I'd prefer him all day.  I just don't see him leaving Memphis.  I would love Butler or Kawhi also, but I don't see either of them leaving their current situations.  

 

I'm also like an earlier poster who said they'd rather see us bring back Millsap and Carroll along with higher quality depth.I was really curious what people thought of LMA as an alternative to Millsap.  LMA also gives us a little better size with less defense so there's always tradeoffs.  

[nonono]

as someone else posted above; I'd rather  resign sap, carrol and bring in a wes mathews, danny green, etc... don't think we'll be able to afford a Aldridge, Gasol, Butler, Leonard type- if they would even leave their teams in the first place...have a feeling LA will be a mav next season though if he leaves portland

[Bamalawdawg]

I'm pretty sure we can't sign a max without renouncing Paul.

You have to think they are just looking at filling the cap gap between our holds and the cap before signing Paul and Pero, possibly Carroll. So I imagine we sign a $5-6 mil guy., maybe an $8 mil guy if we lose Carroll.